Member of the Lady Indians’ soccer team, Mackenzie Randolph is Scotland bound. During spring of 2018, Randolph – who will just be finishing her freshman year at Bridgeport High School – will travel to Glasgow and Edinburgh, Scotland to train with the Olympic Development Team, participate in friendly matches against other international clubs and attend a professional Scottish match.

 

“I’m excited for this opportunity because it will be my first time out of the country,” she said. “I will also get to meet so many awesome people and get to do so many amazing things, all while getting the best training from the best coaches over in Scotland.”

 

BHS Girls’ Soccer Coach John Reese said it is an amazing opportunity for Randolph, who played goalie for him this past soccer season.

 

“What they do is take all the kids in West Virginia who want to play in her age group – freshman and sophomores – and Mackenzie was chosen as No. 1 goalie for that team,” he said. “She will be coached in Scotland by Kevin Holguin, who is assistant coach at West Virginia Wesleyan. She’s going to get some excellent coaching and just being in that kind of atmosphere will be great for her.”

 

Randolph has a good skill set and plays brave, never afraid to take a dive for a ball, Reese said. Once she develops more confidence – and this training opportunity should provide that – she will be even better.

 

In addition to playing under top-level coaches, Randolph said she will learn from her fellow soccer players.

 

“I have high hopes for all the opportunities I will get to be part of and all the advanced skills I will have the chance to learn,” she said.

Randolph said she has played soccer since she was four years old.

 

“My parents thought it would be a good thing for me to try and to also keep me busy, but it turned out that I loved the sport and now here I am, 11 years later,” she said.

 

Soccer has been such a big part of her life since she can remember. The game has enabled her to meet many new, good people and travel up and down the east coach. Through play with Bridgeport Middle School and Bridgeport High School, as well as Mountain State Soccer Club, she has worked with amazing coaches, too.

 

“Soccer has always been there for me, as well,” she said. “Whenever I'm having a bad day or if I am just bored, I can always go outside and run or work on some simple ball drills to pass the time.”

 

A fan of pro soccer player Hope Solo’s dedication, energy and skill set, Randolph has her sights set high. After she graduates from BHS, she plans to pursue collegiate soccer.

 

“This has been my goal for a couple of years now and I would love to get the chance to do so,” she said. “I think this would be such an awesome goal to achieve in the future and I believe that this Scotland trip is going to be one of many factors that will help me reach that goal.”

 

Randolph will leave the USA on March 31, arriving in Central Scotland the following day and staying for one week. The estimated cost of her trip is $4,000 and a GoFundMe page has been established – https://www.gofundme.com/scotland-soccer - for anyone wanting to make a contribution toward the training opportunity. Checks can also be sent to Mackenzie Randolph, 571 Worthington Drive, Bridgeport, WV 26330 or sent via Pay Pal to ed.randolph@gmail.com.