VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — To Kamar Wilson, soccer is freeing.
“It doesn’t have to be with regulation fields and regulation goals. It can be anywhere. It can be in the park with shoes and other objects as goals,” he explained.
It brings the senior midfielder back to his childhood.
“There was always the desire to be outside and play outside as a kid so that’s always really been with me.”
So when Wilson got the chance to get involved with the Virginia Beach Active Transportation Committee, it was a no-brainer.
“An email was sent out through the school that invited students to be on some advisory committees. The one that stuck out to me was the Active Transportation Advisory Committee and I was like, ‘Man, I would love for Virginia Beach to be a more walkable city.’”
In the past year, Wilson has helped develop a plan for the long-awaited Virginia Beach Trail: a 12-mile-long, 10-foot-wide shared-use path.
“To run from Newtown Road to the Oceanfront and having a bike path to get there, that’s what I want. I want to have more access.”
Wilson has attended meetings with the committee once a month for the past year bringing his own fresh perspective.
“I wanted to provide my opinion of someone who has lived with cars and taking them to practice every day and what we can do to make a city more walkable.”
The city has gotten funding for phase one of the trail to get it started. Wilson's contributions helped earn him a full tuition scholarship to UVA through the Posse Foundation, a nonprofit organization that identifies potential young leaders.
“I’m really thankful for it and it was a lot of work with a lot of interviews but it's honestly just a blessing to have people see something in me.”
Wilson will also join the Cavaliers men’s soccer team. But first, he looks to bring a championship to Landstown in his final season.
“Landstown has never won a state title and knowing that would mean the world to bring that to Landstown. It would be phenomenal.”
But he when visits home from Charlottesville in the future, you know where to find him.
“Obviously when I come back when it's built however long it takes, I’m going to be on it for sure. Seeing people use it and seeing people ride along it would just make my heart explode. Even when I’m going to be in Charlottesville having that passion and pride of being from Virginia Beach is huge. I know wherever I go, my home and my roots are 757 Virginia Beach.”
