Soccer has always been my safe place. I started playing soccer when I was three and have had the privilege to play at a college level. It was always a dream of mine to play in college, and I have learned so much about myself throughout this journey. I have learned how to lead others and also know who to follow.

            I have had many ups and downs and an overwhelming number of emotions throughout my soccer career. There were days when I was so frustrated with myself that I wanted to give up, but I was able to remind myself that happy days make up for those. I was a senior captain for my high school soccer team and my other sports, hockey and lacrosse. Being on a team, I observed all different types of people, and as a leader, I wanted to find ways to connect different types of individuals. I wanted to make it known that I was there if anyone needed to talk. This message reached some of my teammates, and some of them came to me about problems or struggles that they were dealing with. One specific day, I had an underclassman approach me and ask me if I could talk to some of her friends who were causing some drama. I was able to talk to her friends and allow myself to hear their side of the story before I made any assumptions. This reinforced my value of empathy because I believe that as a leader, my role does not include judging, but to seek fairness and understanding. We resolved the issue, and the coach didn’t need to get involved. That day, I learned that many people want to change their behavior or listen more intently when it is player-to-player, rather than player-to-coach. I brought this knowledge into my college career.

           Communication is key. Communicating both on and off the field is so important to grow team chemistry. Just this year, our coach had us watch a video of the Iowa girls’ basketball team talking about how they grew their team chemistry. One highlight that stood out to me was that they were able to just be completely transparent with each other. I have observed my college team struggle with being honest with each other. Instead of telling each other what we want on the field, we end up just complaining about it silently. I have a friend from high school who plays on the basketball team here, and we were just talking about team cultures and what they should be like. She brought up such a good point that I will never forget. She said that her team was too focused on a “drama-free” environment versus a “healthy” environment. In their culture, they emphasized a “drama-free” culture, in which many issues were going unaddressed. This really connected to me because I do truly value transparency and honesty. I realized that in order for a team to be united, it takes a great deal of courage to be honest, even when its uncomefortable. It may sound like a great idea to be drama-free, but sometimes that type of environment makes teammates feel like they have to hide their issues, building resentment. This is an important factor when building a team culture.

           A winning team needs to develop the skill of communication. For example, a freshman fell asleep in one of the first team meetings of the year. I immediately felt like I needed to say something. I remembered the skill I learned in high school: player-to-player is more effective than player-to-coach, so I acted for myself. I quietly pulled her aside and explained to her that we hold each other to a higher standard, and I don’t want her to get in trouble with the coach. She took it very well, and it didn’t happen again. I developed the skills of conflict resolution and communication. I could have decided to ignore it because I didn’t want to start something, and instead talk to my friend about it. That would then just create drama if my friend started spreading it around. Therefore, it’s better to talk directly to your teammate, creating a “healthy” environment instead of a “drama-free” environment.

          Lastly, I learned teamwork and resilience. In all transparency, we did not have the best season in my sophomore year. We faced a lot of adversity. We didn’t win the NSIC conference or the NSIC conference tournament. It was the first time since 2009 that we didn’t win either of those titles. We all strive for the same goal, and sometimes we just don’t earn it. We had setbacks, for example, our leading scorer was out this season. We struggled to overcome the deficit of being down against Concordia in the conference tournament. But after the season, we changed our attitude. We recognize the unsuccessful season, but we can only look forward. Our first spring game we took it to SMSU 5-0. That was resilience. Our team chemistry has improved so much. When I am approached by my teammates to work on something, I thank them for wanting me to get better.

          As I reflect back on my four years playing at Minnesota State, Mankato, I have been extremely grateful for the experiences, friendships, laughs, cries, and everything in between. I cannot imagine not having soccer in my life. Whatever my future holds for me, I know I want to be on a team. It has been the greatest gift to be able to leave this place better than I found it. My junior year, we had such a successful year, and we ended up being the National Runner-Ups. At the time, I felt defeated because I felt we weren’t able to finish the job. But as I reflect back, the fact that we were able to get that far and were second in the nation, that work should feel so good!

I have learned so many skills while being on a team. I learned communication, teamwork, resilience, and conflict resolution. I always want to lead by example and lead with expressiveness. I can apply these skills to my future job. Everywhere I work, there is always some form of a team. We all play a different part, but we all work towards a common goal. I can be the player to coach my teammates, and I can also be open to getting coached. As I said before, I learned how to lead others and also learned who to follow. As I close the soccer chapter in my life, I have immense excitement for what is next!