When Brookhaven student Malia Ramdhanny stood on the field at the 2016 Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football tournament, she said was terrified. As she stood in her vibrant green and yellow jersey all eyes were on her and the opposing team’s goalie 12 yards away. If Ramdhanny scored this penalty kick she would be the game’s tiebreaker. She took a step back before launching the ball straight down the middle of the net under the crossbar. 

Ramdhanny was invited to play for the women’s national football team in her home country, Grenada, located in the Caribbean. “I was about 10 years younger than the youngest player there and was really nervous to play,” she said. 

The night before the game she said she felt anxious as she remembered the age difference between her and her teammates. “I reminded her about her hard work, skill, abilities and passion for playing and to just give it her best as usual,” MitSukha Ramdhanny, Malia’s mother said. In September 2021 she returned to her roots when she returned to Grenada to play in the CONCACAF qualifying game against Belize, where she was named top midfielder.

THE JOURNEY 

She originally fell in love with the Sport at age 4 and began to dream about the chance to play professionally one day. Through her journey, she played for various teams such as the Girls’ Under-15, Women’s Under-17 and Under-20 teams as well as the Senior Grenada Women’s national team. 

In 2014, she and her family moved to Texas in hopes of finding new opportunities. “I believe in Malia’s ability to achieve the goals she goes after,” MitSukha said. “Her father and I and our extended family have been 100% supportive of her playing soccer. I love her so much.”

Before landing a spot on the Brookhaven Women’s Soccer Team she played for Hebron High School. Over the years she has faced various obstacles. One of the biggest she says was an injury she sustained when playing in High school.

The injury was a major setback for her and affected her ability to play, but she said she pushed through. 

Malia said one of the biggest setbacks she is still working on is her perfectionism. “I get really hard on myself for making mistakes and not being good enough,” Malia said. 

TEAM PLAYER 

Robert Williams, the assistant coach of women’s soccer at Brookhaven Campus, describes Malia as a teacher on the field. “I would call her maestro because of her soccer intelligence on the field,” Williams said. “She makes things happen.” 

The work of a midfield maestro requires sacrifice and practice. Before her peers and soccer coaches arrive on scene for practice Malia arrives early to work on her shooting and agility. Despite seeing so much success on her own, Malia said one of her favorite aspects of playing Soccer is collaborating with her teammates who she considered her second family. “It’s empowering to be a part of a team,” Malia said. “You get to come together to compete and hold each other to a higher standard.” 

FUTURE GOALS 

Malia is excited for what her future holds and wants to continue working toward her ultimate dream of playing professionally. She said if she could, she would tell the 11-year-old version of herself, who stood nervously on the field, to keep following her dreams. “They’ve led me this far already,” Malia said.