When Rebecca Twining joins Notre Dame next season she shouldn’t have much trouble transitioning into a top national program.

Because as club teams go, Twining is already getting a taste of the best – every time she gets together with her teammates.

Playing with the likes of Megan Kinneman and Mary (Addie) Eggleston for Challenge FC (Houston, Texas) is an advantage that will serve Twining well beyond just this season, her final with the club.

Not that Twining doesn’t bring her own tremendous skill set to the table. A TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 100 player, she is both technical and smart.

“She is very good with her feet and has great range,” said Challenge Soccer Club Director of Coaching Pat O’Toole. “She covers a lot of ground in the midfield and she can really strike it well with both feet. She’s both a good defender and attacker with great vision.”

It doesn’t take 20/20 to see that Twining has a bright future. She played well last spring while being called into the U.S. U18 National camp in Carson, California, where she competed alongside other Texas products Courtney Smith, Abby Smith and Clarissa Wedemeyer.

Twining has just gotten over a minor ankle injury but has had plenty of time to recuperate as the team has had a few matches rained out the last couple of weeks.

When on the field, Twining has the perfect skill as a facilitator in the middle to complement her team, including Eggleston – a highly skilled attacker who is a great ball striker.

Goalkeeper Kinneman organizes the group in the back while the offense up front puts pressure on opponents.

“She’s a very versatile player that has the ability to help a team in a lot of ways,” O’Toole said. “I think that will help her with playing time at Notre Dame and really give her an opportunity when competing against other freshmen.”