Latest / The BIG LIFE / 🌟 Season finale and College Cup Weekend!! Sam and Jordyn reflect on their college sports transitions.

Transcript

🌟 Season finale and College Cup Weekend!! Sam and Jordyn reflect on their college sports transitions. · The BIG LIFE

0:00
Hey, Big Life listeners, we hope you are just as excited as we are for the end of playoff seasons.
0:05
And thanks to our sponsor, Plushable, they are ready to help us kick off today's
0:10
episode with our top three things of making the most of your offseason.
0:15
Our first tip is to get festive. I can't emphasize this enough.
0:19
Getting festive is one of my favorite parts of the fall and holiday season,
0:22
and I'm pretty sure I just felt the serotonin rushing back in my brain just
0:26
thinking about all of the cute holiday decor.
0:28
Tip number two, of course, is eating good.
0:32
I know it is officially pumpkin spice season, so why not embrace all the holiday
0:36
flavors and even try some things new?
0:38
Of course, Thanksgiving was fantastic and now we got a new holiday coming up,
0:43
but everyone knows the real treat is a fun Friendsgiving as well.
0:47
And our final and most important tip, get cozy. Light those false scented candles,
0:51
sip on that hot cocoa, and of course, take time to relax in your Snuggable.
0:55
Especially during these colder Michigan months, my Snuggable is a must-have.
0:58
And I'm very picky when it comes to what I care, a comfy bit that I can just lounge around in.
1:03
It has to fit a certain way, it has to feel a certain way, and I honestly don't
1:06
think I own any hoodies or blankets softer than the Snuggable.
1:09
It's a hoodie, blanket, and a little plushie all-in-one. They're so cute with
1:13
so many different designs, perfectly oversized, and just stretchy enough,
1:16
and of course, super soft.
1:18
Trust me when I say you need to snag one for yourself at plushable.com and to
1:22
be sure to use code THEBIGLIFE for 15% off your plushable goods.
1:26
As always, let's soccer on, but also make sure to take time to soccer off during this holiday season.
1:32
Hey, Big Life listeners, and welcome back to the season finale of The Big Life.
1:37
We got a lot to cover here, Jordan. I'm sure this episode will be all over the
1:42
place, so let's just start with a little news before we go into that.
1:45
The College Cup kicks off this weekend.
1:48
Games will be played on Friday, And then the national championship will be played on Monday.
1:52
We have an entirely ACC final four. So for the first time in history,
1:58
there are some crazy stats.
1:59
We only had two conferences represented in the elite eight between the ACC and two big 10 teams.
2:04
And now all four heading to the national championship or ACC.
2:08
And the crazier thing is the national championship and these games were played in North Carolina.
2:12
And there's three teams from the state of North Carolina in the final four.
2:15
So a lot of crazy storylines to follow this national championship season.
2:20
But Jordan, who do we think is going to win it all?
2:23
I think Duke. Duke's a no-brainer for me here. They, I think,
2:27
are one of the most talented teams that I've ever seen be put together.
2:31
Unfortunately, they're the ones that took us out of the tournament,
2:33
but as bittersweet as that was, I think they were the better team.
2:38
They were everywhere they needed to be. It felt like they had eyes in the back of their head.
2:42
The way they're able to bend the ball, I don't even know how they were able
2:46
to do some of these things.
2:47
Their services were spot on every time, dominant out of the air.
2:51
We had a great defense, a great goalie that kept us in the game for longer than
2:54
we probably should have been in it.
2:56
But I mean, they were just such a dominant team. One of the best teams I've seen be put together.
3:02
And with them being the number one overall seeded team in the NCAA right now,
3:06
I think they're a no-brainer to kind of take it away and win it.
3:08
But they should win. They're such a talented team.
3:11
Yeah, I would have to agree with you. So our two semifinals are being made up
3:14
of one of the sides is Duke versus North Carolina, and the other side is Stanford versus Wake Forest.
3:20
I think if I were to size that up right now with it
3:23
being home edge with it being in North Carolina I think
3:26
we're gonna have a Wake Forest versus Duke like national championship
3:29
game and Duke takes the cake as well so overall it's
3:32
it's gonna be interesting to see it play out I'll go you know just for the fun
3:37
of it I'll go Duke Stanford I think Stanford has a good shot against Wake Forest
3:41
but um I definitely think Duke comes out on top so yeah so much soccer to watch
3:46
I know I've absolutely loved watching this national championship in this NCAA tournament.
3:50
I think I probably enjoyed it more because I'm finally not playing in it.
3:53
So I have a little less of a personal take in it.
3:56
We've seen so many incredible story signs. Like I said, we saw the most ever
3:59
big 10 teams make the tournament in 10, nine teams and the big 10 went to the round of 32.
4:05
And then from there, I mean, we saw a great big 10 representation as well into the sweet 16.
4:10
It's kind of funny. You know, we haven't checked in with Jordan and I in two weeks.
4:14
We, you know, Jordan, I think, kind of called the UCLA loss with an Iowa-Virginia
4:19
Tech game in the Sweet 16.
4:21
So there was a couple upsets. I mean, of course, we know, number one,
4:24
Florida State is no longer in it after an incredible game played by Vanderbilt to knock them out.
4:30
And a couple other, I know, real shockers, I think, for a lot of people throughout
4:33
this tournament. I think it just shows the parody of college soccer and how
4:38
intense every game can be.
4:39
What's your kind of overall thoughts about this NCAA tournament so far, Joe?
4:43
Yeah yeah there were some I felt pretty good
4:46
with the bracket I put together I think I called a few of the upsets one
4:49
I don't think anyone saw coming with the Florida State upset though
4:52
I mean Vandy put together one
4:56
one hell of a game in order to take that away and just
4:59
really weather the storm I think watching it
5:02
Florida State was very dominant they had
5:05
the opportunities it was just not a lucky day for
5:08
them and I mean that was that was a
5:11
crazy game to watch and a crazy win so that was
5:14
one upset that was just you know as a soccer fan
5:17
it's kind of frustrating when the better team doesn't win on the day but being in
5:20
the tournament you know you're you're excited Florida State is a
5:23
powerhouse of a program and a team so that was that was
5:26
fun but overall I think I think it's a lot different than
5:30
last year where we had two very very dominant teams throughout the
5:33
entirety of NCAA play they had two unbeaten teams all the way to the finals
5:40
where this year you have a good mix of talent and teams and programs where everyone's
5:46
beatable and everyone has lost at some point this season and you're going into it.
5:50
And at the end of the day, I think you've seen it throughout the tournament
5:54
on any given day, especially when you play these good teams.
5:57
So a lot of it will depend on the scouting report and different niche aspects
6:01
because everyone's so talented as you go through this tournament.
6:04
We've seen that with a lot of the upsets.
6:06
No, I agree. You know, there's some heartbreaking storylines to like one game.
6:09
I know I watched really closely was USC versus SLU.
6:12
And, you know, I think everyone kind of thought USC would blow that out in the round of 32.
6:17
And that was a battle. I don't know that USC was expecting a game finished three,
6:20
three goes to overtime and they score in a PK.
6:23
I know one of the storylines, which is just absolutely heartbreaking because
6:26
I do know her personally is the SLU goalkeeper had played every single minute of her college career.
6:31
So like started as a freshman, this is her fifth year, but every single minute never got subbed out.
6:36
And in that game, she blew out her knee and tore everything in her knee.
6:40
And so she missed out on the last 20 minutes of her career.
6:43
So, I mean, absolutely devastating in some regards, but the storylines to follow,
6:48
I think that really just is what stays with me is there's so many good stories
6:51
when you pay attention to these teams, you know, of course you have Stanford
6:54
and we all remember the last time they were in the college cup.
6:56
You have, you know, North Carolina being on their first season after Anson Doran to step down.
7:01
And you have a couple other, you have Wake Forest that came out of nowhere to
7:04
really, you know, put up this battle and make their way into the College Cup.
7:08
So, and Duke who didn't even make the NCAA tournament last year.
7:11
And so incredible storylines out of this final four team and it's games I'm very excited to watch.
7:17
Yeah, absolutely. You mentioned the storylines and like the personal aspect too,
7:21
which is something with NIL exploding the
7:24
way it social media continuing to have the buzz women's
7:27
sports growing as a whole i'm excited for the potential
7:30
next year's where hopefully we can get some more of that like personal aspect
7:33
and cool stories like that where they can be you know amplified and shared
7:36
more as i get to just kind of sit back and be
7:39
a fan now that you know i'm out of out of eligibility here so we'll get into
7:43
that later but i think that's a huge part of this and we talked about throughout
7:47
the seasons this is our last episode to tie it all in like growing the sport
7:51
and what needs to be done i think like that's a story that while I'm hearing
7:54
it for you, I would have loved to have seen, you know,
7:57
amplified more and a bigger story and a bigger deal throughout,
7:59
throughout social media as we go throughout this process.
8:03
But yeah, I think this tournament too, one of the biggest takeaways I have,
8:07
no matter who wins this tournament is, you know, I saw an article the other
8:10
day about like, what's going to happen to non NIL driven programs,
8:14
you know, the non football programs that one example brought up was like Santa Clara.
8:19
Clearly an incredible soccer program has been dominant for
8:22
years but in the nil era how are they going to
8:25
be able to compete and you know we saw like i said only two conferences
8:28
were represented in the elite eight only one conference is represented in the
8:31
final four you know is this a shift we're going to see because of the nli era
8:36
and the way that things have shifted in like women soccer in college in general
8:39
and so i do think that it's going to be interesting to check over time but i
8:43
think right now we are seeing the first impact.
8:46
Of the new era of college athletics.
8:49
Oh, absolutely. It'll look so much different. I think you'll continue to have
8:52
realignment. The rules will continue to change. Things will be different. 28-person rosters.
8:57
And, you know, it's as heartbreaking as it is to see. I went through a little
9:01
bit of a rabbit hole last night.
9:03
Even within Michigan State, I'm watching people fight on Twitter because there's
9:07
not more transparency with what their money is going to in NIL.
9:12
And people are mad that it's going to non-revenue sports. They want it to be
9:15
going to football and basketball players. And we've done a great job.
9:19
We have Women of Sparta program, which I'm lucky enough to be a part of.
9:22
And we've done a great job of amplifying non-revenue sports and women in sports
9:26
and things of that nature at Michigan State thus far. But you're going to see that kind of growing.
9:30
And women's soccer, unfortunate as it is, we haven't had a Caitlin Clark effect
9:35
yet or anything like that. We are a non-revenue sport.
9:38
So a lot of these teams and all of us will depend on our football programs and
9:42
what they're able to do and accomplish and, you know, will be impacted by there.
9:46
So you'll definitely see a shift in some of these teams that we've known to
9:49
be dominant, not be dominant anymore or conference realignment.
9:52
And it's all going to be financially driven and from now on and a lot of it
9:56
relying on those football teams and programs.
9:58
So it'll be interesting to see how this all shapes out because it looks way
10:02
different from last year to this year and it will look way different from this
10:05
year to next year, I think. And that'll be true for the next few years.
10:08
So Jordan, obviously, we know Michigan State is not represented in the Final Four.
10:13
You know, the season has ended for you. Your college soccer career has ended.
10:17
I remember, obviously, you had an episode very similar to this last this time
10:21
last year. But how are you?
10:23
How has the last two weeks of processing been and kind of like run us through those last moments?
10:29
Yeah, part of me is glad I get to sit here now two weeks out and actually have
10:34
a bit of a brain on my shoulder.
10:36
As I go through this and have gone through it for two weeks now.
10:39
And the other part of me wishes like I would have recorded something last week
10:43
just to be like the change in emotions and experience.
10:46
I definitely think it's a grieving process.
10:50
You know, it is the death of something that meant so much to me,
10:52
which was my collegiate career, which was my time at Michigan State.
10:55
You know, we've talked about it so much.
10:58
And it's been such a roller coaster of emotions as you go through it.
11:03
I the biggest one being I'm just I'm devastated that
11:06
my time has come to an end and I'm devastated
11:09
in which the way it ended I I
11:14
was told you know by my you
11:16
know our coach came up to us and it was a way to kind of
11:19
motivate us a while ago but it's
11:22
something that is always kind of stuck in the back of my head that he said was
11:25
like your potential dies the day your career does it was a motivating factor
11:29
that take every moment you have now like don't put anything off like let's keep
11:36
going you know you don't want to you don't want to get to the end and feel like
11:39
you wasted it you don't want to wish you would have done something more something sooner.
11:45
But, you know, as that whistle blows, it's like I look back at my career and
11:50
I look back at my sophomore year specifically and just the potential I had.
11:54
I was the second Spartan to ever receive national recognition on our team.
11:59
I had seven goals that season coming in off the bench, five which being game winners.
12:04
I had gotten conference accolades and all this stuff.
12:07
And I had so much potential and I felt I could have been so good.
12:12
And my senior year was supposed to be this year and I look back
12:14
at it and one goal and one assist and
12:17
my senior year were as good as I ever was that's
12:21
as good as I ever was as a college soccer player and we've
12:25
talked about the decision for me to redshirt and not redshirt and as I go through
12:29
and I process that it's not necessarily one that I regret to play this season
12:34
it's hard to ever say that you know I've accomplished more than I ever dreamed
12:37
possible I'm playing in you know Big Ten Sweet 16 against Duke at Duke.
12:43
That's a dream come true that I get to be in that game and I get to play and
12:46
I get to play at Michigan State and we were the number one ranked team and all this stuff.
12:50
It's hard to ever say I'm going to regret that, but there is that aspect of
12:54
what if, knowing what I could have accomplished, what I was capable of,
12:58
and just the timing of my injury and getting back into it and all of that,
13:02
never really being able to get there this season.
13:05
And so I've had to come to peace with that a lot. I think that's been hard for
13:10
me to realize that it's really over. That's as good of a player as I ever was here.
13:16
And I think I'm in denial a lot because I'm still going to be here in the spring
13:20
with the teammate aspect of it.
13:22
Like I'm still and they haven't started practices yet. So I think that'll be
13:26
hard when everyone's going in training and I have nothing to do and I'm not
13:31
there. and they get kicked out of the group chats and, you know,
13:34
they have their spring ones.
13:35
And I think that'll be hard, but I haven't had to get through that because as
13:39
of right now, I'm still a part of everything because they're not training either
13:43
and everyone's going through finals and we're just all hanging out and having
13:46
a good time and enjoying it all.
13:49
So I think that'll be hard once it gets here.
13:53
But yeah, that final whistle blew and I was like, fine, fine, fine.
13:57
And then, you know, one of my friends, Mimi on the team, she comes up to me
14:00
and she's balling and gives me a hug and it just was like waterworks to the max you know and.
14:07
It's the, like, it's always sad when something, something's the end.
14:12
It's the actual final end. There's no coming back. There's no,
14:15
it wasn't my decision to leave. I ran out of eligibility.
14:19
Like, it's the end. I didn't get to make this choice.
14:22
It's forced upon you. Like, I have to leave. I'm done.
14:25
I will never be a Michigan State athlete again. And that's a hard thing to process.
14:31
I think I'm still going through it a lot.
14:33
I've had to come to terms with a lot of things. And also, as you go through
14:36
this reflection, like I've accomplished more than I ever dreamed possible.
14:38
I was supposed to go to school at a D3 program and play basketball and soccer.
14:43
My education paid for and move
14:44
on with my life. I was a left back until my senior year of high school.
14:47
And now I'm playing forward for Michigan State University, who when I committed
14:51
to, by the way, sucked. We were terrible.
14:53
We were not good at soccer. And in my four years here, we've been able to turn
14:58
a program around where we are competing in the NCAA tournament for the third
15:02
consecutive time, second time in a row in the Sweet 16. We won back-to-back Big Ten championships.
15:09
We did that. That was never supposed to happen.
15:12
We won games and we won important games and
15:15
we were able to get this
15:18
campus surrounding us in a way where you
15:21
have people getting kicked out of our games because we have too
15:24
many fans there for a women's soccer game we literally couldn't house
15:27
everyone they're climbing the softball stadium in order
15:30
to get to us to watch us you know from behind the
15:33
behind behind behind the stadium in order
15:36
to just get a glimpse or be a part of the environment they're
15:40
standing here in the freezing cold to watch a women's soccer game
15:42
at Michigan State you know so it's there's different
15:46
aspects to it there's things that I'm so proud of and so
15:49
grateful for and that the highs were so high and
15:52
the were so low and it's finding that
15:54
middle of like how you feel walking away from
15:58
it and it changes every day where I land within
16:01
that middle overall I'm just I'm grateful I'm grateful
16:04
for the opportunities I was given here I had a coaching staff
16:07
that when I started my career I was told I was number 20 on a 16 person cross
16:11
roster I was never supposed to to get to this spot they believed in me and they
16:16
were able to grow me into a player that even you know I'm saying I never was
16:21
able to get up to my full potential, but even at my low, I was still playing.
16:24
I was still playing at a great school, at a great level, at a great team.
16:29
You know, everyone took a lot of chances on me and they believed in me and I
16:32
was able to get here. And now it's a conversation of what's next.
16:37
And man, is that a loaded question?
16:42
Yeah that's fair that's fair I mean I think all of it's fair
16:44
and there is a grieving that comes with it like I
16:47
mean I think one place
16:50
is like where we're different is for me
16:53
I had to jump into what's next just because of the timing of things and everything's
16:58
like I remember my college career ended and a week later I was doing phone calls
17:02
with agents and I was you know talking to a team and doing stuff like that and
17:06
I think because you are in an unknown and you know you're staying at Michigan
17:10
State and finishing your degree,
17:11
it kind of like lengthens, you know, like I totally got by with distracting
17:14
myself and having to move on.
17:16
Also at this time last year, I don't know if you remember, I was getting married,
17:19
like some crazy life stuff was happening. So like I was distracted and that's how I dealt with it.
17:24
Whereas, you know, like just the situation you're in probably a little healthier
17:27
than me, like you're feeling the things and that's fantastic.
17:30
But I think anyone listening to this and that's listened to your journey over
17:34
the last couple of years, it's simply like you've just listed like all the amazing
17:38
things that like you have to be proud of.
17:40
And of course it's sad. And I won't lie. It didn't hit me till that first practice
17:44
came and I wasn't invited, you know, and they were all running the fitness test
17:48
and I wasn't there. That's what it hit me.
17:51
But it's just, it's different now. And now you have an incredible four year,
17:56
three and a half year journey that you've been on where not only you've grown
17:59
as a soccer player, but as a human.
18:01
And then I think you and I both know, like I can easily say college athletics
18:04
is the biggest growing point in my life.
18:06
And those years were the most developmental at any aspect of my life and you
18:10
get to walk away with that knowing that and so it's hard been there but also
18:14
like there's so many amazing things ahead yeah yeah I think for me like it's so I have,
18:23
I'm mad at the world that I didn't get that COVID
18:26
year that you know the difference between three and a half versus
18:29
four and a half I think is just so dramatically different
18:32
where you're you're able to look at all this and do all this you
18:35
know and I think a lot of people on our team were in more of the spot you
18:38
were yeah for me I know based on
18:42
like I'm not I'm not going to the NWSL like that's not a thing for me so with
18:48
that knowing that if I were to go pro and play soccer I could go over broad
18:53
and go overseas it allows me the ability to stay here in the spring however for me the.
19:01
I won't finish my degree if I decide to go play pro soccer.
19:04
I have an extra semester. I wouldn't graduate till fall of 25 with my engineering degree.
19:11
When I tore my PCL, it set me back. I failed a few courses. They were on the
19:15
days of my midterm, and I got set back.
19:18
I got set back about a year in my degree with some of the courses.
19:22
So between summer and fall classes, I wouldn't graduate till later.
19:27
And having to really process that too because
19:30
academics was such a huge part of my identity and who I
19:32
was and why I was doing all this and now
19:36
it's the conversation of of leaving without my
19:39
degree and my parents my mom's a
19:42
teacher you know my dad's a police officer but they're
19:44
always very academically driven for me and that was always the
19:47
end goal and your degree and all of
19:50
these things and and now I'm I'm going home and
19:54
they're basically begging me to go play pro and leave
19:56
without my degree um I mean they know
19:59
how much it means to me to want to play soccer but like
20:02
I'm the most hesitant out of anyone to
20:06
continue this path out of the out of
20:09
the reason of not finishing my degree because that was
20:12
always the point of all this and it's not
20:15
that I don't want to go play soccer it's that I just
20:19
I feel like I'd fail leaving without it I was
20:22
given such an amazing opportunity i think part of the reason i chose mechanical
20:25
engineering was as a form of gratitude to the coaching staff
20:28
for giving me i mean at this point i'm done so i can talk about i mean i was
20:32
on a full ride scholarship like that's insane like i thank you like i wanted
20:39
to make it worth it i wanted to make it worth it for me and for them and i knew
20:42
how rare of an opportunity this was and how much that meant and the financial aspect of things and.
20:48
So I chose something that was going to be worth it in the end.
20:50
And, and I was, it was always academically focused and driven.
20:56
And then at some point, and, you know, around my junior year,
20:58
I made the decision to try soccer more, to focus on it.
21:03
And my grades slipped a little bit. I had a 3.7 and then a 3.5 in mechanical engineering.
21:08
So it felt, you know, low for me,
21:11
but I'll take it like I'll take it
21:14
for sure but then then I tore my PCL and
21:16
and the timeline just switched back when I was going to be able to
21:19
not because I have a huge amount of class finish but because of
21:22
the way they line up with pre-reqs like I'm literally I'm in
21:25
like out of my 12 credits next semester I think
21:28
six of them are just random court I'm taking lifeguarding because I need extra
21:32
credits because I just I can't take them all together because of the way they
21:36
fall with the pre-reqs which is so frustrating but you look at what's next and
21:40
it's like that's been a real So that's been the biggest struggle for me now
21:44
is having to process that and deal with that.
21:46
And I feel just like I had such a failure for losing so much of the plot and
21:50
not being able to accomplish this in the timeline.
21:53
It's designated to, I was supposed to, and the potential of leaving without it is so hard.
21:59
And the last person I ever thought would ever tell me to leave without a degree is my mother.
22:02
And the fact that she's sitting here, you know, tears in her eyes being like,
22:05
you have to live your life.
22:07
I think it's definitely something Pursue Which was the biggest question These
22:11
last two weeks for me And going home for Thanksgiving I think like Seeing my
22:15
whole family And all of them being like You have to do it And I never in a million
22:19
years Would thought they would ever say that to me,
22:23
So I think coming to terms with that, too, these last two weeks,
22:27
you know, from the time my career ended and having to process not only the death
22:31
of my college career, but for me, a large part of it, I thought I was done ever playing soccer.
22:36
It's been the only thing I've ever known. It's the only thing I've ever been
22:38
good at, you know, is athletics.
22:40
I've never even had time to try anything else. Like, I don't even know what
22:44
my life looks like without it, and nor do I want to.
22:47
Like, I've dedicated so much to this one thing.
22:52
It's been a huge part of my identity and who you are and
22:55
who I am and you don't realize
22:58
how much you give yourself to it
23:00
until it's over like six hours a day
23:03
six days a week we're dedicated to just soccer that's 36 hours a week I was
23:09
playing soccer you know we're dedicated to it between scout film and rehab and
23:14
all the other things we do in the random intervals of time you have between
23:17
that and spending at the facilities and warmups and cool downs and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
23:22
That's over. I mean, when you talk about sleeping and all the other things you
23:25
have to do in a day, that's like extra two days a week that I just were gone.
23:31
They were dedicated to soccer and you realize how much you sacrificed and gave up for it.
23:37
And I wouldn't change it for the world, but because of those and those everyday little sacrifices,
23:42
I think you realize how much of an identity your identity
23:45
is tied into it because every single decision you make from the time
23:47
you wake up to the time you go to sleep is dedicated to being a good athlete and
23:50
it has to be or you won't make it and you
23:54
choose to do that because you love it and you wouldn't change
23:56
it for the world but when it's gone it's who
23:59
you were so you are for 18 years
24:02
I made those decisions and I made those choices and I wouldn't take
24:06
them back but the idea of now what
24:09
and having to deal with all that these last two weeks have
24:12
been the hardest part and now I think the decision to at
24:15
least see what my options are and pursue a pro
24:19
career you know overseas and have that
24:22
and then the the dealing with the processing of
24:25
being without a degree which I just I still am coming
24:28
to terms with and feeling like a failure for
24:32
doing so you know it'll still be here
24:34
school still be here I can come back and finish it but it's
24:38
not the same so it's been it's been a lot it's been
24:41
a lot to come to terms with and kind of grasp and I feel better now not having
24:48
to process maybe the death of soccer for me but it changes it's still a sacrifice
24:53
either way like there's no it seems the same way when I was deciding to play
24:56
or not with my red shirt where there's no real winning.
24:59
At the end of the day no matter what decision I make I think I'll be left out of what ifs so.
25:05
We'll see I think part of me is still hoping that the end of spring NCAA comes
25:08
out and it's like everyone fifth year it'd be the decision in the world no I
25:14
I mean I can only imagine on so many like regards and like trying to figure
25:18
out the everything and like you said like.
25:20
It all comes down to the what ifs. And that's what, for me, it was my decision,
25:24
whether it be, obviously things have changed, but whether it was entering my
25:27
name in the NWSL draft or taking a contract that I was offered before that,
25:32
whether it be picking up my life and moving to Sweden or staying in Louisville.
25:37
I think everything, especially with a future soccer career, is based on what ifs and guts.
25:43
At least that's my experience as a first year as a pro. So I think it's the
25:47
what ifs that you can live with. And that's the answer that you'll have to figure
25:50
out and there's not a wrong answer.
25:51
There's not, you know, it's just kind of an answer, but it's the one that in
25:55
your stomach you're going to be able to live with the most because there's going
25:57
to be two. And that's just unfortunately reality.
26:00
I have plenty of those from decisions I've made in my career already as a pro and it's been a year.
26:04
But what if I would have gone with a different agent? What if I would have,
26:07
you know, stayed in Louisville? What if I would have done whatever?
26:11
And I think at the end of the day, you know, it's the what ifs that you feel
26:14
comfortable with and it's the what ifs that you live with. And that's also just life.
26:18
You know, that's the crazy thing is We talk about like college athletics and
26:22
I truly do not think anyone that is like not that was not a college athlete
26:27
will ever understand what being a college athlete is. You can respect a schedule.
26:31
You can respect it. You know, even like Trey, my husband, you know,
26:35
he saw what my life was for five years, but he will never truly get it. And he knows that.
26:41
But I feel like so much of like college athletics is a microcosm of life on
26:46
so many regards. And it forces you to grow up and learn about yourself.
26:51
And I think that's just kind of like the final thing is, what are some of the
26:55
takeaways you have from your college soccer career?
26:57
I mean, it's been three and a half years of highs and lows and ups and downs
27:01
and whatever your future sets you up for, you're going to be set up well because
27:05
you were a college athlete and because you had this amazing experience.
27:09
So for you, when I asked that, like, what are some of the lessons that pop into
27:13
your brain that you learned as a college athlete?
27:15
There's so many I think you learn without realizing it you know at one point
27:20
I think you just look back and you realize how much you've grown and it comes from,
27:25
maybe not these big decisions that you have to make, because honestly,
27:28
it doesn't really feel like you're making that many decisions until now.
27:32
This feels like the first time in my life. I get to make decisions.
27:36
Right. It feels like the first time truly in my life where I've been faced with two options.
27:42
Even when you're picking, going to college, you know you're playing soccer.
27:45
It's just a matter of where, right?
27:47
You're actually faced with these two major life decisions.
27:50
And when you go through this college process you grow up and you learn so much
27:53
and you I'm nowhere near the person I was when I got here but so much of it
27:58
I think comes just subconsciously and these the little the little things that
28:03
you don't even realize are happening throughout the way I think for me,
28:08
the biggest blessing that's come out of college the biggest lesson
28:11
I could ever learn is just how important connection is
28:14
and who you're surrounding yourself with and the ability for people to truly
28:22
change your life you know more even more so than I think an event or any of
28:27
that decision I have been blessed
28:29
with I get to live with some of the best people I've ever met every day.
28:34
And I think they truly have just absolutely changed
28:37
me and changed the way I view the world and change the way
28:40
like my college life has gone and I'm
28:43
so grateful for them and for me that's
28:46
been the biggest takeaway of all of this you know
28:49
and they're they're gymnasts and even like
28:53
the little things like my career ends on
28:55
a Sunday and we get back and on.
28:59
Monday they have their like green and white meet or
29:01
they're just scrimmaging each other and so they
29:05
text their coach they allow me and my roommate bell
29:08
to go into the gymnastics thing while they're doing their practice in
29:11
the middle of their practice and their coach just messes around
29:15
with us and asks us you know allows us to ask all these questions
29:18
and just you know will you know
29:21
allow us to and then you know talk to
29:24
us and allow me to do flips into their little foam pit and
29:27
just let us hang out and jump around on their
29:30
springboards and do all the stuff and like the little
29:33
things like that that I have and the people
29:36
around me have been the biggest takeaway of any
29:39
of this college stuff and that came through athletics you know I got
29:41
to meet them through athletics I don't think I ever would have met any of them
29:44
outside of it and I'm so grateful for
29:47
it and I'm so grateful for them and the same thing comes from my
29:50
teammates who have absolutely changed me throughout this process here I've gotten
29:55
to learn so much Lauren Kozel I think was my biggest one when I got here she
30:00
was as a freshman she was a senior she kind of let me took me under her wing
30:04
she drove me around all the time freshman year and I remember making fun of her.
30:09
She was so old to me. You know, she's such a grandma and like literally everything she did then I do now.
30:16
And, you know, like just from, she was a plant mom my freshman year. I was like, that's lame.
30:23
You know, and now I have a whole thing of plants or just, you know,
30:26
little things like that where I know how much I've grown up because of those things.
30:31
And because of those little, I think I turned into her
30:34
in a way I respected her and I idolized her and in a
30:37
way I watched her grow up and I got to see the decisions
30:40
she made and made and now as I look back on
30:42
my career like literally everything I was like Lauren Colzel that's dumb
30:45
like you know you're so old or you're all these things like I do now and I think
30:50
part of that was a reason of like chasing her chasing what she was able to accomplish
30:54
and knowing that and and I did that with a lot of people you know you grow up
30:58
and you watch them and you respect them and you learn from them and they mold you to who you are.
31:04
Yeah, I would agree with that. I mean, I feel like you hear a lot all the time,
31:08
like, oh, college athletes are the best people to hire.
31:11
And, you know, whether it be because of, you know, the timing or your ability
31:15
to work on the team or have a common goal or all these different things.
31:18
And I think that is something good to take away from college athletics.
31:21
I think it's absolutely a true fact. But the part of college athletics that
31:25
touched me the most was the people.
31:27
And it not necessarily is, you know, the soccer team. It's the people you're around.
31:32
Naturally, when you're an athlete, you are around other athletes in different
31:35
settings and you have this common thing, whether it's gymnasts,
31:39
basketball players, football players, track athletes, whatever it is.
31:43
I think I got to learn about the world through that.
31:47
In a lot of ways, when we grow up, we're in bubbles. I like to think,
31:51
I remember I thought when I was in St.
31:52
Louis, I wasn't in a bubble, but I was of a bubble of people from St.
31:56
Louis. You know, like we're always in a bubble of some sort.
31:59
And I think going to college and learning and experiencing and hearing stories
32:03
of people of different races, religions, sexualities and understanding and opening
32:08
my eyes in a lot of settings of like we all have this one thing in common. We're all athletes.
32:12
But the differences and learning to love and appreciate that and kind of grow
32:16
up through my interactions with people and through my own thinking.
32:20
Like you said, being a college athlete changed my perspective on the world in so many regards.
32:24
And I think that was my biggest thing to take away is like the intimacy that
32:29
you get to know people that you would have never met, that you would have never been exposed to.
32:33
And like the lessons you learned from that, like that to this day is the furthest
32:37
thing I've taken away from college athletics.
32:39
And you can do that in other senses. You can do that in a sorority.
32:41
You can do that and whatever.
32:43
But I think the pool of college athletes can be so diverse that you get challenged
32:48
on that on so many different levels.
32:50
Absolutely. And you talked about the intimacy of it. I don't think you really,
32:53
you really get that anywhere else. Cause you guys, we really,
32:57
you go through hell together.
32:59
I mean, you have to, blood, sweat, and tears are real, man.
33:02
Especially there will always be times throughout a college program in your four
33:06
years where things aren't going well and you have to come together and make a decision or.
33:10
It's you against a coach or it's the coach against, you know,
33:13
maybe there's one player who you guys have to band together and bring up with
33:18
you or just there's so many different scenarios and different things that will
33:21
come up and these things that bond you together forever.
33:26
We will be the only...
33:27
People that have ever experienced this this thing
33:30
that means so much to us and such a huge part of together and it
33:34
is so it's it is so intimate it's means so
33:37
much and it's this thing that only us will share and us will understand and
33:42
to have that and to have such differing view we talked about even just me and
33:47
you sam like we're so different we had such different paths and such different
33:51
ideas of how the world works and we got here such different ways yet at the
33:55
end of the day, we both got here.
33:57
And I learned so much from just talking to you throughout this process.
34:00
I didn't even realize, you know, how big the world was and how many different
34:05
ways there was to get here and how many different paths or different ways to view something.
34:09
I think for me, that's been the biggest thing too, is I've always been relatively
34:12
good at, at least I think I have, of, you know, articulating my thoughts and
34:17
feelings and emotions and reading situations.
34:20
But with that, I think came a lot of stubbornness that my way was the right
34:23
way, that I was able to see things so clearly in my head that it confused me
34:29
that anyone else saw them differently.
34:30
And through college athletics, I've realized that I was so unbelievably wrong.
34:35
There are so many different ways to look at a situation and to view it.
34:39
And none of them are wrong because they all got us here.
34:43
And yeah, I just, I've grown up so much. The fact that I'm even sitting here
34:47
talking, like when I tell you, I didn't talk for four months when I got here,
34:51
Like I didn't talk for four months. I don't think people knew what my voice sounded like.
34:55
Talks about Lauren Coles. And the reason people kept pairing me with her and
34:58
putting me off on her was because I wouldn't talk.
35:01
And they were hoping that if I just got comfortable with one person enough that
35:05
I would somehow open up and just say something, you know, like.
35:09
Like, and now I'm sitting here and I have a podcast expressing my deepest thoughts
35:13
and feelings to, you know, the world to hear and listen to.
35:17
It's, I'm such a different person than when I got here. I've changed and grown
35:21
and learned so much. And even the little things when you go away to college, like doing your...
35:25
Laundry for the first time and cooking and really being on your own ish schedule
35:30
within college athletics, going to class, being a choice,
35:33
you know, your doctor's appointments, all of these little things that you,
35:36
you just, you grow up, you know, and I do my own laundry at home and I can cook
35:40
by myself at home and I'm on my own schedule at home, but you still have that
35:43
safety net of your parents being there,
35:45
your family, or I have to do it around my siblings and all of these things.
35:49
I think just being away like that, I I've grown up and I've learned so much.
35:54
And while the people have changed me the most there's
35:57
still so many lessons that I've learned through.
36:00
Scenarios I think
36:03
getting hurt for the first time and being out.
36:06
It definitely changed me and tearing.
36:09
My PCO it definitely changed me in
36:12
the way I look at things I will forever
36:15
be more proactive about the way I look at my medical care
36:18
and health I will always get a second opinion from now on even
36:20
if it's just a flu which is frustrating in
36:23
some ways but also like I just
36:26
I learned so much by going through that and as frustrated as
36:29
I am with it forced me to grow up
36:32
and have a different viewpoint on what my future was and to
36:35
make such hard decisions I still
36:38
feel so young and I still feel like such a kid and like I
36:40
really know nothing but I'm 21 years old I'm gonna
36:44
be 22 I am a full-blown
36:47
legal adult and in most ways
36:50
but it was the first time in my life I had to make tough
36:54
decisions like that my whole path my whole life everything has
36:57
been so clear there's been such an obvious line
37:00
that I was going to follow and then
37:03
it wasn't and I had to fight for what I wanted and
37:06
I had to figure out what that even was and
37:09
it was the hardest year of my life and
37:12
the most emotional and it definitely
37:16
changed me and i grew up from it and i you don't have that in a different aspect
37:19
of life nobody cares if my pcl is gone anywhere else or if you get injured like
37:24
it's not the same it's it was my job it's my identity it was who i was and the
37:28
idea of losing that and having to go through it you grew up and make those decisions
37:33
in such a way you wouldn't have anywhere else.
37:36
No, I completely agree. I think my last thing, like when I look back on college
37:39
athletics and what it gave me is you hear all the time, it's a grind,
37:43
you know, Oh, it's such a grind.
37:44
And it is, it truly is. There's going to be moments, but there's also moments in your life.
37:48
You know, I can say I've lived that much life outside of college athletics because,
37:52
not like my life career took me in a much different place.
37:56
But if you're willing to love the grind and truly like, I mean,
38:01
at the end of the day, it's you get out what you put in. And that's any facet of life, but it's true.
38:05
And so if you're willing to adapt the grind and learn about that and how to
38:09
do it in college athletics, you're going to be so much more set up for the rest
38:13
of your life, whether that be a job, whether that be family situations,
38:17
whether that be whatever it could be in your future.
38:19
I think it's going to be beyond crazy, the lessons we learn from college soccer
38:24
and how they apply 20, 30 years from now.
38:28
And I think I'm really excited to see where that journey takes us.
38:32
Absolutely. I think it's the first time in your life, a lot of us fail, right?
38:36
Like always been the best at these things. And you may have had a little bit
38:40
of turmoil and adversity, but nothing like the way it is in college.
38:45
It's nowhere, nothing can replicate it growing up to prepare you for it,
38:48
at least not for the average person.
38:50
Maybe if you're on like the national team or something, but like it's such,
38:55
it is, it's such a grind and you learn so much from it and you learn so much
38:58
through the failure of it.
38:59
And it's this perfect little bubble I think you have where it allows you to
39:03
do so in a way where you still have a bit of that netting.
39:08
Approaching staff and your team to pick you back up and to have that,
39:11
but you fail. You'll fail.
39:13
You'll make decisions that you shouldn't and you'll have regrets and you'll look back on it.
39:19
Anyone who looks back at all of this and says they don't have any regrets,
39:22
I'm calling BS because there's always going to be something and while it may
39:26
get you to where you got today and you learn something from it and blah blah
39:29
blah I think there's always going to be things like you wish you would have
39:33
started younger you wish you would have known this back then and things would
39:37
have been different and all these things and.
39:41
It's just, yeah, you're guaranteed to make mistakes and to make those and to
39:46
have the ability to do so in such a way where you can learn the lessons and
39:51
also get picked back up by people you care about.
39:55
It's the perfect environment to do so and you grow and you learn so much from it.
40:00
I'm a much smarter soccer player than I ever thought I would be.
40:04
I got here, I didn't even know that positions had numbers.
40:08
And now you know after four years and 100
40:12
and something probably it feels like scouting reports or
40:15
film sessions and all of these things taught me to be a technical soccer player
40:20
it also you know was applicable to the rest of my life and the way I was able
40:23
to learn and the way I was able to take in that information and apply it not
40:28
only on the field but into the into the rest of my life.
40:33
With all of these little lessons you learn.
40:36
And I think some of them I don't even realize yet.
40:38
You know, and I don't even know when I learned them or when I grew up or when
40:42
these things happened to me.
40:43
And a lot of it, you just, it's been such a blessing. And I wouldn't even recognize the person I am today.
40:49
I really wouldn't. After four years, never in a million years,
40:52
would I think that I'd be sitting here on a podcast, on a historically winning
40:59
program now, talking about soccer.
41:02
Yeah, it would just...
41:04
And it's such a nice little bubble. And it's such a niche thing,
41:08
like you said, where only we will ever understand it. And you grow up and you learn so much.
41:12
And even though it's been a roller coaster and you've gotten to experience it
41:14
all with us, and I've definitely had a fair share of low lows,
41:18
I would have trained them for the world for the highs.
41:21
You know, like been the best four years of my entire life. They really have
41:24
never in a million years would I thought I'd be here.
41:27
All right, Jordan, any last words to the Big Life community?
41:32
Thank you, guys. This has changed me. This has changed my life.
41:35
It's changed my perception of things, of who I am, my ability to articulate
41:40
my thoughts and emotions to you guys and to have them perceived and to talk
41:44
to Sam. This has been so much fun.
41:47
I've learned so much from you. And while my college career has come to an end,
41:52
I think I owe a lot of the highs to you guys in this audience and the opportunities
41:57
you guys gave me throughout it.
41:58
It really has opened so many doors for me, more than you guys will probably ever realize or know.
42:04
And you guys coming to the games and having me sign your jerseys and seeing
42:09
WICS jerseys at the fields and all of these things, it really is something I
42:14
will hold with me for the rest of my life. And I'm so grateful for it.
42:16
So thank you guys for being a huge part of my college journey and my college career.
42:20
I completely agree. I couldn't say more to the Big Life community,
42:23
Jordan, for being with me every week, putting up with my terrible schedules
42:27
and making all of these episodes work.
42:30
I think I would have loved to listen to this podcast when I was going into college.
42:35
Two very different people that think very differently doing the exact same thing
42:39
in a lot of different ways.
42:40
And I hope that it was useful. I appreciate those that have listened to all three seasons.
42:48
Yeah, I can't say enough about girls soccer network community and all you socceristas
42:52
that always seem to pop out so as always you can find us on social media we
42:57
can learn probably together about what jordan's next steps are going to look
43:00
like stay attention to girls soccer network and each other and as always soccer on bye guys.