It’s been a long road for LSU junior forward Summer Clarke.
Clarke grew up more than 2,700 miles away from Baton Rouge in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Entering her third season at LSU, SHE is one of the Tigers’ most decorated players and a key factor to the veteran team’s attempt to reach its first NCAA tournament since 2011.
She became fascinated by soccer at a young age, she said. Her father, Clive, was very passionate about the game and always pushed Summer and her older brother, Caleb, to play as soon as they were old enough.
Clive coached both Caleb and Summer throughout their childhoods. Caleb now plays professionally for the
Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club and is a member of the Canadian Men’s National Team.
Summer remembers watching her father and brother kick the ball around as a young child and she said it looked fun. By the time she was 11, she was lighting up the local youth girls leagues, and her dad thought she needed stronger competition to improve her game.
Summer began practicing with her brother’s metro-league team, an experience she said was critical in her development, even at such a young age.
“That had the biggest impact on me as a player,” Clarke said. “When you’re a girl, the competition is limited, but playing with boys is intense. The competition is tougher, and the game is a lot faster.”
At 16, Summer was excelling in international play and garnering looks from recruiters, but they were not without doubts.
“It was crazy,” she said. “It was something I never thought I would do. They always told me I was too small. I was skilfull enough, but I wasn’t big or strong enough and couldn’t make it at that level.”
She proved the scouts wrong and immediately made a name for herself after she was invited to join the U-17 Canadian Women’s National Team. She led the team in scoring for the 2012 season and led them to the quarterfinals of the U-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan.
Summer caught the eye of LSU coach Brian Lee and his coaching staff with her performance on the Canadian team.
Although she had other offers in the U.S., Summer chose LSU because of how hard they recruited her. She said the turning point of her recruitment was when Lee and a few other members of the coaching staff paid her an unexpected visit and had dinner with her and her family.
“The coaches were a huge factor,” Summer said. “They would come to the camps and always stay in touch. No other [coaching staff] was that forward in my recruitment. I knew they must have had big goals for me, and I just felt really comfortable with them.”
She carried her momentum from the World Cup into her freshman season at LSU, leading the Tigers in goals and receiving Southeastern Conference All-Freshman and second-team All-SEC honors. She followed with an efficient sophomore campaign, during which she scored seven goals, she also tied for the team lead in assists, with four.
Now in their second season together, Summer and fellow forward sophomore Jorian Baucom have formed one of the most feared forward combinations in the SEC.
Last season, they combined for 15 goals and eight assists. They already chipped in four goals and three assists just four games into the 2015 season, leading the unbeaten Tigers.
“She’s an incredible teammate,” Baucom said. “She’s probably one of the best players I’ve had the pleasure of competing with. She’s one of the hardest working players on the field and a world-class player in my eyes. We’re very close off the field, and I think that helps a lot on the field, so it’s important that we keep that connection.”
Summer has done everything asked of her since she arrived at LSU. Lee said the sky’s the limit for her and believes she can help lead his team back into SEC and national contention as an experienced upperclassmen.
“She’s unbelievably talented, but her growth as a person and a player each year has been really rewarding,” Lee said. “She’s everything we want in an LSU student-athlete, and we’re really proud of her.”