Sterling, Va. — Potomac Falls High School senior Jessica Touve has made a commitment to continue both her soccer and swimming careers at Bridgewater College starting in the 2018-2019 academic year.
“I started swimming and soccer when I was very young,” the 5-foot-9 Touve said. “I can remember taking lessons at a swim school when I was around 3, and by the time I was 4 I was swimming for a competitive year-round team. I started soccer around the same time on a house league team. I was always a very active and energetic kid, so my parents decided to put me in many different sports as a child. Ever since then, I stuck with soccer and swimming.”
[adrotate banner=”18″]Throughout her 14 years of competing, Touve has been working hard to better herself on the soccer field and in the water.
Touve is a part of Herndon United ’99 Soccer Club, which most recently won the Women and Girls in Soccer, NSCAA Los Angeles College Showcase, Disney Soccer Showcase and Bethesda Premier Cup tournaments. Herndon United ‘99 is also a three-time Virginia State Cup finalist. The future Bridgewater goalie was also chosen to represent WAGS on an all-star team that traveled to England this past year.
As a swimmer, Touve has qualified for the Junior Olympics several times over many years and competed in the VHSL 5A State championship all four years of high school.
“My favorite part of competing in sports is the relationships you can form,” Touve said. “Most of my closest friends have come from bonds we form while competing. I also enjoy getting to travel to so many new places with my teammates. I am also an extremely competitive person and I hate losing, so any time my team loses, or I don’t get a best time, or make a mistake in a game, I immediately focus on making sure that never happens again.”
Touve has stayed focused and motivated in both swimming and soccer. The soon to be Bridgewater Eagle says that she is always looking up to people who have more experience than her and tries to learn as much as she can from them.
“Coach Jessica Fry was my swim coach for many years during morning practices and has been my most influential swim coach,” Touve said. “She would always make sure that everyone was working hard and would also let you know if she thought you were slacking off. She always pushed me to do my best and made sure all of my techniques were there.
“For soccer, the coach who has influenced me the most was Chris Torres, my goalkeeper trainer. Even with a full-time job outside of coaching, he still puts so much time and energy into making sure we get the best training, and I can’t thank him enough for that. I wouldn’t be where I am today without all of his help.”
Led by head coach Gwynn Harrison, the Division III Eagles swim team placed third at the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship in 2018. The Eagles’ women’s soccer team enjoyed similar success this year under head coach Mike Van Horn, who led Bridgewater to a 16-5-1 fall, including a trip to the ODAC tournament championship.
“I hope to bring a sense of leadership to both teams,” Touve said. “I also hope to bring a lot of intensity because I’m very competitive, and I always want to win. Playing two sports in college is going to be a very different college experience than most, but I am looking forward to continuing to challenge myself.”
