Lake Forest Soccer Player Commits to Vanderbilt

The following is from Eclipse Select Soccer Club:

It is only natural to gravitate toward the successful Eclipse Select Soccer Club sister connection that exists in the Waddle family. With two older sisters already competing at the college level, current club midfielder Lea Waddle (Lake Forest, Ill.) will become the third collegian on the pitch as she recently made her commitment to play at Vanderbilt in the fall of 2016.

“It’s so exciting to finally know where you are going to go to college,” Waddle said. “I still have a lot to do and accomplish with the club program, so that is where my focus still is. It was never my priority to have my commitment this early, but it’s nice to have gone through this process. Everything just fell into place.”

During her search, Waddle had also visited Boston College, as well as Northwestern, where her oldest sister Georgia completed her junior season in the fall of 2013. Instead, Lea will reunite with the family’s second-oldest sister, Angela, who wrapped up her freshman campaign and will be a junior when Lea joins in 2016.

“She obviously had some great pointers and great advice, discussing how to weigh the positives and negatives during the search,” Waddle said of her conversations with Angela. “Her personal experience, though, will be much different than mine. We are two completely different players. It turned out to be a perfect fit for me in my own way, and in her own way, so it’s interesting how things worked out like that.”

Though the Commodores are coming off a tough 2013 season, Waddle likes what she sees from head coach Derek Greene and the efforts that he and the staff are putting into the Vanderbilt program.

“The coaching staff is awesome,” Waddle said. “They’re encouraging, and even though Vandy struggled a bit this year, they have faith in their program improving with the players coming in. They explained some of their plans for the future and really liked me and told me that I could make an impact with their program.”

Waddle said that Vanderbilt sees her as a defensive midfielder, and she is confident that she can be an immediate presence. Having a soccer family lineage has helped prepare Waddle for the adjustments needed to play at that level.

“I’ve been to many of their games and admire what they have accomplished,” Waddle said. “College soccer is a very different style, and I’ve really enjoyed watching them play and adjusting from club to college soccer. The game is much faster, so I’m excited to have the same opportunity.”

Waddle joined Eclipse Select as a U-13, and she knew immediately the type of environment at the club and the confidence needed to compete successfully at an early stage.

“Having had two sisters there, I knew how intense it was going to be,” Waddle said. “I’m a very competitive person, so I loved that. I always had big goals and high expectations. And over the U-13 through U-15 years, I really found my voice on the field and became more of a leader. Eclipse really helped me in that area. I found that part of me, and the way to project that to my teammates to make everyone better.”

Waddle used to play regularly at forward in her younger years, but she says that midfield complements her strengths.

“I used to be an outside forward and midfielder and was still playing outside forward at U-14 and the start of the U-15 level,” Waddle said. “I was pushed into the midfield, and I think my vision of the game improved, as well as my passing. I’m able to see the sequences, and I still have that forward mentality of going at people. That will always be a part of me. I think overall that I can make my team better in the midfield and be a dynamic presence, using my technical ability. Plus, it’s always fun to play there and combine with Zoe [Redei] and Alssa [Gorzak] up top and our other forwards.”

Waddle, currently playing for Eclipse Select’s Elite Clubs National League U-16 squad, was part of a memorable run with this group just a year ago. Waddle was a member of the U-15 ECNL and USYSA teams that earned national titles in 2013.

“It was an interesting year,” Waddle said of the 2013 campaign. “We started off training four days a week and we knew that we wanted to set the goal of winning both national titles. Earning the ECNL and USYSA titles were huge goals for us, and that was something we set at the beginning. We always trained hard, reminded each other of these goals every day and kept working toward the goal. We were in the right mind-set.

“The practices are super competitive with this group,” she said. “Whether you are a starter or a sub, we push each other to get better. We have players coming off the bench who are equally as good as the starters, and vice versa. It’s an amazing amount of talent, and that keeps us going.”