From her early childhood years in San Diego, Melanie Barcenas quickly found the one activity that would become her wave of happiness later in life.
This past NWSL season, the San Diego native became the youngest player to ever debut in the National Women’s Soccer League at 15 and 177 days, and the first-ever youth local player to be signed in the league’s history.
In conversation with ChulaVistaToday this week, Melanie shared that she recalls the permanent smile she carried as a kid every time she would get out and play with her friends, family, and teammates.
Throughout her childhood, Melanie had a base of support that played a pivotal role in her evolution as a soccer player, mainly through the teachings of her father and uncle, who became her trainers early in her young career.
Looking back to her soccer beginnings, the training contribution from her father and uncle is something she considers an advantage and a key to her development as a player and the player she is today.
“My dad has always trained me since I was a kid,” Melanie told ChulaVistaToday. “He’s played a big role in my soccer success since the days when he coached my futsal team. Back then, I would be the last one to leave practices, and I would train even on the weekends. The advantage of having him[father] as a manager was leverage I had, which kept me going with my development.”
Melanie’s quick development as a soccer player became so evident that boys would find it threatening growing up. Her father, Carlos, recalls one particular day when she competed with boys in Southern California. He experienced a very concerning moment as a parent when he saw a young boy get in Melanie’s face after being consistently outplayed by her.
Barcenas’ introduction to club-level soccer came when she joined Albion Soccer Club here in San Diego. As she evolved into an outstanding youth player, she took her talents to the San Diego Surf, the oldest competitive youth soccer club in San Diego.
While competing with the San Diego Surf, Barcenas was part of the academy’s under-8 squad that won the Albion Cup National Soccer Showcase in July 2014. The girls team went undefeated throughout that weekend’s San Diego tournament(July 18-21).
A few years later, she became part of the Surf’s under-12 team that emerged victorious in the 2019 Far West Presidents Cup hosted in Riverside County, California. Barcenas scored a brace(two goals) in the championship match and concluded the tournament as that team’s top leading goal scorer.
Melanie’s evolution as a player wasn’t just influenced by the help she received from her relatives in person but also by what she witnessed through television. The Latina soccer player eventually discovered a fellow Latin superstar who influenced her love for the sport of soccer and the style of play that would eventually fabricate the characteristics she now displays on the field.
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, otherwise known as just Neymar Jr.
The Brazil superstar had entertained Melanie since playing for his Brazilian club, before he eventually went on to play for Barcelona in Spain.
“I remember Neymar since he was at Santos,” she said. “My dad would show me Neymar highlights from when he was still playing in Brazil, and it was fun to watch. And then when he went on to play for Barcelona, he played amazing alongside Leo Messi and Luis Suarez in that special offensive connection. He was unpredictable and creative.”
The now 16-year-old says she always intended to replicate Neymar’s way of playing soccer due to his immense abilities on the pitch. This inspiration would then become the kind of style that she consistently aimed for, and that would also catch the attention of the San Diego Wave.
One year before debuting professionally, Melanie was part of the practice squad that would train with the San Diego Wave throughout the season. During this time, the ambitious San Diego native felt that she could be part of the team sooner than later due to how confident she felt about her practice performances.
And then the day came. The day that would not only reshape her future but also mark history in the country’s professional women’s league.
Melanie recalls one day, she was training at the team’s facilities. It began like any other training day but ended like no other.
She was scheduled to visit the team’s office after one of the training days, though she wasn’t quite aware of how it would unfold. As she’s sitting there at just 15 years old, she receives word that the team is interested in signing her to a professional contract. Leading up to that particular day, for her, it wasn’t a matter of “if” but rather “when.”
Although she was confident she could potentially land a spot on the roster at some point in the future, she quickly learned that the “when” was happening within the following days.
“They told me, ‘the Wave is interested in signing you… and signing you now’ within the next few days,” Melanie told ChulaVistaToday.
A few days later, on March 21, 2023, she became the first homegrown player to sign a professional contract with a National Women’s Soccer League team.
Over a month after signing her first professional contract with the Wave, the second most important day of her career occurred. The San Diego Wave hosted the Orlando Pride in a home match, which they ended up losing by a score of 3-1. However, over 20 minutes into the second half of that match, Melanie finally made her professional debut when she was a substitute in the 72nd minute of the match.
It was a life-changing experience for Melanie but a nerve-wracking moment for her father, Carlos Barcenas, who was about to witness his daughter make her professional debut at age 15. The nerves were so tense for her father that he confessed he missed the minutes leading up to her substitution.
“I told my relatives that I’ll be back because I had to go puke,” Carlos Barcenas confessed to ChulaVistaToday. “By the time I had gone to do that, she had already walked up to get subbed in. As her father, I’ve handled those moments with a lot of nerves.”
Her debut match this past April wasn’t the first time Melanie stepped foot on a professional field for the first time. Nearly six years before her debut, Melanie had accompanied the Brazilian and United States women’s national team onto the field before a match at Qualcomm Stadium in July of 2017. Barcenas was 10 years old when that special moment happened, and she couldn’t resist asking one of her soccer idols, Alex Morgan, for a jersey once the match concluded, which Alex Morgan gave her. Six years later, in the same city where that particular moment happened, they are now club teammates with the San Diego Wave.
Having just wrapped up her debut season with the Wave, Barcenas is only getting started in her hometown journey as a professional. As appreciative as she is for having signed her first professional contract and then made her pro debut, she is ready to take it to the next level. The now-16-year-old says the objective is now to gain a more significant role within the team and continue to contribute to the momentum of her hometown club.
“I want to compete more in training so that i can get more minutes,” Melanie told ChulaVistaToday. “ I got my first assist already when I assisted Amirah Ali for a goal this season, so I would also like to get my first goal as a professional player.”
As for the love she has for her hometown of San Diego, Melanie says her favorite places in this city are 664 TJ Birrieria for Mexican food and Belmont Park, where she has always loved spending quality time with her friends and family.