Austin FC

The fourth game I attended was Austin FC vs. Sporting Kansas City FC. The fans at this game were all very friendly and were eager to share their journeys with me. This was great because I finally got to speak to a few older people who had gone through all sorts of life experiences. These conversations were quite funny because I think these older people were just happy to share life stories with me and didn't necessarily care about the intentions I had for my project. 

Regardless, I still found the conversations to be really insightful. Jimmy was one of the older guys I spoke to and he was at the game with his wife. Jimmy played soccer during all of his adolescence. He mostly just told me his life story but I was able to pull him back to soccer most of the time. For example, when telling me about his time in college I would ask questions like, "Do you think the discipline you developed from playing soccer helped you get through that?" 

One story he shared was about the time he began his own start-up company. His company sold biotech software to other companies. He shared many stories like when they almost went bankrupt, how he had to fire people, and how he eventually sold the company. He explained how the leadership skills he developed from being a captain on his soccer teams were crucial for being a successful CEO at his company. 

Although I don't have nearly as much life experience as Jimmy and I'm definitely not the CEO of a tech start-up, I was still able to relate to his life experiences. I related in the sense that the morals, skills, and values that I developed in soccer have also been transferable to other areas of my life. 

For example, I have soccer to thank for my time management skills. The years of having to balance club soccer, high school soccer, school work, and extracurriculars have really helped now that I live alone in college. 

The discipline that I developed from years of going to practices even when I was injured or had a lot of schoolwork to do, has helped me stay consistent with my gym routines. This has also applied to any time that I don't have the motivation to do schoolwork. In general, this discipline has helped me get things done even when I don't want to.