Twelve-year-old Sophia Nquyen might seem the typical baby of the family, but she is far from typical. The youngest of Angela and Hung‘s children, she chose her own path. Whether it’s on the pitch, down at Casino Beach, or on the grounds at Sacred Heart Cathedral School, this young lady is carving her own niche on the world. She shows no hesitation competing against older opponents in soccer or challenging others in her first skim board event.
Don’t let her engaging smile fool you; she is no easy mark. This athlete has been playing against older players for the last few years. Nquyen has only been officially involved in the Olympic Development Program for the past year, but has been involved in soccer for a while. Locally, she plays for the U13 Gulf Coast Texans under head coach Joe Bartlinski. Bartlinski states that Nquyen has the work ethic of someone much older. Although she is playing with and against older girls, Nquyen likes the challenge. She is looking forward to the upcoming year and to spending time with her teammates.
As athletically gifted as Nquyen is, mom and dad draw a line on academics first, as they did for older siblings Maia, Joseph, and Anna. Currently in sixth grade at Sacred Heart, Nquyen has made straight As her whole academic career, but she grinningly admitted that lunch is her favorite period at school. She set the fourth grade record for running the mile in 6:13, just missing the fifth grade record. Winner of multiple MVPs in basketball, track, and soccer, Nquen said she just likes the challenge of running and conditioning.
As of now, Nquyen is not sure what she wants to do later in life other than pursue professional soccer. And in a bigger way, she hopes to be a positive role model for other girls so they aren’t scared to pursue their dreams. Short term, she is working to make the Florida State ODP team. For the moment, as her mother said, she will continue to kick a ball around at the house.
Now here is the interesting aspect of this young athlete’s tale: skim boarding. Sophia has been skim boarding for a couple of years, but only started competing this past summer. When she first brought up the idea of competing in skim boarding, mom and dad downplayed it. So, making her mind up to do this, she created a power-point presentation for Angela and Hung on the positives of entering the competition. She made such a convincing argument they agreed to let her enter a Pro-Am event in the St. Augustine area this past August. And well and behold, Sophia placed second. With the addition of a custom skim board for Christmas, she is ready to compete this upcoming year.
What else the future holds for Sophia, she is not sure. She does want to visit cousins up north and give snowboarding a go. One can only imagine what else this remarkable young lady may take on, but I would bet she will accomplish whatever she sets her mind too.
Making her own wake
