Louw To Represent South African In 2012 Olympics
10/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 18, 2011
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - She sometimes wears an SFA soccer shirt and, upon seeing her, you may assume she plays for the school's team. There are other times, however, when she wears another shirt, which begs the far less-certain question of why a girl in Nacogdoches, Texas, is proudly representing the South African National Team.
That's because Kylie Louw, starting midfielder for SFA's women's soccer team and reigning Southland Conference Co-Player of the Year, will be representing South Africa, in the 2012 Olympics beginning next July in London.
Originally from Discovery, South Africa, Louw began playing soccer when she was 4-years old, mostly with boys. She continued playing through her childhood, using her talent and speed to garner attention from the women's national team and eventually made her first appearance for the senior team at a mere 16-years-old. She also captained the team until she decided to move overseas to continue her career.
Louw understood that living in her home country would not allow her the type of challenge a soccer player needs to grow and thrive, prompting her to search for a university in the United States to pursue that challenge.
Not knowing much of the American collegiate landscape or of typical recruiting practices, Louw turned to a relative living in Texas to aide in her search, one that would eventually lead to SFA.
"If I would have known about `bigger schools' and all the different conferences in the U.S., then things may have turned out differently," Louw says. "But I wouldn't have it any other way. I love Nacogdoches and I love everything here at SFA: my coaches, my teammates, my friends. I wouldn't change anything."
She is also able to grow in the way she wanted and needed to on the soccer field.
While Louw's game translates well to both collegiate and national levels, both of her teams command a different skill set, and since coming to SFA her game has matured in her three years on campus.
While with the South African team Louw finds herself facilitating the offense as her teammates bring more of an attack-minded and free-flowing game to the field than her teammates at SFA. There, she must hold her position and make sure she puts the attackers in good position to score.
At SFA, however, she finds herself in the same spot on the field, but in a different role. She roams and is able to keep the ball at her feet, becoming more of an on-the-ball playmaker, and adding a dimension that she may not have been allowed to expound upon if she continued to play exclusively in South Africa.
But no matter her role, her value to each team is immense. The versatility she now has makes her contribution invaluable as she can fit into any mold either team may need.
Louw is also a natural leader, a general on the pitch who keeps her teammates focused and aware of every situation. She makes things happen and gives herself up for her team. Her rare combination of skill and leadership can transform a good team into a great team with just her presence on the field.
But for someone as committed as Louw, things are never simple, particularly the travel.
"It's a long journey from Nacogdoches to South Africa and vice versa and usually I'm called up during the middle of the semester. It's not only the travelling that's a challenge; it's the classes that I miss too that tend to be a challenge. It's difficult but in the end it's so worth it."
Louw recalled a specific instance in which she had to fly from Dallas (after a game against SMU) to South Africa to play for the national team against the Ethiopian National Team six days later. South Africa won the match 3-0 with Kylie going straight to the airport after the game, landing the next day in Tulsa, Oklahoma. SFA's game against Oral Roberts was scheduled for 1 PM with Louw landing at noon. She got to the field 30 minutes before kickoff.
"The best feeling ever was when they were so excited to see that I had made it and they clapped and cheered," remarked Louw. "I only ended up playing 20 minutes of that game but got two assists for the first two goals. I felt like the team appreciated my effort to get back in time for the game ... [It was] kind of crazy but I did it and I will do it again over and over. My heart lies with SFA and my teammates as well as my nation, so juggling between the two is nothing compared to the reward of feeling appreciated and feeling like an important part of something."
Louw's drive to play at the highest level as well as the loyalty she has towards her teammates is what makes Louw a unique asset to have. She is willing to go above and beyond to give herself up for her team, no matter how difficult and complex it may seem.
At next summer's London Olympics Louw will be displaying her talent and commitment to the world, but no matter what shirt she's wearing she will be doing herself, her school, and her country proud.
-SFA-
