THE PATH

Nutwadee Pramnak's Journey to College Women's Soccer

PRESENTED BY THE AGENCY COLLEGE RECRUIT, June 1, 2021

FOR HER COUNTRY

Amp’s Journey to College Soccer

For footballers, the pinnacle of competition is the World Cup. And for every young footballer, the first steps begin with getting into national teams, progressing through the age ranks with full commitment, and becoming full national team players. Nutwadee Pramnak (Amp) is a young player who has come through the ranks, and is well on her way to realizing her dreams.

Amp started playing soccer at the age of 7. Like many young players in Thailand, her first exposure to the game was through futsal, a small-sided game that helps players develop their skills. At the regional competition, her team was not strong enough to advance, but she caught the eye of coaches, and was asked to play at the next level in the national competition. Most importantly for Amp, she was asked to play with the Bangkok Sports School, one of the major clubs developing female soccer players in Thailand. Here she had the opportunity to consistently train with and play against talented players, and continue to develop. Once she was noticed and evaluated by skilled coaches at the national level, she quickly became a fixture on every age group national team. This culminated with her selection to the full national team in 2019.

But Amp is not content with what she has achieved – rather, she has become more motivated than ever to help Thailand again qualify for the Women’s World Cup. “The soccer World cup is my dream and I want to make it come true. To help make this become a reality, I hope to become a professional soccer player and succeed, whether that is in the USA or Europe.”

Amp’s dreams have continued to push her forward and continually seek out opportunities. In 2020, Amp took her first steps toward a professional career by moving to the US – and the hotbed of US women’s soccer, North Carolina – when she entered the soccer program at the University of North Carolina Pembroke. One of her soccer idols is Tobin Heath, a star of the US women’s national team and a graduate of the powerful UNC soccer program. “Tobin Heath is one of the players that makes me want to play in the US. She is a player in the United States National Soccer team. I came to the USA because I hope one day I can meet and play professional soccer with her.”

Family has also been a big motivator and support for Amp. From when she was little, her parents were fully committed to supporting her in making her dreams come true. Getting into academies with real development pathways is a team effort for families, driving kids to training and making the time commitments. And Amp has always been grateful to her family for giving up things so she can make her dreams come true. Amp’s obsession with reciprocating her parents for their support helps Amp stay focused on the other side of her soccer experience in the US – education. Getting to study at high quality universities creates opportunities in business and career, and she has always been cognizant of this. Being surrounded by teammates also committed to doing well in school and seizing every opportunity has made this much more possible and rewarding. As Amp says when describing her university experience and her teammates, “I have had many great experiences with soccer and study. At our college in the USA all of my teammates focus on studying first, followed by soccer. This has made me more responsible about my studies and more motivated every day.”

The Agency College Recruit has been walking with Amp all through her dream. They have an extensive list of contacts throughout the US, with extensive experience taking on athletes and guiding them through the complicated process of finding a school and a situation that is a good fit. For Amp, they were able to help identify a school and a soccer situation that was a great fit, allowing her to develop her sports potential as well as giving her an academic situation where she can thrive. The Agency “has always been able to help me when I have any concerns or problems. Whether about life, academics or soccer, they have been able to help make my dream of studying abroad and playing soccer come true.”