Texas defender Breana Thompson joined 5wins to talk about how growing up playing soccer in the Dallas area shaped her as a player. Thompson and the Longhorns are preparing for the NCAA tournament to begin on November 15.

The following conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.

5wins: What's your first memory of soccer?

BT: I started playing soccer when I was four, and my mom was the coach of my team. We were the strikers, and we were pink. I remember we would always go to the store, and we would have a goodie bag, so if you worked really hard at practice, you could pick one prize out of the goodie bag. I would always go with my mom to get the prizes and pick the things I wanted to put in the goodie bag. If it was something that I wanted, I would say, "Mom, you have to pick me as the hardest worker today so I can get the prize," but she never did. But it's okay; I built my character. 

5wins: As you got further and further into soccer, who were those first mentors that you looked up to or were really impressed by?

BT: Just like any typical player, I looked up to the Women's National Team, like Alex Morgan; she was always one of my heroes as a kid. And Christen Press. All the girls here are now retiring, which is really sad. Then, as I got a bit older, I started to watch men's soccer more, and so it was just a bunch of different people.

5wins: Were there any older players on your club or high school teams that really took care of you and brought you to this level?

BT: In high school, there was a league called Development Academy. In the beginning, a lot of the girls on the Texas team were all from Dallas. And so we all played together through club. One of the older girls at the club is Lauren Lapomarda. She's a fifth year at Texas right now.

We play the same position, and seeing how much of a hard worker she is encourages me. One of the younger girls that I played with was Jayden Shaw. She's on the national team now, and she's killing it. Even being younger than me, her work ethic made her always someone I admired to work with or train with.

5wins: Is it really enjoyable to come up and then end up at UT together?

BT: I committed to UT really early. I committed my freshman year of high school, which is crazy looking back. But a lot of the girls that are here now also committed around that same time. I knew I would be here with Lauren and other girls that I've played with and looked up to, like Trinity Byers and Lexi Missimo.

5wins: What do you think it is about Dallas that allowed this group to play together then and now?

BT: Dallas had three really good clubs. It was Dallas Texans, Solar, and FC Dallas. Growing up, it was always a competition for which team was the best in Dallas, and Lexi's [Missimo] dad was actually our coach at Solar.

I've never had an easy coach. I've always had someone really hard on me. I think that sums up a lot of the Dallas coaches. That experience coming into college has made that transition easier because we've already had the worst of it growing up. It built us and prepared us for the college life. I think that no matter what club you're at it was just a really good environment to be in.

5wins: Is there a favorite game or favorite memory you have when those three Dallas clubs were fighting for supremacy in the area?

BT: In eighth grade, back when I played for the Dallas Texans. I started on Texans, went to Solar, and then I went back to Texans at the end of high school.

Solar was always the team to beat. One Saturday morning, we played them at Southern Methodist University. It was our first game at a stadium, and I remember it was packed. We played such a good game; everything good that could have happened happened.

5wins: You said that the transition into college was easier because you had played at such a high level. What was that transition like?

BT: Things were really competitive in high school and in club; you're the best of the best on your team. You played the whole game, and you never got subbed. Then I came into college, and I wasn't a starter. I played here and there, which is so different from playing consistently; I never sat down and never saw the bench growing up. It definitely took a lot for me to take a step back and be like, okay, who am I outside of just soccer? And so I think that helped my growth.

5wins: Do you consider yourself a leader on this team or with this group?

BT: I would say a year ago, probably not, but I think coming into the upperclassmen role and the position that I'm in now, like playing a new position and really taking that role on, I think I definitely have become a leader. We have so many freshmen on the team, and they're so curious and like asking questions. I feel comfortable, and I love helping them out and just showing them the ropes because I've been there.