Latest / The BIG LIFE / The BIG LIFE S5E2 | NIL, Recruiting & The Start of College Soccer with Paige Thompson & Jaiden Rodriguez

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The BIG LIFE S5E2 | NIL, Recruiting & The Start of College Soccer with Paige Thompson & Jaiden Rodriguez · The BIG LIFE

0:05
Hi guys, and welcome back to another episode of the Big Life Podcast.
0:10
We're super excited to be back, guys. And honestly, today I'm even more excited
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because we're wrapping up preseason finally.
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So just a lot more energy. We're starting the season. And just to give you guys
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a recap of everything we talked about last week, we talked about summer,
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the load, all of that, and how our first year went, goals for this season, and also this game.
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So if you want to, this past game, so if you guys want to, if you want to tell
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us what happened last game and what happened your eyebrow go on,
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so we played LSU last week and we tied them 1-1
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at like the 70th 65 70 I went up for a header and I headed down and I got the
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ball it wasn't a foul and the girl in front of me tried to get the ball but she was heading up
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and so she headed up at an angle and I headed down right into her head and so
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I think she just had like a really sharp brow bone
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but she split open my eyebrow it's like weird it's like a triangle
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shaped I'm gonna have a triangle shaped scar like on my brow it just like stung
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and there was a lot of pressure I thought there was sweat or like tears going
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into my hands and I looked down there's just blood in my hands and I was like.
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Uh okay and then like I got me taken off the field and they had to stitch me
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up there but like before obviously I took myself out of the game I played like
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pretty well like my goal from
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last week was to get three shots and hey you know what I only got one shot but
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it's okay we'll get there we'll get there and then also last week I talked about
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like getting in on tackles and oh I killed some girls.
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But I took a lot out with me you know you know but I'm getting my stitches off
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tonight so hopefully I'll be good before my game tomorrow,
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but let me know how did your game go last week we lost 2-0 but we deserved it
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it was a slap in the face for us like we talked about it after it's obviously
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in the past but we talked about everything that happened was controllable like
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our effort the way we showed up to the game
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and stuff like that so leading into this next game like we're super excited
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to just be able to fine-tune all those different things like that were so controllable
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for us but honestly I think I played pretty well defensively my goal was to
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sprint back and defend and work my
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butt off and I played the 10 and the way we built was like with two sixes and
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I honestly love pressure so
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it helped the team so much for me to go down there and be involved in the build
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so I was just honestly happy about that and we did adapt throughout the game
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but it just took us a little while to get back into like what we needed like
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the energy and the intensity that requires of a college game and also we
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had a lot of new girls a lot of new feelings of a college game so,
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good that they got their their jitters out and stuff So we're super excited for the next game.
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But I honestly was just so excited because my whole bloodline was there.
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Like literally, I showed up and I honestly thought it was just my parents and
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like maybe my grandparents were going to come. But literally the most,
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not the most random. I love every single one of them that came, but.
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Like my mom's best friend from high school was there like what like what are you doing there but
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yeah so honestly after the game I was like really happy but even though we did
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loss I was really really happy but anyways you want to go into our upcoming
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games this season because we do have,
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a couple big big games coming just ending preseason starting season yeah well I'm currently in St.
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Louis right now we're here for the entire week because we're playing St.
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Louis tomorrow and And then on Saturday, we're playing Memphis.
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So nice, you know, long six days away from home.
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But I'm feeling pretty confident in us, especially for tomorrow.
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In our first game, obviously, like we started off a little bit shaky,
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a little bit nervous. Some people are seemingly a little scared,
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like just on and off the ball. We weren't as confident.
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But I do think like now that we have one game under our belt,
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like we know how each other, I mean, we already know how each other play,
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but it should be like a good game.
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And hopefully we pull through this week with two wins. My goals for both of
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these games, I'm going to bring down my shot count to two.
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And then I'm going to get an assist on a set play because I've been really focused
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on set plays. So, I mean, in training today, we had training here.
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Like, I had a really good corner and we scored off it.
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And I'm like, okay, you know what? Just got to do the same thing in game.
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Yeah, we have Duke coming up, which if you've seen the rankings, they're third.
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But we're honestly, it's just another game for us. They're coming to our home,
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our stadium. so we like to defend our turf. And then we do play,
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Pepperdine in Malibu which is a beautiful beautiful field if you've ever even
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seen it if you've ever I went on my visit there and I watched them play we won the last time but,
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so two pretty good games we did play Pepperdine in the ring so definitely competitive
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game coming up so super excited for that but very very big games and I would say my goals for.
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At least tomorrow we play Duke tomorrow my goals would probably be to be more
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attacking minded I think this last game it has to be a measurable goal but I think for me
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completed dribbles completed passes are always a plus like I need I think in
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the last game I was playing six so I was just involved in the build and I wasn't
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really involved in the attack just because,
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it was far and like I would come really deep to help even the goalkeeper build
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which is different for me but,
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I just want to be more involved I guess in the attack and really show a little
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bit more flair going into this next episode we're going to talk about
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the rankings obviously kind of went into them a little bit the new NCAA rule
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that just passed and then NIL and how that works for each school depending on money depending on
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you know everything like that okay yeah let's get into it so the ranking the
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preseason rankings came out I think it was last week.
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Looking through it, you got Stanford at number one. Honestly,
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like, not surprised at all. They played really good. I'm surprised Florida State
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is fourth, though, considering that they won.
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It's like, it would be, like, top three.
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But it goes, like, Stanford's one, Notre Dame's two, Duke is three,
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Florida State is four, Vanderbilt's five, TCU's six, Michigan State's seven,
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North Carolina's eight, UCLA's nine, and Arkansas is 10th.
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Like, what do you think about those top ten?
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Honestly, on paper, very good teams. Every single one of those teams deserves where they're at.
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Watching them on television, knowing my friends that play at those schools,
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like I know what type of work it takes.
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And I honestly think it's fair. I think I do agree with the Florida State one
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that they should be a little bit higher just because they did win.
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Like overall, every single team that's made it here deserves to be where they're
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at on the list. And honestly, it doesn't matter.
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The list doesn't matter. It's cool to be on it, but it's going to be who contributes
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the most throughout the season. So I'm excited to watch everything college soccer,
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especially in the different the different conferences. Yeah.
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Are you playing any of the top 25 in season?
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Yeah, we play actually play UCLA. We play Michigan State. We play Duke tomorrow.
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So that'll be a big one. I think I think those are honestly the only ones that
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we're going to come across.
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And UCLA for us will be at our home this this year. So, yeah,
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we tied them last year at their home. So it's going to be super exciting. Super local.
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Good. Good L.A. rivalry. What about you? Let's see. We play.
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I'll go from the back. So we played 10th. And then obviously we're playing Memphis.
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Memphis is 24th. We played Georgia as well because, I mean, SEC.
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We already played LSU. Oh, I didn't even know they were ranked 16th. We play Arkansas.
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I'm not going to lie. Don't love playing Arkansas. Anyone who's Arkansas fans out there.
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They're very good at what they do, but I don't really love the way that they do.
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You know, you know. Oh, and we also play TCU. That's our home opener.
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And we play Vandy as well.
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Dang, you have a lot of games there. Oh, we play Stanford. Oh, have fun with that.
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Stanford at their place in the Bay Area. Yeah.
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Now we can go into the kind of new NCAA rule.
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So I'll talk about this one. So basically what it's called is it's the five for five rule.
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And so it basically gives division one athletes a continuous five-year window
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so they play up to five seasons instead of the old model which is four seasons
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within a five-year window,
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and like this five five for five starts like when you enroll into college so,
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say like I enrolled this year like I have five years,
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only five to play and it doesn't really pause for like red shirts or transfers
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or like if you take time away that makes sense I understand okay okay so what
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about like the seniors I guess from last year I know we have a couple but I'm
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not too familiar with the rule but
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I do know like that there is a little it's a little bit confusion and there's
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two different like you can waver under different ones so how does that all work
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yeah I'm not sure how it works for the red shirts because I have a lot of red shirts on my team
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that are definitely affected by it because like there's one that's a junior
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but she has she's registered in her first two years. So I'm not sure how it's going to work for her.
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But what I do know is that recently there was a case in Colorado where like
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11 athletes argued that they were they were seniors and they argued that it
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was unfair because it would they were unfairly.
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Not having another season that could, like, affect NIL opportunities and things like that.
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And so, like, athletes who completed their fourth season in,
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like, the spring under the old rule were initially excluded from that fifth season.
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But I think because of that case, they were able to get that season back.
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So, for example, literally yesterday, one of my seniors from last year got added
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to our roster. Like, we just found out in the locker room. She was just like,
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oh, and I'm coming back this year. And we were like, what, really? Yeah.
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But, like, I think it was just passed. There also is this thing,
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like, you can't transfer intake if you were that, like, poor seasoned.
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Oh, I understand. You have to
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go back to your... Yeah, you have to go back to your school you were at.
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I mean, the transfer portal's closed anyways, but, like, you have to stay.
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I understand. I understand. Got it. Okay, one thing that honestly clicked with
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me in that whole thing, that's... It's a crazy thing. Like, if you guys...
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If there's any, like, questions that people have, I would suggest going into it in depth.
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But there's obviously we go through compliance. So everything for us is like
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we don't really have to worry about it.
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One thing that caught my eye in there was the NIL opportunities.
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So I'm just going to tell you guys a little bit more about what NIL actually is.
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It stands for name, image and likeness. And it's basically as a college athlete,
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you can make money from your personal brand.
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So I think that this is why people are affected by it is just because they have
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a place to build a brand, especially associated with the school,
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especially for both of us like Bama and USC are very big NIL places,
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also very big football schools.
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So lots of money being brought in, lots of money being used.
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Essentially, just while competing for your sport, you can build your brand.
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This can include brand deals, social media appearances, commercials,
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camps, or even your own merchandise.
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It's just, honestly, you're not building yourself as an athlete only.
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You're also building yourself as a brand. So I think that's probably why people
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were worried about the NIL part of it.
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I personally, NIL for me has been pretty good since I've been at USC.
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USC, I think, thrives within that. Like we have our own like little NIL program,
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I guess, called the House of Victory. They sign different athletes from different
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sports and we have our own like little thingy.
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I'm not sure how it works, but I do know that USC has their own away,
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like their own separate NIL organization for athletes. What about y'all?
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Do you guys have anything kind of like that? Yeah, we have one.
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It's called Yale Alabama.
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And I'm honestly not sure how it works for either. I should probably go into
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it because I do want to get like an agent at some point, like to help me.
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Be more exposed to like brands and stuff like that but like on my own I reach
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out to brands and be like hey like whatever.
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I'll post this like I like there's this hydration like I always go for like
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the ones that are like electrolyte brands like with like hydration stuff or
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like sports clothing and stuff like that,
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like you know like comfort like I'm a comfort advantage I love comfort yes I
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love comfort I have so many but it's just kind of cool that you get those opportunities
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just for being like a student-athlete,
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and at Alabama oh my gosh the football players they have their own lot next
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to our dining home and it's just like Mercedes Mercedes Mercedes like they get
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NIL deals and they get a free car not free obviously it's part of their it's part of their NIL,
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but it's just crazy there's just so many and I'm like they're big bowling and
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they get a lot of money one of our running backs just signed with Nike actually
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so that's pretty fire I'm also signed with Nike.
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Okay. Yeah. Actually, how does that work? I'm curious how it works.
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So when I was younger, I kind of popped off. I had a little moment when I was
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younger. So I signed with Nike when I was 16 in April.
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And honestly, they hit me up. They hit my parents up without an agent. This.
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Everything that I got from Nike was, I didn't have to split.
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When you do have an agent, you do have to give them a percentage, but they do work for you.
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They're always looking for the best for you and them.
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But my agent, I'm with, I was with Wasserman now, now called the team.co or
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something like that. And my agent, Spencer, he's amazing.
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Genuinely, they're here for me business-wise, but they're also here for me personal-wise.
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I've had so many conversations with them that involve my future,
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brands, my family, everything.
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Like they flew out to world cup with me they're they're honestly just amazing
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people but like having an agent is
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I think beneficial for me just because it's another support system for me like
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it's another person that I can go ask for advice he's also very close with my
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college coach they went to school together very coincidental
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for Nike my contract ends in April next year so we'll see what happens with
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that but hoping praying that that they resign so but.
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Yeah I'm just super grateful to be like with the Nike family,
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the amount of like events and the amount of stuff and the amount of,
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just love they send to their athletes is honestly just like I'm so grateful for it so but you want
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a little bit more about how all the recruiting works just because I know that
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people are going through it now
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visits have started college coaches I forgot about that yes they started the
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first or I think they start yeah well obviously with all these new rules it has changed
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like my recruiting year versus
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this year is it's like crazy different like for my school I think we have eight
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or nine commits already before anyone has even taken a visit
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so like within so the recruiting process starts June 15th the summer after your
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sophomore year so summer before your junior year and usually,
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you you can reach out to coaches before they just can't talk to you so you like
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email them to come to showcases games whatever things like that and like obviously
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you like reach out to like all like the top 20 whatever any schools that you like and if they come
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and then on June 15th they can reach out to you and you'll know if they're interested or not,
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but with this like new rule.
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Like the five for five like people I think got scared and like coaches got scared
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as well and they're like pushing to pick up players sooner.
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And then obviously we had our preseason a lot earlier. So we started July 15th
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instead of July like 28th.
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So it like took off like quite a bit of time that coaches could focus on recruiting
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instead of focusing on their team.
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And so there were so, I don't even know, it was like.
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I swear everyone was committed by July. Yeah, I saw so many 2010s that I was
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like, oh, it's crazy they're 2010s now. That like, that's the,
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you're right, isn't it? 2010s, they're the recruiting class right now. Yeah.
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I mean, for me, like I, at Surf, I grew up with a lot of, like we trained all
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of our girls from 2007 to 2010. Like we would interchange and it was like a, just a flowing thing.
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They get moved up and stuff. So knowing those girls that committed without taking
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their visit, honestly, if I were to give anyone advice, I'd be like, don't rush.
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I understand like the circumstances are different just because of what you're
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saying like just not as much time the time is shrinking so like when we were
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going through recruiting at least like I remember when people would get a time
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limit I would be like take your time like
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you don't have to commit so fast you don't have to it's also a very hard decision to make at 16 like.
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That you're choosing your life to see you're choosing where you want to live
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like for example one of my teammates that was actually going to go to Alabama
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her initial decision was to go to Alabama but then kind of,
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you know reconsidered as she got a little bit older and took a little bit more
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consideration into it like she split to here honestly I I don't know it's kind
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of a crazy thing I'm I'm happy that recruiting is out the way but I I assume
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it's the same thing with the transfer portal like,
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you don't really know and it's kind of iffy when did you commit August 2024
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but I was a class of 26 though so you would have committed oh,
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yeah yeah you've reclassed yeah but I reclassed really late like in like like
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after my visit when I came here Jane was like do you want to come and I was like
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or my I don't even know like how this got brought up but we're in like the meeting
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you know like when you're about to leave like go home like and they send you
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home and you have like your meeting and they like give your offer whatever I was like oh
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they're like oh we would want you as soon as possible and I was like honestly like,
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do I have that because it would be like a year like right then when I committed
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that's like when the school year starts so I had to make the decision if I wanted
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to reclass or not and I was like honestly you.
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Like why not like why not I have I would have a year under people's belt whether it goes good or bad
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obviously didn't go as well as I wanted it to but I learned so much in that
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first year so I'm honestly grateful that I read class yeah so for me I obviously
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my recruiting process was the year before but I I committed kind of late I committed end of November,
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right before Thanksgiving of that of that year so I was like already in my junior
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year a lot of people committed like before school started like they would commit
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like August or you know like one right when school started so it's kind of late for me
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but I think it was because there was like a
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our last showcase was in like October and a lot more coaches saw me and they're
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like wait she's kind of good you know.
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And so I got like a lot more visits happen in November and like it was kind
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of hard for me because I was I was very stuck between two schools like I was
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stuck between Pepperdine and Alabama oh,
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also you know right yeah I do know I and like it was they're so different like
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so like they're like opposites and different sides of the country like the factors
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that kind of went in for me were like I want to go pro,
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Alabama produces probably I don't know what the numbers are but one of the highest
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amount of pro athletes of like all the schools in the country like I would say
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I think UF as well as like all the SEC schools just produce like mass amounts of.
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Professional athletes because of what like the resources that they have and
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like the resources were such a big thing what other schools did you talk to
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and like what were the factors that went into choose like you choosing usc honestly
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like june 15th it was low-key crazy day,
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i i woke up like normal day i was just like whatever didn't even realize this
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was like a big a massive day like as you know a lot of schools hit you up honestly
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i didn't answer a lot of the phone calls and like i didn't really know how to go about this because
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genuinely like i didn't talk to any of sevens about this.
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My family's not very big in the soccer world. So we didn't even know like how
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this worked. So like, whatever. I call one of my friends. We're writing schools down.
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She's helping me with like kind of organized, kind of go through like what you
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like, what you don't like, where you want to live.
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So big thing for me was just like the hominess of where I'm at.
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Obviously, LA is still not in San Diego, but it is only two hours away.
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So I'm blessed enough to get to go home and then also be blessed with a school
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that genuinely has everything.
19:28
The school life's amazing the soccer has been up and down but I think that's
19:32
like with everybody that goes through everything like you kind of get your rhythm
19:36
coming from northern California.
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To Alabama that's a crazy it's quite a bit different I've started using y'all
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a lot because everyone in the south uses y'all there's a lot of like stereotypes
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I think about like people from Alabama but honestly it's not that much different,
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I think I mean yes it's different in its own ways But I love it a lot.
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When I took my visit there, that definitely played, like, a big part in my decision as well.
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For my recruiting, like, my mom helps me a lot. She made, like,
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all these spreadsheets, you know.
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And obviously, I had my list of, like, my top ones. I took five visits. I went to California.
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I did Santa Clara, UCSB, and Pepperdine.
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And then I went to Memphis, California.
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University of Florida, and then Alabama. For me, my recruiting process,
20:27
I wanted to see as much as I could because I'm the type of person that's like,
20:32
wherever the wind takes me, you know, like wherever I feel like just gut feeling, like I'll be good.
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When it came down to it, I narrowed it down to like Pepperdine in Alabama and
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just like I had that gut feeling and I was like, you know what,
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let's go with this one. But yeah, that's how my process went.
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A little bit of advice, I would just say like wherever you get,
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same what Paige said, just the gut feeling.
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I could say like when i went to the usc hotel after my day was over i was like
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i told my mom and dad i was like i feel good here that's how i chose mine and
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seems like it's the same you chose yours so that's good advice.
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Advice from a little youngling like you i'm kidding well good luck yeah games
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obviously this week hopefully you guys get,
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six points results we need some results we need some results well good luck
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to you too also that's kind of crazy you're playing the team you want to go
21:19
want to visit to i know right well thank you guys so much for listening to this
21:23
week's big life episode make sure to follow girls soccer network on instagram
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for more content and you guys can find me on tiktok and instagram at page thompson underscore 30
21:33
hey you could also find me on instagram and tiktok at jane and rodriguez.7 we
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look forward to talking to you guys come join us next week for the next episode.