Katelyn Medeiros, the BAA and Bermuda Under-17 women’s midfielder, will take a step towards her goal of becoming a professional when she enrols at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, in August.

Madeiros is enrolling in the academy’s student-athlete residency programme and is looking forward to continuing her development and bolstering her chances of fulfilling her goals.

“When I grow up, I want to be a women’s professional football player, and my experience from travelling and playing with the under-17 Bermuda team has made me see the level of football from other countries,” Medeiros said. “I want to be better than them and I think IMG will be a great starting point to get me to the next level.”

The IMG Academy, the former home to the United States Under-16 and Under-17 men’s teams, offers student-athletes the opportunity to train in a professional environment, with a typical day consisting of academic classes in the morning followed by sports training in the afternoon. The 13-year-old Medeiros is no stranger to the facilities and staff at the academy.

“Throughout the years I have been to IMG and attended their camp and I thought it was the perfect place for me,” she said. “The campus and coaching staff are absolutely incredible and I’m really excited about going. I will get so much exposure to tournaments, coaches and college scouts.”

Medeiros started playing football at the Bermuda High School’s Saturday Fun Soccer programme and has also had playing stints at Valencia/ABC Football School.

She was among a group of BAA players that took part in a youth camp at the World Sport Academy in Barcelona a few years ago and more recently played an integral role in helping Bermuda qualify for the Concacaf Women’s Under-17 Championship for the first time.

Bermuda finished bottom of group B after losing all of their matches against Canada, the United States and Costa Rica.

Nicaragua was the original host nation before the tournament was moved to the IMG Academy Stadium because of civil unrest in the Central American country.

Medeiros was among the Bermuda squad that travelled to Nicaragua but was ruled out of her team’s matches against the US and Costa Rica because of school commitments.