
Nina Clement tracks the ball during a Hopkinton High School girls soccer game last season. FILE PHOTO/JOHN CARDILLO
Hopkinton’s Nina Clement was selected for the U.S. Under-17 Women’s National Team training camp, one of only two players from Massachusetts to earn a spot with the high-level team.
The 24-player squad is preparing for FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifying next year.
“It’s all been really fun,” Clement said from Fayetteville, Georgia, where she and her teammates are training for a week. “The level of competition is really high. I am seeing some new faces this time, and it’s a great experience.”
Clement trained with both the U-15 and U-16 national teams before being called up to the U-17 camp. During the camps, the teams spend time practicing and engaging in intra-squad matches.
Clement, 15, already has seen soccer take her around the world — including locales as far away as Germany and California. She plays club soccer for FC Stars and played with the Hopkinton High School varsity as a freshman last fall. She elected to step away from high school soccer this year as she prepares to be recruited by collegiate programs.
“I did have a really fun time being on the varsity team, and I really miss my teammates,” Clement said. “But there are parts of my game that I really needed to improve to be ready for my recruiting season, and I thought the club environment would be the best place to get better.”
Clement said she wants to work on being a better defender on the ball and being stronger with both her right and left foot. A center back who also plays outside back, Clement knows she wants to play in college, but said she does not have any particular schools in mind as her sophomore year in high school gets underway.
“I hope to play at a school with strong academics and a strong soccer program,” she said. “My dream one day is to play for the U.S. Women’s National Team, but there are a lot of steps that I need to go through before that.”
In the meantime, Clement is focusing on the short term. During the training week with the U-17 team, the team did not receive its daily schedules until the night before, focusing on taking things one day at a time. Clement also is a well-rounded athlete. She enjoys running, surfing, skiing and tennis when she is not on the soccer pitch. And she loves spending time baking with her grandmother.
On the pitch, Clement said her focus is on playing at the highest level possible. While she enjoys strong support from her friends and family, she traveled to Georgia alone and said that experience has been a positive one.
“It’s kind of a little insight into what it’ll be like when I am older,” Clement said. “It definitely makes me feel more mature, getting to be down here and doing things my way.”





















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