Former Rockford-area soccer star living out her dream while playing in Greece
McKaela Schmelzer, the former Harlem multisport star who went on to become a two-sport standout at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is showing off her skills overseas these days.
But just on the soccer pitch.
More: Rockford sportsA league of their own: Rockford has top-level women's basketball league
Schmelzer, who is currently living just outside of Athens, Greece, is not too far off from having to make another big decision about her future.
How she got there
Schmelzer, who was a year-round star while at Harlem, played four seasons of soccer at UW-Milwaukee, winning a Horizon League championship in 2018 and 2019.
She also played basketball those four years, and went on to play two more seasons of hoops, getting the extra years because of a red-shirt freshman season and with the extra season added on due to COVID-19. She was one of three UW-Milwaukee players to start all 30 games in her final campaign, in 2021-22.
That's when her life as a professional soccer player kicked in.
The first big adventure
When she finished up college, she signed a deal and moved to Peristeri, Greece, a suburb of Athens, in mid-September of 2022. The Super League of Greek Football kicked off its season six weeks later, with Schmelzer playing center-midfield for her team, the Atromitos.
"I'm really getting to live out my dream, and that's the biggest thing," Schmelzer said. "I don't really know what will be next in my life, and my career, but I'm making the most of this one."
Schmelzer and her squad have gotten off to solid starts and were tied for the league lead in the standings at 6-0-1 after the first half of the season. Schmelzer had seven goals and seven assists headed into Sunday's game which kickstarts the second half of the season. The team was bumped down to the second category (or division) just before the season, however, and now they must win the league handily to upgrade to the top level next season.
"That's been kind of tough, because the competition hasn't always been what I was hoping for," said Schmelzer, who was a part of 15-0 victory earlier this season. They also tied a team from Crete 1-all last week. "It's up and down, but you just have to play your game, and get better when you can."
Will she stay in Greece?
Schmelzer hasn't decided yet whether she will return to Greece for the next season, but she did admit she has other options out there. She said there's even been interest from a team in Portugal.
In May, when the Super League wraps up, she will return to her home in Loves Park, and then decide her future from there.
"No matter what, I've accomplished a lot, and I'm so thankful for everything that I have in front of me right now," Schmelzer said. "But I do want more. I do know I can play with tougher competition. And I think my chances will come."
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on Twitter at @JayTaft. Sign up for the Rockford High School newsletter at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a wide variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears to youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star, and for over 30 years all together.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Former Rockford-area star McKaela Schmelzer playing in Greece
