Naperville Central senior midfielder Liam Walsh is finishing his high school career back where it began.
The journey Walsh took to get there, however, went farther than most.
“He played his freshman and sophomore year here, JV1 both years,” Naperville Central coach Troy Adams said. “Then he went to Spain for a year. It was a combination of soccer and some cultural experience. That is a cool thing.”
Walsh left home for the first time in August 2025 to train and study in Malaga, a city on the southern coast of Spain. He returned in May as a changed person.
“Living in a foreign country presents its own sets of challenges, and I think he’s come back as a much more mature person,” Adams said. “That experience helps.
“You’re not on your own because you have people to supervise you, but you are on your own because you don’t have your parents. I think that’s helped him grow as a person. It’s definitely helped his maturity.”
The soft-spoken Walsh jumped at the chance to go overseas.
“My club coach helped me out with it,” he said. “I thought it would be a great opportunity to show more of what I can do. I had done the language since first grade, so I knew it pretty well. I can pretty much talk to people.”
In Spain, Walsh took online classes every day after practice and also had a two-hour Spanish course. While the academics were similar to what he would have done at home, the soccer portion was anything but.
“I played with a team in the sixth or seventh division,” Walsh said. “I played with their U-21 team, which was mostly 20-year-olds, and I started to train with the senior team for a bit.
“I think it’s helped me tremendously, playing against older players. With the senior team, there were people who are over 30.”
Adams said he has seen a difference in Walsh’s tactical and technical ability.
“Soccer-wise, I think he came back as a calmer player, much more comfortable when there are guys on him, than when he left at the end of his sophomore year to go there,” Adams said. “I think Spain also gave him a little bit of, ‘Ooh, we can do some fancy stuff.’ There’s times when that’s awesome. We just talked about, ‘OK, final third, let’s be creative and fancy. Middle and back third, let’s be safe.’
“Generally speaking, I think he’s done a much better job of it from the beginning of the season to now understanding what we want to do in situational soccer. That maturity I think has helped a lot with his teammates.”
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Senior goalkeeper Sean VanBaalen concurred.
“He’s always ready for every game,” VanBaalen said. “He tries to keep everyone locked in and ready for the next match.”
Walsh has also helped the Redhawks (8-4-2), who tied Marmion 2-2 at Memorial Stadium on Saturday, with his physical skills.
“It’s been great,” VanBaalen said. “He’s got a great through ball. He’s good at bringing the ball down, and he’s really good at not letting his man get through and get a shot at the goal.”
Walsh, whose father, Jeremy, starred in football at Naperville North and North Central College and mother, Kate, played volleyball at NCC, said living in Spain gave him a shot to gain necessary maturity.
“My guardian lived a few houses down, and I lived with my teammates,” he said. “We had our own cafeteria, but I had to do everything else for myself, like I did the laundry.
“It’s hard being away from family, but you’ve got to do that at some point anyway.”
While Walsh trained six days a week and played in all the U-21 games, he got to spend time at the beach on Sundays as well as travel to other parts of Spain for away matches.
Walsh hopes to help the Redhawks, who are seeded third in the Class 3A West Aurora Sectional, go far in the playoffs.
“He’s one of the seniors that help lead by example,” Adams said. “He works hard. He’s a positive kid. He tries to do the right thing.
“You’re going to make mistakes, but you’re making mistakes while you’re trying to do the right thing, and I think he does a very good job of trying to do the right thing.”
Spending a year in Spain was the right thing for Walsh, who recommends other players take advantage of similar opportunities.
“It’s a bigger test when you get there,” he said. “If you work hard enough, I think you’ve got it.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
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