Get to know Wallenpaupack Area HS soccer player Jacqui Weber
HAWLEY, Pa. — Jacqueline Weber (Jacqui) can’t seem to stay away from the soccer field! A junior soccer player at Wallenpaupack Area High School, she began playing at seven years old with the Wallenpaupack Youth Soccer League (WYSL) and has never stopped!
In 2014, Jacqui began travel soccer with a club based out of Honesdale and then moved onto playing with the Abington Youth Soccer “Flash” for several years after that. In 2018, she moved onto playing travel soccer with Lehigh Valley United (LVU) and continues to play with them today. She was also selected to play on the ODP (Olympic Development Program) 2004 Eastern PA team. Jacqui had made the ODP team for three consecutive years!
Last year she helped LVU progress to the State Cup finals and the East Region Championship. Most recently, they finished first at Bethesda and the EDP Fall Showcase – both tournaments were in the top Championship brackets. The team also competes in the National League Player Recruitment Opportunity (PRO), and the United States Youth Soccer (USYS) Mid-Atlantic Premier 1 league. They are now ranked 2nd in PA, 2nd in Region 1, and 3rd Nationally.
Even though she has been playing soccer for ten years, she enjoyed many other sports along the way like gymnastics, swim, track and field, and snowboarding. She amazes everyone around her by continuing to compete in track, snowboarding whenever possible, and working at an inn and spa!
In her high school soccer career, she was nominated ‘striker of the year’ in her freshman year and ‘offensive player of the year’ in her sophomore year. She has made the LLIA first team as an all-star twice, and once made the first team all-region. All that and is in the National Honor Society too!
The best advice Jacqui has ever been given is something her mom tells her before every game, before going to school, and before whatever she is going to be doing that day. “Never give up, work hard, and have fun! If you love what you do, then never give up, even if you don’t succeed the first, second, or even third time. You will succeed if you work hard!”
Jacqui finds that her biggest challenge is her mental game. She reports, “I manage this challenge by realizing that everyone makes mistakes. I also have a breathing technique/meditation that I do to set me back on track.” She also listens to some pump-up music and thinks about what her goals are for that particular game. “The beauty of soccer is that if you make a mistake, you can always get right back in there to make up for it. If I lose a 1v1 for example, I will always come right back around to try to win that ball back. Again, the philosophy of “Never Give Up” comes into play. Never be a ball watcher – always get in there to make a difference.” states Jacqui.
She will always remember what her high school head coach, Alicia Sodano, told her, “Focus on the present, the right now, this game.” This was meant so that Jacqui would not get caught up on future events right before a game. She feels that it has helped her tremendously with every game she has played since then.
In her spare time, Jacqui enjoys working out at the gym, snowboarding, and bowling with friends, but soccer continues to be her passion. Being a member of a team had taught her leadership skills, and that she needs to take responsibility for her own mistakes, among many other things.
The things she loves most about playing soccer are the friends she has made and the opportunities she has had to travel to new places. She states, “I also love that I can be myself on the field and show my creativity.” Her personal goal and dream is to continue to play soccer in college and then hopefully professionally. We know you can do it, Jacqui!
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