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For many teams, qualifying for the state tournament is a dream. However, for the Marian soccer team, it is a reality. Junior Caroline Schwab, who has been to the state tournament two times, shows out tried and true for the Marian blue. But how did she make it to this level in the first place? 

Schwab doesn’t have your typical day-to-day schedule. Weekly, she makes two to three trips to Kansas City to play the sport she loves.

Schwab started her soccer career when she was in fourth grade. She grew up playing all the sports and finally “told [her] parents [she] wanted to play club soccer.” They took her to soccer tryouts and she made the third team. “I was late to start club soccer so I had some catching up to do,” Schwab said.

Currently, Schwab plays outside back and center back. She enjoys the back line and being sporty on defense. She admits that she is “pretty aggressive and athletic which are both good for the back line.” 

The idea of playing in Kansas City first came up around January of her freshman year after making the decision to switch clubs. She knew about the Kansas City Athletics team because they were in the same league as her former team and her coach was the director of it. “It happened naturally,” Schwab said. 

Schwab and her parents went down to Kansas City for an open house practice. A former teammate of hers, who is a senior at Elkhorn South, was also looking into joining the team and it ended up working out. Now, Schwab and her teammate carpool down to Kansas City together.

This switch changed her whole routine. Schwab’s team practices three times a week, but she and the five other out-of-town teammates only attend two. 

She practices Tuesdays and Thursdays. On these days, she leaves school at around noon or 1 p.m. in order to arrive at practice on time. Some days, her practice starts at 6 p.m. and other days it starts at 7:15 p.m. “It just depends,” Schwab said.

On the road, Schwab spends her time doing all her homework and catching up on sleep. Her parents drive her down to Kansas City about once a week with games on the weekends as an additional trip. For the other practices, her carpool takes her. 

With 12 extra hours on the road per week, Schwab does her best to manage family time.

Schwab is a big fan of her schedule this year because it allows her to leave without being swamped by academics. “Most of my Tuesdays and Thursdays are E days, so it is great,” Schwab said. On her E days, she has AP Psychology, AP English Literature, Intro to Business and study hall. So, study hall is the main class she misses.

Leaving school early helps her stay balanced in her own life. She can see her family before she leaves and have time for herself. 

However, relaxing on the weekend isn’t an option for Schwab. “I don’t get them,” Schwab said. During the weekends, Schwab has her soccer games. 

If it’s a home game, it’s in Kansas City. If it’s an away game, it’s in a different state. However, she’s used to this because her former team used to travel often. 

This schedule runs from August to February with February being just practices. Then, she gets a slight break before school soccer starts in March. She starts her travel season in June with a break in July before getting back into the full swing of things.

The reason behind Schwab playing for a Kansas City team is that she wants to play in college. “That’s always been a goal of mine to play soccer in college at a high academic school,” Schwab said.  

That’s what her current team offers her: exposure for recruiting. It’s difficult because the market for recruiting in Omaha is small, meaning less exposure. Schwab wants to go D1 and is currently working towards that dream. 

When in college, high academics is a staple for her, as she plans to go into the business field for her career one day. 

Schwab is content with the team she plays for and the schedule it provides, which will ultimately help her achieve her dream goal: playing collegiate soccer and advancing her academics wherever she goes.