DURHAM, N.C.– Growing up in the sports-centric town of Chapel Hill, Mia Oliaro was initially immersed in a completely different athletic world. Her first introduction to competitive sports wasn’t through soccer, but rather in the swimming pool, where she learned the discipline of training and endurance.
However, at the age of three, a simple moment would change her future forever—when her father, a soccer coach at their local YMCA, handed her a ball.
Inspired by her mother, a former college basketball player, Oliaro delved into a diverse range of sports, establishing herself as a genuine multi-sport athlete. Basketball, lacrosse, swimming, and soccer took up a majority of Oliaro’s time growing up.
But by middle school, Oliaro’s soccer talent was undeniable, and she began to commit more fully to the game. Her sharp technical ability, paired with her athleticism and versatility, caught the attention early on, and by the time she entered high school, she was already on the radar of top collegiate programs.
“My parents both played sports in college and a lot of the people that I was around also played sports in college and a lot of my babysitters happened to be collegiate athletes. For me, it wasn’t a question as to whether would I play in college. It was, what would I play in college?” Oliaro explained.
Yet, despite her fast rise, Oliaro remained grounded, fueled by a deep love for the game, the support of her family, and the lessons imparted by a legendary mentor and familiar face: Carla Overbeck.
Overbeck, a World Cup-winning icon and long-standing pillar of U.S. women’s soccer as well as longtime Duke women’s soccer assistant coach, has been a part of Oliaro’s soccer journey since her youth. What started as a chance encounter, quickly blossomed into a relationship that would shape Oliaro both as a player and as a person.
Overbeck first spotted Oliaro’s potential while coaching her at local club, Triangle United, at around age 14 and ever since, the soccer legend has had a guiding hand in her development. Overbeck’s daughter, Carson, was on the team and was able to talk Oliaro into joining.
From a young age, coaches such as Overbeck saw Oliaro’s talent, which allowed her to play up nearly two years above her age…
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