Childhood passion, Amy Marsh
February 3, 2020
Second from right, teacher Amy Marsh poses with teammates after a game. Marsh has played soccer since she was 7 and continues to participate in adult leagues.
English teacher Amy Marsh began playing soccer when she was seven years old, after being inspired by watching from the sidelines as her older brother played. At the age of 11 Marsh began playing select soccer, now known as competitive soccer, and would play year-round.
Marsh continued to play throughout high school and attended soccer camps at schools such as Santa Clara University. Unfortunately, in her junior year of high school, Marsh tore her ACL and was forced to stop playing for a period and ultimately ended up stopping playing soccer competitively.
Although Marsh’s injury set her back, her love for the sport remained. In college, Marsh played on an intramural soccer team and after graduating and moving back home, began playing on an adult league soccer team.
Playing adult soccer has given many opportunities to Marsh, including a social life for her whole family.
“It’s given me something to do that’s active and fun to not only me but my kids too,” Marsh said. “I bring them to the games and they play with all the other kids that are there and I get to spend time with my friends and my brother who is also on my team.”
Marsh accredits her continuing to play soccer to helping her keep friendships and her social life alive.
“I still play with a lot of the people that I grew up playing with so it has helped keep friendships going,” Marsh said. “As you become an adult your social life gets a little bit different. You have more responsibilities so sometimes your social life gets a little bit skewed. So it really just gives a reason for socializing and hanging out with friends and just keeping those relationships going.”