With her travel soccer season being suspended due to COVID-19, and Lamar’s soccer season not scheduled to begin until Aug. 4, senior Emma Kate Uithoven hadn’t played in a real game in months.

That’s unusual for her, but a Twitter direct message telling Uithoven she had been invited to participate in the Southeast All-American High School Soccer Showcase in Atlanta provided her with not only a chance to play again but also a chance for college coaches to watch her play against top-tier competition.

It was the first year of the showcase, which took place this past weekend and was created by Southeast All-American Sports founder and CEO Tyler Pineda as a way for high school juniors and seniors to compete against some of the best amongst their peers. Between 500 and 600 people were nominated to participate, and Uithoven was one of just 54 girls picked. 

“That feels really special,” Uithoven said. “It was a big honor.”

Training took place from 5:30-7 p.m. June 11-12, and there was also a morning session June 12. Uithoven competed for the girls’ East team the afternoon of June 13.

“It was really fun,” Uithoven said. “I had a good time, and I liked how much of a challenge it was. Everyone was good, so it made me push myself to work hard.”

It doesn’t hurt that it was a real soccer game, either.

“I’ve missed playing with other people,” Uithoven said. “It’s just not the same training by yourself.”

Since the coronavirus shutdowns, Uithoven has mostly trained with former Duke soccer standout Gretchen MacDonald, who was recently hired as Lamar’s girls soccer coach. She also does speed training with Cordero Eason, who Lamar hired as an assistant football coach.

MacDonald has been working with Uithoven since January 2019 and said last weekend’s showcase was a great opportunity for Uithoven to continue developing her game.

“The high level of competition is a big thing,” MacDonald said. “There were really good players at every position around her, so at these showcases you get to see where everyone matches up — that’s the biggest thing.”

Now that athletic activities have been allowed to resume in the Midsouth Association of Independent Schools’ member institutions, Uithoven and the rest of the Lady Raiders have begun practicing with their new coach. Previous head coach Nina Galindo was hired in March as an assistant soccer coach at The University of Texas of the Permian Basin in her hometown of Odessa, Texas. When Uithoven found out MacDonald was hired as the school’s next coach, she said she was super-excited.

“I really like her as a person and love training with her,” Uithoven said. “I think she’ll bring a lot to the team, but I’m going to miss Coach Nina because she’ll be hard to replace, but I think Gretchen will do a good job. She really pushes me.”

After working with Uithoven for more than a year, MacDonald said the most impressive thing about Uithoven isn’t just her natural talent as a soccer player.

“She has a wonderful work ethic,” MacDonald said. “She’s talented, athletic and a fantastic player, but you can really see with her that she wants it. She has big dreams and works really hard for them. One of the most fun things working with a kid like that is they’ll put in the effort, and she’ll take it as far as possible.”

Uithoven wants to play college soccer, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA put restrictions on college coaches being able to recruit high school athletes. That’s put Uithoven farther behind in the recruiting process than she otherwise would have been.

“I’m just glad I’m not the only one in this position,” Uithoven said. “Everyone in my class is uncommitted.”