Alyssa Thompson was born on November 7, 2004, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. She is a professional soccer player in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States women’s national team as a forward for Angel City FC.
Key Takeaways
- Alyssa Thompson is a professional soccer player who plays in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) and the United States women’s national team as a forward for Angel City FC.
- She is the eldest daughter of Mario and Karen Thompson. Both her parents are San Fernando natives.
She started her professional journey after Angel City selected her first overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft during high school.
She is the eldest daughter of Mario and Karen Thompson and has two younger sisters, Gisele and Zoe.
Both her parents are San Fernando natives.
Notably, Mario is of Filipino descent, while Karen is of Italian and Peruvian descent.
Via Essential sports
Gisele, Alyssa’s sister, also joined the Angel City FC straight out of high school, the year after Alyssa was drafted.
These two soccer prodigies seem to have been trained by their father since they were young.
Mario currently works as a school principal, while Karen is an occupational therapist.
But don’t let their jobs fool you… both of them were once players of different sports.
Mario played football and basketball and ran track and field at Alemany and Occidental College while Karen used to play basketball.
Because of Mario’s experience as a young athlete, he believed that his daughters were not being adequately pushed
Via Essential sports
That is why Mario stepped up to give his daughters the right start, with the right training and the right mindset!
Here is how he trained Alyssa,
“Before joining high school, Alyssa Thompson played in a league that featured girls four years senior. The age gap did nothing to slow a young Alyssa down. She tallied 48 goals and 17 assists in 18 games at Harvard Westlake School! Anyhow, the Angel City star’s sublime stats did not impress her father, Mario. As if playing against four-year-old girls was not enough, Mario took his daughters out of their current team and sent them to the LA-based Total Futbol Academy to play against boys! Back in the day, the Thompson sisters were the first girls to do so.”
Via Essential sports
According to Yahoo Sports,
After fall training camp and the 23 minutes she played off the bench in two games, Thompson’s performance was enough to change U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski’s mind.
“What a turn of events in the last nine months…, In October, she was playing youth soccer and now in July she will be on the biggest stage.” – Andonovski said
Mario had already devised a path for his daughters, as he states in the interview,
“When she got called up to that camp, it did speed up the process, In her mind it was like ‘I’m good enough. I know I can make this team.’ But she knew to have a chance to make the World Cup team, she had to perform against women.”
It seems that Mario is a teacher at heart, not just in the profession!
During an interview with him in his principal’s office, he elaborates,
“As an educator, how do we meet everyone’s needs? Everyone’s needs are different, Like in the classroom, this kid in kindergarten is reading chapter books. I have some kindergarteners that don’t even know their letters. So how do I meet their needs?”
Via Yahoo Sports
“For my daughter, for Alyssa, how do I meet her needs? How do we maximize her potential?…………….The answer: challenge her.”
Alyssa also says,
“Playing with the boys…, it definitely prepared me to play with the pros, “They’re really physical with me and if I had a bad touch, they’d be on me and just push me off the ball.”
It seems her father was right, and his daughters are outstanding and determined enough to go through the rigorous training.
They became someone everybody could acknowledge for their skills in the field!
Among them is Blue Heat owner Carlos Marroquin, a former Guatemalan youth international player, who praised Alyssa.
“She was amazing, She wasn’t the same player as everyone else. She was different.”
Amidst all this, Karen Thompson, Alyssa’s mother has been their biggest supporter. She should be applauded for her parenting and the way she has brought up her girls.
Though Alyssa and Gisele compete on the field, they are best friends off the field.
“It’s a unique dynamic where Alyssa and Gisele had each other. It wasn’t just Alyssa by herself. She always had a partner.”
VIA Yahoo Sports
The credit for this beautiful dynamic most definitely goes to their mother, who must have made them emotionally and mentally strong.
While the father worked on their children’s career and physical environment, the mother worked on their mental and emotional security.
Both of them can be labeled as the “Prodigy Makers.“
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Alyssa is 5ft 4 In tall.
- Alyssa attended The Wesley School in North Hollywood.
- In 2022, Alyssa played in five matches and scored three goals, helping the under-20 national team win gold at the 2022 CONCACAF Women’s U-20 Championship.
