KENTWOOD, Mich. — From West Michigan to the Women's World Cup, Riley Tanner is living every young soccer player's dream right now.
Tanner, 23, was born in Grand Rapids and started her high school career at East Kentwood High School.
John Conlon, her coach at that time, said he knew Tanner was going to be a special player since the first time he saw her touch a soccer ball at just five years old.
"She came to her sisters' practices and was always playing around the ball, dribbling all over the place," he said. "You could tell she was pretty rambunctious. She wanted to hop in the practices even though the kids were like five, six years older than her. So we, you know, told her parents— probably time to start having her play club. You could just tell, at a young age, she loved the game."
He added, "she's left-footed, and probably the one of the best dribblers I've ever seen in this area. Even at like five and six, the ball was stuck to her foot. You could just tell there was something different there."
During her freshman year at East Kentwood, Tanner was named first team all-state and helped lead the Falcons to the state semifinals in 2015.
Tanner remained a student at East Kentwood until she graduated in 2018. However, by the time she was a sophomore, Tanner transitioned away from high school soccer to play at the club level for the Michigan Hawks and Midwest United.
Now, she's making her debut in the Women's World Cup. Despite growing up in West Michigan, Tanner is playing for Panama since her mother, Bellatriz, was born in Panama City.
Not only is Tanner making history in her own career, but she helped lead Panama to its first appearance in the Women's World Cup.
However, it's nearly impossible for Tanner and Panama to get out of the group stage, after losing 4-0 to Brazil and 1-0 to Jamaica.
Conlon, who said he hasn't missed a single second of Panama's matches so far, said despite the results, it's been a blessing to watch Tanner compete at that level.
"I wish, as a player, I could have played in the World Cup," he said. "I mean, that's something that every kid dreams of. Finally, we have a player who's doing it. I think you're gonna see more of this community playing in the World Cup, for the men and women, in the next 20 years.”
Barring a miracle, Panama's final game in the 2023 Women's World Cup will be Wednesday, Aug. 2 at 6 a.m. against France on FOX.