The Surge

Goalkeeper of both the Bay’s Girl’s Junior Varsity soccer team and Fort Lauderdale United’s u16 Girl’s soccer team, Natalia Navarro has dedicated over a decade of her life to the sport since she first started playing at four years old. Devoted to one day playing on varsity and later Division 1 collegiate soccer, Navarro said she commits as much effort as possible to every game she plays, and is constantly improving her skill through experience and dedication. Navarro said what she enjoys most about playing soccer is getting to be on a team with dedicated, goal-driven teammates that she can count on.

“What motivates me the most is definitely my teammates because they make me want to perform better and work harder so we can all succeed,” Navarro said. “When playing, I especially love the feeling of making a good save or getting cheered on by my peers.”

Outside of team practices and tournaments, Navarro often devotes her free-time to honing her skill. With the ultimate goal of playing collegiate-level soccer, Navarro spends her free afternoons and breaks doing extra training to become a better goalkeeper.

“I attend extra goalkeeper-specific training twice a week on days I do not have team practice,” Navarro said. “I spend one to two weeks at IMG Academy every summer, and I am attending two training camps at both Harvard and Yale this summer.”