Caitlin Clark’s soccer highlights from high school show she really is a generational athlete

Caitlin Clark is the definition of a generational athlete. Clark was one of the very best players in women’s college basketball from the moment she stepped on the floor for Iowa, leading the country in scoring as a true freshman in 2020-2021, and leading the nation in both scoring and assists as a sophomore. Clark’s breathtaking ability eventually earned her a huge national following as she led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back Final Four berths and broke college basketball’s all-time scoring record for men or women along the way. The hype has continued during her spectacular rookie year in the WNBA with the Indiana Fever.

As Clark’s star continues to rise, more people have become interested in how she grew into one of the most recognizable athletes in America. One anecdoate that often comes up in features is that Clark was also an amazing soccer player as a freshman at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines, Iowa before quitting the sport to focus on basketball. Clark reportedly scored a mind-blowing 26 goals in six games and was named to the all-state, according to the Des Moines Register.

On Thursday, one of Clark’s old soccer highlights went viral, and yes, she really was that good.

Here’s another video compilation of some Clark high school soccer highlights:

“Amazing athlete was good at other sports” is not exactly breaking news. Clark is supposedly a pretty good golfer, too. A’Ja Wilson — the best women’s basketball player in the world and soon to be 3x WNBA MVP — could have been a dominant volleyball player. The list goes on.

I reported out the Caitlin Clark origin story back in 2022 after talking to the people who knew her growing up. It’s so much fun watching her story continue to unfold now that she’s in the WNBA.