No matter when they were first introduced to what Kelsey Barr could do on a soccer field, it made an impression.

Chapel Hill athletics director Jennifer Baggett saw Barr as a freshman. “That girl’s going to play in the Olympics one day — that was my first thought,” she recalled.

Joy Paradise, Barr’s mother, saw her little girl doing bicycle kicks in the backyard at the tender age of 7, well before she ever graced an Olympic Development Program roster, and she knew.

But she never suspected that those gifts would lead to the scholarship at South Carolina that she signed Thursday. “Never in a million years,” her mother said. “We didn’t even look at sports as a way to pay for college.”

Barr started playing because it was an excuse to tag along with her older brother Jason. He soon drifted toward musical interests, but little sister was hooked.

Likewise, when Barr first visited South Carolina in September 2008, she was hooked. Until then, she’d assumed that Alabama would beat out Georgia, Miami and Ole Miss for her services.

“It was an instantaneous, gut feeling,” Barr said. “The more I hung out with the girls, it was like a family. ... They were very welcoming. There were no barriers. It was like they legitimately wanted you to go there.”

What made Barr attractive to colleges was her all-star status as both student and athlete.

A 4.0 student, Barr put her decision in terms that might make her advanced-placement Economics teacher proud. The teacher, Kristen Johnson, had told Barr, “When you get famous, give me a shout out,” and she couldn’t pass up the chance.

“It’s like opportunity costs,” Barr said. “You’re giving up the next-best alternative for the one you’ve chosen. So your choice needs to be the best one for you, not for someone else.”

Coach Shelley Smith helped make the Gamecocks best for Barr, who hopes to major in business or marketing and then perhaps play professionally. Smith’s manner of constructive criticism fit Barr’s taste.

“I didn’t want somebody screaming for nothing,” Barr said.

Her family supported her decision. “They said go where you want and that was important. My mom said, ‘You can’t always play soccer, but you can always be stupid. So go somewhere where you can get an education.’ ”

South Carolina, which went 19-4-1 last season, was the last SEC team standing when a last-second Wake Forest goal knocked it out of the NCAA Tournament’s round of 16. Barr relishes the chance to earn a spot on a national contender.

“There are 10 other recruits, so it’s going to be very competitive, but I want to earn my spot on the field,” she said. “You have to show you want it. It’s a lot faster. You have to be able to keep up.”

Barr expects to play defense at South Carolina, but her versatility — a hallmark of all the years she’s played the game — would allow her to play almost any position.

“Her first coach said she was a natural goalkeeper,” her father, Scott Barr, said.

“You could tell she was going to be an athlete,” her mother said. “Kelsey was out there with older girls and she was commanding the field. She seemed to naturally know what to do to make other players look good, not just herself.”

Andy Thompson, her coach with the AFC Lightning ’92 club team for three years, is convinced she can do it, if work ethic makes a difference.

“The main thing that stands out about her is her athleticism,” he said. “She’s very motivated, very hard-working. She encapsulates what a good student-athlete is.”