By Richard Carrier
Contributing writer

Once she had thought through it, the decision made perfect sense. It was infinitely logical. Olivia Moore’s decision to accept the scholarship offered by Virginia Military Institute surprised her parents, shocked her friends and puzzled her coach but, in the mind of the recent Powhatan High School graduate, it was a perfect fit.

The $15,000 in yearly scholarship money the school offered was important and there was the opportunity to have an immediate impact in an emerging soccer program.

The two-time Second Team All-State soccer star has great potential, according to VMI’s head coach Bryan Williams.

“She is a very powerful little player. Olivia is a skilled attacker who knows how to control the pace of the game. She’s dynamic, but we are also excited about her outstanding personality and her excitement about VMI.”

Entering the highly structured environment of the predominately male (15-1 ratio) Lexington, Virginia military complex does not phase the 2008 District Player of the Year.

“The discipline is not a problem at all and I can handle the military atmosphere. As far the guys, I’ve always hung out with guys and find them pretty easy to get along with. Some of them are egotistical and obnoxious, but I can handle that too,” Moore said.

Olivia Moore’s attacking attitude on the soccer field is evident in her commitment to her new educational opportunity. She has already immersed herself in the Lexington campus, taking her first course and even completing her first final exam last month.

This has given her the opportunity to discover that, “the girls here are pretty cool too. Most of them are athletes and are here for the same reason [I am],” she said.

Moore is planning to major in biology, and she’d like to attend graduate school after that. For the next step, she says, medical school is a strong possibility. The logic, perhaps even genius, of her decision to enroll at VMI surfaces in that plan.

Powhatan head soccer coach Pam Spotts agreed that “I couldn’t have asked for a better player and a better person in the four years she played for me. She has the skills to be a great player at VMI.”

But there is a caveat: Olivia Moore admits she was not the stellar student at Powhatan High normally identified as a medical school candidate. As coach Spotts explained, “she is naturally gifted and as smart as they come, but her desires to do so many things”— basketball, Interact [club], year book and being an ultra-popular teenager —“took away from her studies. VMI will control a lot of those distractions and, if she should decide to go on to medical school, the Army is a great way to get it paid for,” her coach analyzed.

“Academically as well as athletically VMI is the place for me. My ability to network from here will set me up for the future,” Moore said.

Both her past and future coaches agree on Moore’s specific talents on the soccer field.

“She sees the field so well. She knows the game and how it should be played,” Spotts recalled.

“She is a skilled attacker and she handles the ball well and controls the pace,” Williams said. “She’s dynamic!”

Moore sees her role on the Keydets team as a “a goal scorer” and coach Williams agreed that “she has the ability and we are hoping she can contribute right away.“

But her high school coach pointed out that for Olivia Moore to become the offensive focus for the Keydets it will require a change in mindset.

“She could have dominated (at Powhatan High School) but she took every chance she had to make her teammates look better,” said Spotts.

The summer spent on the Lexington campus has served to underline her appreciation of her mom’s home cooking and she admitted she was also going to miss the “great teachers at Powhatan.”

But the opportunity to fulfill a hidden fantasy has also surfaced.

“I have always secretly wanted to be a wrestler,” Moore revealed.

“I found out that I’m not only going to get to take wrestling classes here, but I’ll also get to take boxing,” she said with undisguised enthusiasm.