Is the best pickleball player in the world sitting on a pro soccer career she never cashed in?
Zane Navratil and Nico the Lefty sit down with Clem McAuley, Anna Leigh Waters' former club soccer coach, to find out just how real this "she could've gone pro" storyline actually is.
Clem recalls his first training session with a 12-year-old Anna Leigh – a kid who, in his words, practiced like it was a World Cup final. He breaks down her jaw-dropping U15 stat line (46 goals, 31 assists in 38 games) and what it was like building a roster and schedule around one player. Then there's his claim that with six months of real training she'd have top women's soccer teams calling – and inside two years, a shot at the US Women's National Team (USWNT).
Zane and Nico debate it themselves before Clem joins: is Anna Leigh Waters a Wilt Chamberlain-style talent dominating a shallower pool, or could her competitiveness and movement translate to any sport she picked up?
We went even deeper on thedinkpickleball.com – more from Clem, and insight from AC Delray's Director of Coaching, Anna Leigh's mom Leigh, and former Duke soccer All-American Kaitlyn Kerr. The full story covers her call-up to the Danone Cup, a FIFA-endorsed international football event for youth, along with real interest from the NWSL's Orlando Pride, a recruiting push from UNC, and how soccer almost pulled her away from pickleball for good – plus a soccer stat breakdown and highlight clips.
Find the full article here: https://www.thedinkpickleball.com/anna-leigh-waters-the-soccer-prodigy-who-pickleball-stole/
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