International ODP Trip to Italy

Hello, my name is Wiktoria Ucher and I am a freshman at Shepherd Hill Regional High School. I started playing soccer about twelve years ago and over the course of the years, it became my aspiration to one day play professionally for the USWNT. I currently play for my high school’s varsity team, New England Football Club, and the regional and state ODP or Olympic Development Program. ODP is the identification of a pool of players to begin the selection for the National and Olympic teams. I’ve represented the Massachusetts  ODP state team for the last three years and last spring was named captain during the East Region ODP championships. I’ve also recently made the regional Olympic Development team. As much as I love the beautiful game I am very invested in my schoolwork too, maintaining an above 4.0 GPA. Playing soccer and learning are my two biggest passions and for those two things, I’ve let go of a lot. Including many things that most teens take for granted however it has been worth it so far. 

I have recently been invited to travel internationally to Milan, Italy on April 12-20, 2020 to compete against teams from that country. This invitation was received from my regional Olympic Development team. I was selected to play in Italy from two age groups, 2003 and 2004, each of which consisted of about forty highly competitive soccer players from the Eastern United States. In Italy, the roster of eighteen girls will get the opportunity to play local Italian teams, attend a professional coaching clinic, have multiple training sessions with ODP coaches, tour two of Italy’s pro stadiums, and attend a professional match. This is an extraordinary learning opportunity for a soccer player and the trip of a lifetime. 

Now, what I am asking for from whoever is reading this is even the smallest donation to help fund this international sports experience. I have worked intensively to get to this point and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. This US Youth Soccer ODP Girls International trip to Italy would be an unbelievable experience and would unquestionably benefit me as a player.