""Everything was leading to this. She was born for this," her former Penn State University head coach Erica Dambach told BBC Sport. "Yes, it's happened young, but it hasn't happened without years of preparation to get into this environment. "Sometimes when it happens to young players, it comes on quickly and maybe they've got six months to deal with the emotions and the media training. Liv has been experiencing this stuff since she was 15 years old.""
""She's just a great kid, she's very down to earth. But we just hit it off really well. She's great, and the thing with Olivia is she just takes everything in her stride. "She's a kid at heart. She's human and I think from my perspective I tried to allow everyone to be themselves and she settled in really quickly.""
Olivia Smith is 21 years old and became the first seven-figure signing in women's football when Arsenal signed her in July. The transfer fee later was surpassed, but she retains the distinction of being the women's game's first seven-figure player. Smith began her international career at 15, becoming the youngest player to appear for Canada. She moved from Sporting CP to Liverpool for a reported £210,000 before joining Arsenal. Early exposure to media and high-level environments provided preparation for scrutiny and pressure. Observations from her time in the US and at club level emphasize her grounded personality and ability to settle quickly.
Read at www.bbc.com
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