Seattle Sounders

The third game I went to was Seattle Sounders FC vs. Orlando City FC. Going into this game, I knew I felt a lot more confident with my cold approaches and interviews because I basically had a script memorized that was pretty effective. This made the interviews I conducted go a lot more smoothly and I was able to get the point a lot quicker.

This allowed for conversations that felt a lot more intimate and personal. Specifically, there was one conversation that really stuck with me. Jenna was a lady I spoke to who was at the game with her husband. Jenna and I both grew up playing soccer our whole lives and we even both supported the same European soccer club. Jenna played D1 soccer in college and was on the path to playing soccer professionally. However, during her junior year, she had a career-ending injury when she tore her ACL and meniscus. She began to share that this was one of the darkest times in her life because she felt like her entire life plan had been thrown out the door over the span of one soccer match. She explained that she was able to get through this rough patch by leaning on her friends, family, and coaches. Jenna eventually healed and she still stays involved with soccer in any way that she can.

My conversation with Jenna left me feeling a little sad because I couldn't imagine how painful it would be to get so close to achieving your goal of playing professionally and falling short due to something out of your control. When I was reflecting on this game and conversation, I began to think about some of the rough patches I have been through during my life. Most didn't come close to what I imagine Jenna experienced but I picked up on a pattern. 

Every time I have gone through a rough patch in my life, playing soccer has helped me get through it. Sometimes just seeing my friends at practices helped cheer me up. Other times, practicing alone gave me time to destress from and reflect on whatever I was going through. 

Everyone copes with challenges in different ways but soccer has always been a healthy coping method that I've relied on. Further, I'm certain that soccer saved me from experiencing any serious consequences of stress and from turning to any unhealthy coping methods.