By Audrey Sellers
Southlake Carroll freshmanbrAlexis Missimo sports a lotbrof burnt orange these days.brShe's a fan of the Universitybrof Texas, but the 14-year-old soccer player doesn't just dream ofbrbeing a Longhorn one day—shebrhas already committed to UT.brThe summer before her eighth grade year, Alexis accepted a fullbrsoccer scholarship to play forbrTexas, making her the youngestbrwomen's soccer commit in thebrsport's history.br
Alexis is often called a phenombrand a prodigy, and there's nobrdenying she's a force on the field.brThe young athlete, who plays for the Solar Chelsea club program, wasbrrecruited by every top D1 school inbrthe country. She is also regarded asbrthe No. 1 recruit for the Class of 2021brby TopDrawerSoccer.com, a site thatbrcovers college soccer and club soccer, and was a contender for the 2017brTopDrawerSoccer Player of the Yearbraward, one of the most prestigiousbrawards for youth players.
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But if you look beyond the impres-brsive offers, rankings and accomplish-brments, you'll find a ponytailed girl inbrcleats who simply wants to play soccer. “I just love the game itself,” shebrsays. “I love passing the ball throughbrto create goals.”br
Soccer isn't only Alexis' talent; it'sbra passion that propels her to pushbrlimits, day in and day out.br
A Rising Soccer Star
Alexis committed to playing atbrUT five years before the start of herbrcollege freshman year. In the sportsbrworld today, student-athletes oftenbrreceive full scholarships before thebrusual teenage rites of passage, suchbras taking the SAT or getting a driver'sbrlicense. Coaches are eager to scoutbr13- and 14-year-old athletes to fillbrtheir future rosters.br
Being recruited to play at Texasbrbefore eighth grade? Alexis chalksbrit up to her rock-solid work ethic.br“I work really hard on and off thebrfield,” she says. “It feels good to knowbrmy hard work paid off.”br
It also helps that Alexis' family hasbra stellar soccer pedigree. Her father,brDerek Missimo, was a multiple All-brAmerica honoree representing thebrUnited States Youth National Teambrin the FIFA U17 World Cup. He alsobrled the University of North Carolinabrin scoring for four consecutive yearsbrand is the university's all-time leaderbrin career points and goals. Alexis'brolder sister, Gabriella (17), is a soccerbrpowerhouse in her own right; she hasbralso committed to play soccer for thebrUniversity of Texas when she graduates from Carroll in 2019.br
“My sister was a bonus to go tobrUT, but I also love the environment,brculture and staff—especially [headbrcoach] Angela Kelly,” Alexis says.br“And I'm excited about just being onbrTV on the Longhorn Network!”br
Like Gabriella, Alexis doesn't playbrfor the Lady Dragons, but has playedbrselect soccer for Solar since she wasbr10. (Regulations from the U.S. SoccerbrGirls' Development Academy prevent players from participating in high school soccer.) Derek has coachedbrfor the Solar girls' program since 2007 and over the years has helpedbrmore than 30 young athletes—including his own daughters—hit theirbrD1 goals.
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He noticed early on that Alexis, who began playing soccer at agebrfour, had ability beyond her years. “When she played with her agebrgroup, she was more advanced than that. By age seven or eight, therebrwas a definite difference,” Derek says.br
Watching her big sister play sparked a fire in Alexis. If Gabriellabrlearned something new, Alexis was right there learning, too. “Alexisbrwanted to see what the older kids were doing and replicate it,” saysbrDerek. “She could keep up with the older kids; she loves to compete.brI get more amazed each year because she has such a huge passionbrfor soccer.”br
Alexis' combination of talent, hard work and pure love for the gamebrhas opened up a world of incredible experiences—and all before highbrschool. Alexis plays midfielder for the U.S. Under-16 Girls' NationalbrTeam, and in May, she traveled with the team to represent the UnitedbrStates in Belgium. “It was cool to go overseas and know I was repre-brsenting my country,” says Alexis.br
After competing in Belgium, Alexis returned to Southlake and thenbrjetted to Europe again in August—this time to Lyon, France. She spentbrnearly two weeks training with coaches from the renowned OlympiquebrLyonnais, France's top women's professional team. Alexis was part ofbran invite-only group, with only 32 of the world's best players invitedbrto receive training and coaching at the legendary club. Some of thebrworld's most celebrated soccer stars have played for Olympique Lyonnais, including Alex Morgan, the American soccer player, Olympic goldbrmedalist and FIFA Women's World Cup champion.br
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Alexis didn't take the invitation or the training opportunity lightly.br“I'm so excited to work,” she said just days before her trip. “It's a great opportunity to play with a professional team.”
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The young recruit is always watching and learning from other players,breager to elevate her own skills. Shebrespecially admires Kristine Lilly, abrretired American soccer player whobrplayed in five FIFA Women's WorldbrCups and three Olympic Games. “I re-brally admire her,” says Alexis. “She wasbrthe best all-around player representing the U.S. for many years.”br
Alexis knows that if she wants tobrjoin the ranks of the world's best female athletes, she has to be receptivebrto feedback. In fact, learning to accept criticism was one of the first lessons from her dad and big sister.br
“Gabriella taught Alexis early onbrnot to be sensitive to criticism. Shebrwould say, ‘He's trying to teach you abrbetter way of doing this,'” Derek says.br
As the girls' dad and coach, Derekbralso taught the importance of ac-brcountability, punctuality and responsibility. “I taught them that everybrdecision they make will impact theirbrlong-term goals,” he says. “Coachingbris a unique bond I have with my girls.brIt has definitely enhanced our relationship.”br
Derek wants for both of his daughters what all parents want: for theirbrkids to be happy. “I want them to bebrsecure in their goals and not let anything get in their way,” he says. “Girlsbrhave such wonderful opportunitiesbrnowadays. So many glass ceilingsbrhave been broken.”br
A Future on the Field
Alexis lives life like many Dragonbrstudent-athletes. She attends class atbrCarroll High School (math is her favorite subject), and fits in homework,brtraining and dinner before her usualbr10 p.m. bedtime.br
“Her schedule isn't different frombrmany athletes' schedules,” Derekbrsays. “What's unique to her is how shebrcan process it and have sustainability.brShe really loves soccer—it propels herbrto get through her studies.”br
When imagining her future, Alexisbrhas high aspirations but also remainsbrremarkably grounded. “I want to bebra pro soccer player,” she says, “but Ibrknow I need a good education.” Shebrenvisions going into business one daybrand maybe owning a restaurant.br
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With stars in her eyes and a soccerbrball at her feet, Alexis is a girl whobrcan conquer anything.