RALEIGH, N.C. — The N.C. Courage are coming off a successful 2023 season, but as the veterans age and run out the years on their contracts, the team is focusing on attracting younger talent. That includes 18-year-old midfielder Riley Jackson, who will make her professional debut with the Courage this season.
Jackson, who turned 18 in December, signed with the Courage in July when she was 17. She isn't done with high school yet, but that isn't stopping her from trying to become one of the best young players in the league. Being the youngest player on the Courage, Jackson doesn't feel pressure to immediately contribute to a talented team led by head coach Sean Nahas. She knows if she plays her game, she'll be successful.
"First of all, pressure is a privilege for me, to be in such a competitive environment is really awesome for me," Jackson said. "I think just impacting the team by being my best and trying to make the people around me better."
She was a co-captain of the under-17 U.S. World Cup team and is expected to be a star in the National Women's Soccer League as it looks to keep homegrown talent the country, rather than seeing them go to play in Europe.
Jackson is signed to a multi-year deal with the Courage through 2025, with an option to play in 2026.
She has been a leader on previous teams she's played on, but now she's going to be following the lead of others. She will have to learn what it means to be a member of the Courage and how to play their style of soccer.
"I just like to ask them as many questions as possible," Jackson said when asked how she can best learn this season. "Just asking them where to be on the field and what's the best option for them as a midfielder. But I think the most important thing is just to enjoy it."
Soccer has been a constant in Jackson's life, and her dad has been one of her biggest supporters. He coached many of her youth teams growing up, teaching her about the game. When she wasn't playing soccer, she was watching Liverpool in the English Premier League or looking up to the stars of the NWSL.
As a young teenager, she looked up to international stars like Ireland's Denise O'Sullivan. Now, Jackson finds herself playing on the same pitch as the talented midfielder.
"I don't think she realizes she's such a big role model for me and my game," Jackson said. "Especially in the women's game, it's really really fun. I was kind of fan-girlie at first, but I've settled in a little bit."
The NWSL knows that if it wants to keep growing the game and finding new fans, it needs to keep Jackson and other young stars dreaming of playing for the league.
In the first eight years of the NWSL, only five teenagers received minutes in official games. In 2023, that number grew, with seven players aged 15 to 19 finding playing time in the regular season or Challenge Cup.
The NWSL felt early on that it needed to protect young players at crucial points of their lives when development was common in minors. But young players like Olivia Moultrie sued the NWSL in summer 2021, saying that if she was good enough to play in the league, she was old enough. Before 2021, a player had to be 18 or older to sign with a club in the NWSL. It's a rule that doesn't exist in most European countries where soccer is a major part of popular culture.
Jackson is from Roswell, Georgia, and competed for Concorde Fire SC in the Elite Clubs National League and was named 2021-22 Gatorade National Girls Soccer Player of the Year as a sophomore at Blessed Trinity High School.