College of Marin Woman's Soccer player and Sir Francis Drake high graduate Grace Gurung already has an extensive soccer career and passport stamp collection for someone of her age.
The oldest of four children, Grace was born in Nepal, and moved to the United States until the age of seven. Grace "grew up around soccer, I watched my father play soccer with the village people when I was little." Despite her emersion in soccer from a young age, Grace wasn't immediately drawn to the game. "I wasn't into sports when I was younger," but "for some reason when I was in fourth grade I discovered that I really loved playing soccer."
At that point Grace was hooked and her skill and competitive spirit continued to grow. "In middle school I decided I wanted to play at a higher level. I played select soccer and then started playing for Central Marin and Marin FC in eighth grade."
Club soccer gave Grace the opportunity to not only improve her skills, but also to see the world. Grace traveled to Sweden and Denmark with her club team Marin FC. They competed in the Gothia Cup, the World Youth Cup, in Sweden and another youth tournament, the Dana Cup in Denmark.
After spending her first her on the Junior Varsity team, Grace lettered her final three years in high school as a member of the Varsity team at Drake High School. She graduated in the spring of 2013 with an eye on attending Chapman University. "Right before I was all set to go I found myself thinking I wouldn't' be happy. It wasn't right for me."
Instead of attending to college right away Grace took to traveling. "I took a year and a half off and went traveling, I went to China, Chinese Tibet, Nepal, India, Germany, France and Spain." Naturally Grace's globetrotting included a bit of soccer. "I went to a couple Barcelona games, we got really good seats right behind the bench, the players were right there."
After circling the globe, Grace opted to attend college of Marin the past spring. She didn't initially consider playing soccer, but after hearing the about team from a few people Grace decided to give it a shot this season. "The team this year is still in its beginning stages, we're still trying to get people to come out to play, but slowly it'll come together. I'm excited, I missed playing on a team."
The College of Marin Women's soccer team includes a number of new faces like Grace, but several returners like goalkeeper Patty Lindsay and forward Monica Vasquez. For Coach Chris King. "It's all about putting a team on the field, and then being competitive."
The first game of the season takes place at Skyline College on September 8th.