Olivia Moultrie has spent the last week and a half practicing with the Portland Thorns and she still doesn’t look out of place training alongside professional players.

Watching Moultrie in practice, Thorns coach Mark Parsons said that it’s easy to forget that she is just 13-years-old.

“If you take five seconds to watch Olivia, there’s no way you would believe she was 13 in the way she moves, in the way she thinks, in the way she sees the game and her technique,” Parsons said.

Moultrie recently made history by becoming the youngest girls’ soccer player to officially forgo her college eligibility to turn pro. With the support of her parents, she signed a six-figure endorsement deal with Nike and a representation deal with the Wasserman Media Group, a sports agency. Wasserman has declined to make Moultrie available to the media at this time.

Despite the endorsement deal, Moultrie wouldn’t be able to easily join a professional league at 13, even if a team were ready to sign her. FIFA rules generally prevent players from signing with foreign clubs before they turn 18, making a move to Europe all but impossible. The National Women’s Soccer League also prevents players from competing in the league until they turn 18.

With limited options abroad, the Canyon Country, California native and her family decided that the best decision would be for them to move to Portland this year, so that Moultrie could continue her growth in the Thorns developmental academy. While Moultrie will compete within the developmental academy system, she has been training with the Thorns’ first team as she continues her development alongside professional players.

“She’s doing great,” Parsons said. “She’s middle of the pack, creating damage in the midfield, getting on the turn and combining and getting shots off. She’s working hard off the ball.”

Thorns General Manager and President of Soccer Gavin Wilkinson said that the club was open to having Moultrie continue to train with the first team throughout the season, as long as she continues to fit in with the group and the training sessions don’t negatively impact her schoolwork or social development.

Thorns defender Emily Sonnett said that the Thorns have embraced Moultrie and are happy to have her training with the club.

“I think she’s more than comfortable around the girls and the girls have done a really good job of welcoming her,” Sonnett said. “In terms of her being comfortable with the team, I’ve been impressed with her ability to just have camaraderie with people and to play.”

Moultrie has been on the path to professional soccer since at least age 6. According to the New York Times, she has had a personal coach since she was six and has been home-schooled since fifth grade. Her parents also installed a $60,000 artificial turf field behind their house in California to enable Moultrie to focus on her training.

At 11, Moultrie made headlines when she announced that she had accepted a scholarship offer to the University of North Carolina. She gave up the scholarship offer to sign with Nike this year. In 2017, Moultrie became the first girl to play full-time in U.S. Soccer’s boys development academy system, according to the New York Times. She has also long played with older girls within the U.S. youth national team system.

Now, she is training alongside some of the top players in the world in Portland.

“I think it’s great for someone to want to be ambitious and try new things and try different avenues to see where their success can be,” Thorns midfielder Tobin Heath said.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg

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