Latest / Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football / Into The Channel with Bay FC's Jordan Silkowitz
Transcript
- 0:05Hello. OK, welcome to Into the Channel
- 0:08podcast. I'm real about one's football.
- 0:10A very special episode, an interview episode.
- 0:12I'm into the channel. I'm your host, Dino de Suspitas,
- 0:16and I'm joined by my coast, Mr. Grandingle.
- 0:19What's up, man? I'm feeling fantastic buddy, and
- 0:22that is because we are joined by one of the most talented young
- 0:25goalkeepers in the NWSL. She's previously spent time in
- 0:29goal at The Ohio State University where she achieved a
- 0:32spot on the Big 10s All Freshman team in 2019 before transferring
- 0:36to Iowa State University in lovely Ames, IA where she made
- 0:4043 appearances for the Cyclones and LED the Big 12 with 100
- 0:43saves. In the 2022 season, she was
- 0:46selected #18 in the 23 NWSL draft by the Kansas City Current
- 0:50that was loaned to the Brisbane Roar in Australia's A League
- 0:53where she made 19 appearances and really got a professional
- 0:55career jump started. But for the purposes of today's
- 0:59show, we will be talking to her about her season as Bay FC's
- 1:02number one goalkeeper and a year filled with acrobatic saves and
- 1:06material growth around the squad.
- 1:08It is an honor and a privilege to welcome to the program Jordan
- 1:11Silkowitz. Thanks guys.
- 1:13Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to be here.
- 1:15Thrilled to have you. Yeah, for sure.
- 1:18All right, Jordan. So let's get started.
- 1:19Obviously this season, not the season you know we were hoping
- 1:23for, not the season I'm sure you were hoping for.
- 1:25But looking back and I know there's still one more game to
- 1:27play. What are you going to take away
- 1:29from a positive standpoint from this year?
- 1:32I think just taking a step back and reflecting first, like
- 1:35personally, I think this is a year you dream of for the
- 1:39longest time. Obviously in this position it's
- 1:41you wait for your time. It's a very experienced based
- 1:43position. I think getting to step in to
- 1:46that starter position this year has just been a dream come true.
- 1:50And getting each game, getting to play with people I've looked
- 1:53up to, people I've aspired to be like, has just been incredible
- 1:57and getting to grow. And with this group of girls and
- 2:00our coaches and everyone involved in the organization,
- 2:02it's been nothing short of amazing.
- 2:05And we all know professional sports, there's highs, there's
- 2:08lows, good teams that are at the top, they've gone through spells
- 2:12at the bottom before. And you know, it's like kind of
- 2:14a slingshot. You got to go back before you
- 2:16can go forward. So that's how I'm looking as
- 2:19this year, you know, we've learned a lot of lessons, we've
- 2:22done a lot of great things as well, but this is just going to
- 2:25catapult us into a better place for next season.
- 2:27So I'm just excited to keep growing and continue developing
- 2:31with this team. Jordan, you mentioned the
- 2:33organization. Can you talk about, I haven't
- 2:36quite been able to put my finger on it, but it does seem like,
- 2:38you know, Bay FC as a club is doing things at a high level, a
- 2:43very professional kind of like outfit.
- 2:45Can you talk a little bit about what that's been like?
- 2:48You know, you obviously you're not getting the results, but it
- 2:50does feel like there's something foundationally getting put
- 2:54together the right way. Can you talk about what what
- 2:56it's been like being a part of the organization as a whole?
- 2:59Yeah, obviously this is the team's second year.
- 3:01I think I have to remember that as well and the opportunities
- 3:06that this organization provides us with as players, both on and
- 3:12off the field is something I'm truly so grateful to be a part
- 3:15of. The opportunity we've had to
- 3:16develop network off the field. Not that any of us want our
- 3:19careers to come to the end anytime soon, but just the
- 3:22opportunities we have, networking events, thinking
- 3:24about that next step when it comes because you know, you have
- 3:27a team, yes, people of all different ages.
- 3:29I think that's something I've never been exposed to before.
- 3:32And I think the path that they're paving off the field and
- 3:35our personal development has been incredible.
- 3:38And also on the field at this organization, they want to trend
- 3:42set, they want to be the standard, set the standard to
- 3:45continue pushing this field. And I think the plans of this
- 3:48organization has for the future and the foundation and
- 3:51groundwork they're laying now is something that I know personally
- 3:54I'm super excited to be a part of and really looking forward to
- 3:57the future it wants to come. Yeah, totally.
- 3:59I, I think you guys definitely have a, have a framework there
- 4:02to make those steps forward. So you talk to, you talk about
- 4:06setting that framework. You talked a little bit about
- 4:08like the slingshot principle. I, I want to want to build off
- 4:11that a little bit. I mentioned it in the intro, a
- 4:14little background on our podcast.
- 4:16We started as a UEFA Women's Champions League show.
- 4:18And so we have a, a real fascination with world football.
- 4:23And you know, obviously I, I mentioned your time in Brisbane.
- 4:26What did that kind of do for you as the slingshot effect, as kind
- 4:31of the building effect, you know, going about as far away as
- 4:34you could go to Australia, to Brisbane, Can you like kind of
- 4:39describe what that experience was like and then even getting
- 4:43the playing time that you got over there?
- 4:45Yeah, wow. I just think looking back my
- 4:48rookie year coming out of college, I was really fortunate
- 4:50to be with some great goalkeepers, Cassie Miller and
- 4:5280 French people that have accomplished what I want to
- 4:55accomplish in my lengthy career hopefully.
- 4:58And I just wanted really trying to be a sponge, learn.
- 5:00The jump from college to Pro is really hard for me.
- 5:03There was the pace of everything, the speed, and I
- 5:06just tried to learn as much as I can in that first season I had.
- 5:09And then having the opportunity to go on loan to Australia and
- 5:12be able to see how much I had grown as a player and as a
- 5:16person. I think when you you leave the
- 5:18United States, like you said, it was I think my travel day there
- 5:22was like 30 hours. It was something crazy when we
- 5:25flew. I flew right to Brisbane, got
- 5:27all my medical done and then I left to go to Melbourne to play
- 5:29in our first game the next day. So I was like jet lag.
- 5:33All right, here we go it. Was is it a victory?
- 5:36Do I recall that being a? Victory for you.
- 5:38It was a 21 victory, I believe. Yeah, huge.
- 5:41That was just so exciting and such a whirlwind and like I'm in
- 5:45Brisbane, I, I still talk to my goalkeeper coach and head coach
- 5:48from that team, Alex and Dale, two people I really look up to
- 5:52and value their opinion and just my time there.
- 5:56I mean, you're in Australia and it's the summer, so it's like
- 5:58the winter months, but it's summer there.
- 6:01So being able to go over there and start actually playing games
- 6:05because I've never had that experience in the professional
- 6:07world before. Obviously, I was just learning a
- 6:08three in Kansas City and being able to travel the country and
- 6:14play the game I love was something that was so special.
- 6:17And my family came out, got to see my professional debut.
- 6:20So that was just incredible to have them there with me.
- 6:23But my experience and my time there gave me OK.
- 6:27It's like the little details that you don't really think
- 6:29about. What does a game day look like
- 6:31when you have to prepare to actually play versus not
- 6:34playing? Being a 2, being a three, Like
- 6:36how does that vary and just kind of like really iron out those
- 6:39details and being in a foreign country have so many different
- 6:42things you have to worry about or think about as well.
- 6:45And so I think my four or five months down there really helps
- 6:49me kind of grasp like one, who do I want to be as a goalkeeper?
- 6:53Like what is my goalkeeper identity going to be?
- 6:55How am I going to get there? And kind of what is that path
- 6:59forwards? And then just getting to
- 7:00compete. There's nothing better than game
- 7:02day, you know, So being able to go out there and put a jersey on
- 7:06and play it was it was awesome. And I think I still reflect on
- 7:10what I've learned there and try to put into use here.
- 7:13That makes a ton of sense. I will ask one more Australia
- 7:16related question. This might be a goofy question
- 7:18because I'm not sure, I'm not. Familiar with?
- 7:22I'm not sure with how I'm not familiar with like how Brisbane
- 7:26is laid out as a city and things like that.
- 7:27But what I know about Australia is that there's a ton of like
- 7:32wildlife and like, you see, I, you know, I see these like
- 7:34documentaries about like giant spiders and like snakes and all
- 7:37this stuff, stuff that makes me a little squeamish.
- 7:40Did you ever, do you have any wildlife encounters or just
- 7:43something that you saw were like, whoa, it's real different
- 7:46out here. You know, it was crazy.
- 7:47We went right by where we live. There was kind of like a like a
- 7:52wildlife walk or whatever walking through there just in
- 7:56like the forest and you look up and see koalas.
- 7:59You're like, whoa, like I've, I've only seen a call in the zoo
- 8:04before and like barely from so far away, but they're just right
- 8:08there. And you're like, they're like, I
- 8:10don't know, squirrels basically. I mean, but you're like, whoa.
- 8:15But I was really thankful. I was terrified in my apartment.
- 8:19There was three of us, all Americans.
- 8:22We would close the toilet seat every night.
- 8:23Like I would bang on the toilet seat because told snakes like
- 8:27stay, stay in there. But I thankfully never had any
- 8:31encounters with a snake because if not, I would have been like,
- 8:33put me on the next flight home. We're spiders.
- 8:36I just missed the Huntsman. They're like this big.
- 8:40That's what I've heard she's. Colossal and I'm just so
- 8:42grateful. But you know what they did have
- 8:44there that I was not expecting? Cockroaches and not normal.
- 8:47They're like this big and like this thick.
- 8:52Oh, my goodness. Yeah.
- 8:54Dino and I both lived in New York for a while.
- 8:56That's where we met. So that's that's intense, even
- 8:59for a New York cockroach. That's a serious cockroach right
- 9:01there. Yeah.
- 9:04Yeah, more of a rugby style cockroach.
- 9:09George, you talk a little bit about kind of like, I'm very
- 9:12fascinated by this because you talk a lot about like the player
- 9:15that you want to be your player identity.
- 9:17We got to chat a little bit at one of the the post game
- 9:20pressers this season at Bay. And I think I asked you kind of
- 9:24like a like a very defensive goalkeeper question about
- 9:27getting, you know, stopping shots.
- 9:29And you're like, no, no, no. But I also like to kind of like
- 9:31distribute. Can you talk a little bit more
- 9:33about, you know, obviously there's a lot of discussion
- 9:35about the modern goalkeeper, but I'm sure you have a very
- 9:38specific conception of what kind of goalkeeper you are today and
- 9:41sounds like you have a pretty good conception of who you want
- 9:43to be in the future. Can you talk a little bit about
- 9:45like your, your goalkeeper DNA and how you see that?
- 9:48Yeah, so I actually spent this offseason with one of my
- 9:52goalkeeper coaches from college who's coached in this league.
- 9:54His name's Dan Ball. He's at the University of
- 9:56Nebraska right now. He's at Angel City Gotham before
- 9:59that he coached me at Iowa State for my first season.
- 10:02And he was actually the first person that made me really
- 10:04realize like, wow, I could I can play pro and I just I can play
- 10:07pro. Like I could be a great pro.
- 10:10And I sat down with him this offseason and I was like, OK,
- 10:14who do I want to be this year? Like who am I going to be both
- 10:18in possession? So with the ball at my feet and
- 10:19out of possession. So I just kind of breakdown what
- 10:22we talked about just for this season and I look forward to
- 10:25doing this again, like obviously building kind of off these
- 10:27principles, but for in possession, I wanted to display
- 10:31an infectious confidence on the ball and be able to pick teams
- 10:35apart with different passes, whether it's a playing through
- 10:38to A6, playing around or playing over.
- 10:41I think having those different passes in your pocket, your
- 10:45impossible defense, you know, teams want to step high and
- 10:47press you great, I'll play the space and behind you want to set
- 10:50off perfect. I'll pick in between your lines.
- 10:52And I think for me just continuing to develop the
- 10:55different of tools and passes I have in my arsenal, like
- 10:57different textured balls is something that I really want to
- 11:01add to my game. And I ran track for a while.
- 11:04So I have a little bit of speed in my in my background and just
- 11:07learning how to kind of utilize that in defending the space and
- 11:11behind was something that was huge, I think out of possession.
- 11:15So kind of more shot stopping wise some.
- 11:18I have a big area to grow in this, but I think with my height
- 11:20and size, the right environment, I can really kind of foster
- 11:23this. But I want to be a beast in the
- 11:25air. I want to dominate anything
- 11:27airily. I just like I said, I still
- 11:29have. I think that's a big part of my
- 11:30game that I can really grow and really hone in on this
- 11:33offseason. I also want to dominate like a
- 11:35four 4 yard window. So I want to be really clean
- 11:38within 4 yards. I think with my size and my
- 11:42explosiveness and power, I can really foster that and I want to
- 11:45continue to develop that. A big thing for me also was a
- 11:49spread save. It's very modern.
- 11:51It's really added into the game and I think that's the biggest
- 11:54area I've really improved in this year is kind of my spread
- 11:57in like A1V1 situation. And then the last.
- 12:00I wanted to be able to come away with game saving saves every
- 12:05once in a while. Like being able to pull those
- 12:06out, you know, you have the ones you're supposed to save, but
- 12:09making those ones that people like, wow, like you weren't
- 12:12supposed to touch that. So that's like kind of, I
- 12:15actually have those like kind of written in my locker just every
- 12:17day and on my mirror at home and just that's who I want to be.
- 12:20And that's who I my uncle, one of my dad's cousins this year,
- 12:25actually texted me after the first time we played Portland
- 12:28And he was like, I don't know what it was about you, but you
- 12:31were just so. And he's like watch a little bit
- 12:34of soccer, but nothing crazy. And for him to be like, wow, you
- 12:37just looked so calm and on the ball.
- 12:40Someone that, that's the goal of mine, you know, and something I
- 12:42really wanted. And to have someone that doesn't
- 12:45always like watch a lot of soccer be able to point that out
- 12:47was was huge. That is really fascinating.
- 12:51It it, I mean, just hearing you rattle them off you clearly
- 12:54they're written in the locker, like you said, written on,
- 12:57written in the house. That's that's really
- 12:59interesting. I mean, you, you know, you, you
- 13:01strike us as a as a student of the game when you kind of talk
- 13:05about, you know, breaking those items down, those different
- 13:07pieces of goalkeeping. Just a little, little side note,
- 13:12I'm a Manchester City Football Club supporter over in England.
- 13:16And I love the way Ederson played.
- 13:18And you talk about having having confidence with the ball at your
- 13:21feet. And sometimes in Eddie's case,
- 13:23maybe a little crazy confidence, maybe some crazy decisions out
- 13:26there. Who are the goalkeepers that you
- 13:29look over, look at in the NWSL or in world football that you
- 13:32kind of look at and say, OK, I like this piece of their game,
- 13:34this piece of their game? Yeah, it's actually a great
- 13:36point. I think that's something I've
- 13:37like realized, you know, you have like, like Anderson,
- 13:40watching him play is so fun and just the confidence that he has
- 13:44on the ball and the different passes he has in his arsenal,
- 13:48like everyone, it's so funny when the crowd's like, everyone
- 13:50gets nervous and I'm like, oh, no, I love that.
- 13:52Let's go bring it on. Be brave out here.
- 13:55So it's been really cool to see the position kind of trend in
- 13:58that direction. I think from the female side of
- 14:01the game, Caitlin Sheridan is someone that both feet can ping
- 14:05a ball and pick your team apart. And she's so fun to watch.
- 14:08And I aspire to be like that with the ball at my feet.
- 14:11I think, you know, annoyer just the same was so fun.
- 14:15He's always so fun to watch with the ball at his feet.
- 14:17I just love am, I think the biggest thing I've watched
- 14:20Caitlin for a lot of years and even when she messes up, she
- 14:22does the same thing. Like it doesn't deter her from
- 14:26wanting to do something different.
- 14:27And I just respect and Amara that so much that regardless,
- 14:31she knows she knows what she can do and she doesn't kind of let
- 14:34anything differ her from that. I love that.
- 14:37And I feel like you and Sheridan and please, you know, Dino and I
- 14:41always say like the, the crappy amateur football that we played
- 14:45growing up, like we, you know, we, we, we know very little.
- 14:48We we watch, we try to enjoy, we try to soak up information from
- 14:51coaches and you guys as players, but we always concede we don't
- 14:55know a damn thing about playing goalkeeper.
- 14:56It's like a different universe from being a player out in the
- 14:59field. But I I do feel like you and
- 15:02Sheridan have some similarities even in just like shot stopping
- 15:06springiness. Is that is that fair to say?
- 15:09I'm honored. I would say that comparison any
- 15:10day. What?
- 15:12No. Yeah.
- 15:13I, I really respect so much of her game and and continuing.
- 15:16I love watching her play both for Canada and for San Diego.
- 15:20Jordan speak When did you become a goalkeeper?
- 15:23Oh, great question. Probably in like 7th grade one
- 15:26of my coaches told me I can never be a goalkeeper, so I'm a
- 15:29fairly stubborn individual and I said OK, watch me.
- 15:33Let's put that person. In, that's your call.
- 15:35I was like, all right, let's go. I will say my nickname at first
- 15:38when I first started was Swiss cheese.
- 15:40The balls always smoked for me. Yeah, not not a great nickname,
- 15:46especially when you have Silky sitting right there and it's an
- 15:49easy move past. It I like the progression where
- 15:51it's going. There you go.
- 15:54When I heard, I think Alyssa called you that at one of the
- 15:55pressures, I was like, damn, it's a cool nickname.
- 15:58I wanted to ask, I wanted to ask you a, a, a goalkeeper, a follow
- 16:03up goalkeeper question. It sounds like you've got a lot
- 16:05of, you've crushed a lot of tape in your day.
- 16:08So we've got a Hall of Fame here at the ITC and I'll, I'll write
- 16:12off some names of who's in it's, it's a little bit of a
- 16:14hodgepodge, but I want to kind of put you on the spot a little
- 16:17bit. So we've got Aaron Cuthbert,
- 16:19Aitana Beaumati, Emily Sonnet, one of the original Lionesses,
- 16:23Carol Thomas, the Orlando Prides, Corey Dyke and Chloe
- 16:27Kelly. That's it's a very, it's a very
- 16:29small room. So I love that.
- 16:32You have obviously a vast wealth of goalkeeper knowledge.
- 16:37What goalkeeper is Jordan Silkowitz putting into the ITC
- 16:40Hall of Fame? Wow.
- 16:44Wow, Honestly, I'm going to have to go Caitlin.
- 16:50Oh, let's go. I love that.
- 16:53I'm going, Caitlin, Yeah. Congratulations, Caitlin
- 16:56Sheridan, you are the first, second, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th
- 17:00inventee into the ITC Hall of Fame.
- 17:02Congrats. Thanks, Jordan.
- 17:03Appreciate that. I can't believe you made Jordan
- 17:06care about our stupid Hall of Fame.
- 17:08Oh, I love that. I love that you guys do.
- 17:10That well, you know, it's only a matter of.
- 17:12Time for Jordan. Jordan with everyone's with
- 17:14everyone on it. There'll be a digital one in the
- 17:18works where we're definitely working on it.
- 17:20What we, you know, we'll get some statue people that are
- 17:22better than the Ronaldo and Dwyane Wade guys that put those
- 17:25together and you know, everything's everything's in
- 17:27motion for sure. I wanted to ask you obviously
- 17:29one more match on the on the docket Racing Louisville.
- 17:32It's been a while since you've been able to kind of like notch
- 17:35AW1. How are you approaching this
- 17:38final match and what would it mean to kind of go out on a high
- 17:41note against the team that that is playing?
- 17:43You know, it's got some stakes it's playing for.
- 17:45Yeah, I mean, I think we've said for the last couple games like
- 17:47let's play spoiler. Obviously we don't, it's not the
- 17:50ideal position to be in, but love to be fighting for playoff
- 17:53spotter in playoffs. But we're going to do what we
- 17:55can. I mean, we go out every game
- 17:57obviously wanting three points, wanting a clean sheet.
- 18:00Would love one of those on the weekend as well.
- 18:02It's been a while since we have one of those as well.
- 18:04So I think just for ourselves, for our staff, for everyone, we
- 18:09go out every weekend going in for three points.
- 18:12But this one would be especially nice, just kind of with the back
- 18:14half of the year we've had, being able to end the note on
- 18:16the high, send Alberton out on a high.
- 18:19Can I hit you with one more question before we and thank you
- 18:21for being so generous with your time.
- 18:23Please, I have nothing more time so.
- 18:25So you mentioned that Thorns match at home.
- 18:28That was a clean sheet. I believe that was the last
- 18:31clean sheet for Bay, a match that really jumped out to me.
- 18:35You guys drew at Orlando think you had 7 saves in that match.
- 18:41If if we ask you for what is the silky snapshot of the best match
- 18:47you played this this season or maybe the match you felt best
- 18:51about, what would you what kind of comes to mind for you?
- 18:53I'm. Going to go 2, I'm going to go
- 18:55one where we got the result and where we did it.
- 18:58I think in that Portland game, I really felt like all the pieces
- 19:02for me really came together coming off of being in Germany
- 19:07with the 20 threes going into that match, I've just felt
- 19:10great. I feel like the game was really
- 19:13slowing down. I was training really well.
- 19:15I felt great. And I think if I were to look
- 19:18collectively at kind of what was my best overall performance
- 19:22together, I'd probably have to go with that Portland game.
- 19:25Unfortunately, I was, I didn't realize that I was sick in that
- 19:27game and was out for a few weeks after that.
- 19:29I had picked up mono in Germany, so that was a that was a
- 19:33heartbreak. Yeah.
- 19:35So I was like 6 to 8 weeks after that.
- 19:37But I feel like in that game I really put it all together and
- 19:40it it felt great, honestly. And then I would say where we
- 19:43didn't get the result was it the second time we played Kansas
- 19:46City? That first four, one loss in
- 19:49Kansas City hurt. I learned a lot in that in that
- 19:55game, obviously playing my former team.
- 19:57And then I think the second time around back at home, I felt I
- 20:01really came alive honestly. And we lost 2 nothing but.
- 20:06I would say it's probably one of my better out of possession
- 20:09games. Yeah, KC beat everybody to
- 20:11nothing this year, it seems like.
- 20:15Not not last weekend. True.
- 20:17Yeah, I hear that. All right.
- 20:20OK. I think we I think we did it.
- 20:21This is another episode to the channel.
- 20:24Grant, I really appreciate you, bro.
- 20:26Jordan, thank you so, so much for joining us.
- 20:28We really, really appreciate the time.
- 20:30No, of course, thanks for having me.
- 20:31You guys are awesome. Thank you so much.
- 20:33Thank you very everybody for watching and we will see you all
- 20:36next time.