She took over #1 in the US at Indoor 400 meters with a 54.22 in 2018, and as a Junior (in highschool) was a 5x AHSAA State Champion at 400 meters. There's some random track highlights on youtube. She's also a Psych major with an interest in neuroscience, so it's always +100 for the brainy science …
She took over #1 in the US at Indoor 400 meters with a 54.22 in 2018, and as a Junior (in highschool) was a 5x AHSAA State Champion at 400 meters. There's some random track highlights on youtube. She's also a Psych major with an interest in neuroscience, so it's always +100 for the brainy science soccer gals, for me!
So, she is super duper fast....which I def love on that backline! She also was a winger prior to being converted into RB in college, and if you watch her highlights you can def see that. I do think her defensive instincts look a lot better than the average converted winger, though, at least at the college level. She seems real level-headed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apjQyT_mKUw (a video of all of her touches and some lovely commentary when she started and played a full 90 against Liverpool while at PSG from 5 months ago.)
Re: that last video link- she does seem to have that rookie hesitancy to go forward, and she also turns around and passes back a lot when I think she should've gone forward, but that's not all bad. She seems measured and not reckless, which I appreciate. I actually think Reyna (and/or Norris coaching) can be a little reckless going too forward, so I like a measured player who waits until she's more confident. I do hope she can get up to speed quick in the NWSL because she's probably just gonna kinda be thrown out there, for better or worse. Kinda the same happened to Reyna and it really did not look good for the first handful of games lol, but of course she looked much more comfortable by the end of the season. It is interesting we wouldn't have just gotten a more "start now" player on a loan, since it'll likely take her a bit to get up to speed with the league. She's hardly had any pro experience since she's only been at PSG 6-8 months and hasn't played much.
Don’t know if you saw the extended video clip on YouTube of Payne while she was at West Virginia but it definitely showed her speed—faster than Reyes for sure.
I did!! She does glide by folks with ease. She looked fast, but I didn't realize how fast she was until I saw her track awards. Yeah, Reyes isn't very speedy...
Something I just read about Nicole Payne:
She took over #1 in the US at Indoor 400 meters with a 54.22 in 2018, and as a Junior (in highschool) was a 5x AHSAA State Champion at 400 meters. There's some random track highlights on youtube. She's also a Psych major with an interest in neuroscience, so it's always +100 for the brainy science soccer gals, for me!
So, she is super duper fast....which I def love on that backline! She also was a winger prior to being converted into RB in college, and if you watch her highlights you can def see that. I do think her defensive instincts look a lot better than the average converted winger, though, at least at the college level. She seems real level-headed.
Some links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU2GCBFoDGY (short interview while she was at USC in her senior year in 2022)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJt1VMrcs4g (longer interview from 2022 that I haven't watched yet.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apjQyT_mKUw (a video of all of her touches and some lovely commentary when she started and played a full 90 against Liverpool while at PSG from 5 months ago.)
Re: that last video link- she does seem to have that rookie hesitancy to go forward, and she also turns around and passes back a lot when I think she should've gone forward, but that's not all bad. She seems measured and not reckless, which I appreciate. I actually think Reyna (and/or Norris coaching) can be a little reckless going too forward, so I like a measured player who waits until she's more confident. I do hope she can get up to speed quick in the NWSL because she's probably just gonna kinda be thrown out there, for better or worse. Kinda the same happened to Reyna and it really did not look good for the first handful of games lol, but of course she looked much more comfortable by the end of the season. It is interesting we wouldn't have just gotten a more "start now" player on a loan, since it'll likely take her a bit to get up to speed with the league. She's hardly had any pro experience since she's only been at PSG 6-8 months and hasn't played much.
Don’t know if you saw the extended video clip on YouTube of Payne while she was at West Virginia but it definitely showed her speed—faster than Reyes for sure.
I did!! She does glide by folks with ease. She looked fast, but I didn't realize how fast she was until I saw her track awards. Yeah, Reyes isn't very speedy...