Riley Thompson portrait

Collinsville native Riley Thompson chose to attend IMG Academy starting her eighth-grade year in hopes of developing her soccer game into that of an elite player.

So far, the decision to attend school 700 miles away from home seems to be paying off.

Thompson and the rest of her IMG Academy teammates recently finished their season in the U-16/17 division of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, which is considered the highest competitive girls soccer league in the nation. 

With her team ranked No. 17, Thompson will depart for San Diego, California, with the No. 16-ranked U-16/17 IMG Academy team in a couple of weeks to take part in the Development Academy’s postseason. Individually, though, Thompson ended the regular season with a tremendous accomplishment: Her 29 goals was first in the Development Academy in her age group.

“It’s crazy,” Thompson said. “I’m very thankful. It took a lot of hard work and dedication. I didn’t score as many goals in the first part of the season, so I had to make up for it in the second part of the season.”

Thompson’s father, Brent Thompson, said it’s unreal to see his daughter accomplish something like this.

“The sacrifices we’ve gone through to have her move away from home and to have her achieve this goal is unreal — sacrifice, hard work and dedication,” Brent Thompson said.

Considering that Riley Thompson has had to give up closeness to family and her West Lauderdale friends to attend IMG, the fact she was able to make such a mark as a freshman in high school showed attending IMG Academy was the right decision.

“It means everything,” Riley Thompson said. “It shows me all the sacrifice is worth it and shows that you can achieve your dream despite where you come from or anything like that.”

Said Brent Thompson, “We’re finally starting to see a lot of colleges interested in her, and the national team is starting to get an eye on her, so things are starting to turn her way.”

With a trip to San Diego coming up, Riley Thompson said she’s looking forward to visiting a part of the country to which she’s never traveled before, though the Development Academy playoffs is the No. 1 thing on her mind.

“I’ve never been to California, so I think it’s pretty cool that I’m going,” she said. “I’ve always wanted to go and have looked at colleges out there, though I’m not sure if I want to go there. I think we play and then have a day off, so hopefully I’ll get to see stuff on my day off.”

As for the playoffs, Riley Thompson said she’s eager to get on the field with her teammates.

“I have a lot of confidence we’ll do well,” Riley Thompson said. “I’m excited for it. It’ll be difficult, obviously, but I’m really excited.”

Since Riley Thompson doesn’t turn 16 until September, she will once again compete in the U-16/17 division during the 2018-19 school year. She already has goals in mind.

“For sure, I want to be No. 1 in the nation in goals again next year,” she said. “I also want to score more goals in the first part of the season and not get hurt. I definitely want to be on the national team, which is the ultimate goal.”

Riley Thompson is also the daughter of Dr. Sandra Thompson.