With the NCAA ban on Division I recruiting events extended through the end of the year, there are going to be limited opportunities for players to compete in front of coaches.

TopDrawerSoccer will seek to feature highlights of players from around the country looking to latch on with a college soccer program. If you are interested in being featured, please check out the details on how to submit information and video to [email protected].

This week's featured player is Annika Seem, a midfielder currently training in her gap year at Club Med Academies – Soccer in Port St. Lucie, Florida under Coach Tom Durkin. Annika hopes to play DI women’s soccer, as she is capable of playing anywhere in the midfield, shows great use of both feet, great speed, technical skills and physicality. 

“Annika is currently training with the U19 Boys team at Club Med Academies," Durkin said. "Our U19s compete in the Men’s UPSL Division II and lead their conference. This team trains twice a day, five days a week, supplements with strength, speed and agility training, and Annika keeps pace readily. The boys, the majority of which are Division I prospects, respect her and value her contribution to our training environment. In short they don’t treat her like a girl in any shape or form. She mixes it up with them and gives as good as she gets.

 

"Annika is a very talented utility midfielder, virtually good at everything on both sides of the ball, bright tactically, and picks up on concepts readily. Annika is very coachable, takes instruction well and puts it to use straight away. This is a behavior that we have asked the team to emulate on several occasions. What I like most about Annika is her character. She is responsible, attentive, industrious and committed. In short, she is a pleasure to coach and has added to our dynamic. I, for the life of me, can’t figure out why she hasn’t been snapped up by one of the nation’s top programs. I have been doing my best to help her find the right fit, and, by the way, she is a brilliant student that can get in to any school. Our loss will be some lucky school’s gain.”

Annika was a Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association All-Star in July 2020 under Coach Tony Quintero at Nicolet High School in Glendale, Wisconsin, and she also played for several years with FC Wisconsin.

“Annika is not flashy but moves, dribbles, and passes the ball with ease and grace. She plays smart and simple soccer. She knows what she wants to do with the ball before she gets it and makes adjustments if she is pressured. She does not panic on the ball but will use her body to shield it or spin away from pressure. You rarely see her lose possession of the soccer ball. Underneath her smooth, calm, and understated style of play is a creative, astute, midfield architect who is deadly on the ball. She makes a killer pass and sets up her teammates with her precise, intuitive play. Her vision, first touch and work ethic off the ball coupled with her tenacious defending make her the type of game-changing midfielder that can control the tempo of a match.” Quintero said

Annika earned a spot last summer as Attacking Midfielder with the WPSL Bavarian SC women's soccer team in Milwaukee, WI coached by Bob Spielmann. Highlights from her recent Exact Soccer Camp scrimmages on November 15 are below.