Her parents always said she started running the moment she learned how to crawl.
It was a sure sign that Alex Johnson was born to be an athlete.
And from the early age of four, she found her sport.
Soccer.
“Soccer is my main sport,” Johnson said. “All my time is focused there. It’s one of those sports that sticks with you. I continue to love it more and more.”
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Hands down, the Nixa soccer standout is dedicated.
So much that she earned a Class 4 All-State, first team honor from the Missouri High School Soccer Coaches Association in 2016.
And for good reason.
Johnson had a team-high 27 goals to go with 11 assists amid Nixa winning another district title.
Locked in a scoreless May game with Kickapoo in the 78th minute of the Class 4 District 10 championship, Daley Townsend found Johnson in the box.
Johnson did the rest.
This gave Nixa a chance to advance to state play for a fourth consecutive year.
Winning the state title is always the ultimate goal, but for the second year in a row, Lee’s Summit kept Nixa from going all the way to the title game.
Lee’s Summit defeated Nixa 3-1 and 2-1 in the 2016 and 2015 Class 4 quarterfinal rounds, respectively.
“Lee’s Summit is a very good team,” Johnson said. “They work great together and combine really well. Kansas City is a totally different atmosphere. It’s not as challenging here. We don’t have that level of play throughout our season.”
But Johnson knows what playing at that level feels like thanks to the Olympic Development Program, which she played through for two years.
ODP identifies a pool of players in each age group from which a National Team is selected for international competition. It also provides high-level training to benefit and enhance the development of players, which Johnson has experienced.
“A lot of the coaches talk to you about college experience and what it takes to be a college athlete,” Johnson said. I saw the level I needed to play at to be the best player I can be.”
For as long as she could, Johnson played her heart out.
That is, until she suffered from a hip labral tear the summer before her sophomore year.
Johnson underwent surgery and rehabilitation.
I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t do it. Why did this happen to me? I’ll never come back as strong as I was.’ But when I got into physical therapy, my hard work really paid off. I was determined to be at my peak and have the best year possible. You can still be the player you want to be if you work hard enough.
With that determination, Johnson was back on the field for a great sophomore season.
“It was really exciting to come back and do as well as I did,” Johnson said. “I was really blessed to have that happen. That was really tough because I’ve never taken a break from soccer. Year-round I was working hard to be able to play all year.”
Looking ahead, she’s sure the Lady Eagles will see another dream season in her final year at Nixa.
“I feel confident with the incoming freshmen,” Johnson said. “Nixa’s still going to be a very hard team to beat.”
Johnson said she hopes to be a leadership figure next season.
She explained, “We’ll get all the girls who made varsity together and the players decide who becomes captain.”
Johnson says her parents, Stephanie and John, have been very supportive during her soccer journey.
“They’ve been there throughout the entire way of seeing me cry and get excited about certain games. They helped me pinpoint what I want to do in college,” Johnson said.
She also has a sister, Chelsea, who is one year younger.
Johnson said she wants to play soccer in college and will start narrowing down her long list of them during her senior year, which starts in August.
Until then, she’ll be research which institution and soccer program would suit her best.
