What Makes Professional Sports So Difficult, Yet So Rewarding?

As a kid, I never really thought about the struggles and trials that would come after I achieved my dream of being a professional footballer. To be honest, I didn’t consider the challenges I’d face on the journey to becoming a professional, either. I always knew that I would have to give everything to even have a shots at being a pro, but it wasn’t until I got hit by reality that I figured out that there are so many other deciding factors besides work ethic. Focusing on the opportunity, the potential, and being somewhat ignorant to what it takes to achieve what I wanted might have been one of the reasons why I was able to accomplish my goal of becoming a pro. I didn’t look at my dream and ponder all of the things that I would have to go through. I had my blinders on and as a result, I was able to start working towards what I wanted, even if I had no idea of the struggles I would face. 

I feel like a lot of people talk themselves out of going after what they want because they are able to see challenges down the road. I don’t think I have ever had the ability to do that and I wouldn’t have it any other way. When it comes to dreams and passions, sometimes it is nice to be a little ignorant. You just don’t know what you don’t know and you move forward anyway. 

I am grateful for my naivety because it has gotten me to where I am now. On the flip side, it has also caused me to fall flat on my ass. Being a professional footballer humbles you in so many ways whether you are aware of the challenges being a professional athlete brings, or not. In my case, I had ZERO idea of the ways that this profession would challenge me. 

In Seventh Grade I decided to try out for Arizona’s Olympic Development Team (ODP) and experienced my first real rejection on my path to becoming a professional. I remember how this experience made me question if I was going to be able to live out the dreams that I hoped I would. So, I got back to work and with the support of my family I was able to make the ODP team the next year. Having got past this hurdle through hard work, it brought across the feeling that I would not have to experience any more challenges. I was on a good path. Nothing else would go wrong or slow me down. There comes that ignorance…again. It is easy to mistake a successful person as someone untouched by hardship. I think that is why I felt like setbacks or rejection were not what successful people should experience earlier in my journey when in actuality those tough moments are what make successful people who they are. 

I still struggled with this concept once I became a professional in 2022. When I signed with El Paso I saw my career path right before my eyes: USL championship for a season, move overseas, Champions League, World Cup 2026. No challenges, no setbacks, just a straight path to the top. 

And then reality hit me like a freight train. I had to compete with men 15 years my senior. I needed to earn my place on the bench, let alone in the starting eleven. I had to bring my best everyday and sometimes that might not even be enough to get the results I want. Throughout my time as a pro, I have realized how fast things can change, the instability, and the unfairness of this profession. You might start multiple games in a row, only to find yourself left out of the squad a few days later and vice versa. It can seem like adversity is constant. You get to experience the feeling of success after getting what you want and how that makes the trauma of past pain disappear. And then the feeling of losing it all again within a few hours. Now, if you just keep repeating that then you have the inside look at being a professional footballer. And I love this life. 

The rewarding part about all of this is that there is always going to be an incoming challenge (weird, I know). But whether I win, lose, tie, play good, play bad, or don’t play at all, I am always going to have to go again and improve. No matter what is going on around me, if I keep moving forward and doing the right things I’ll become who I want to be and reach where I want to go. Staying steady during uncertainty and tough times is such a difficult task and a lot of people struggle with that. I certainly do. But that is what comes with the profession and that is what makes it so special. The feelings that come along with this are irreplicable. 

As I am writing this, I find myself hoping that I am able to accurately convey this love hate relationship with adversity. How we can hate the feelings of experiencing a setback, yet at the same time we understand and love how this situation will push us to a place we couldn't have gone otherwise. 

Maybe the uncertainty of football was the only way for me to learn how to deal with the unexpected. Maybe this was life’s way of telling me that problems will always arise and bring difficulties, but the more times you weather the storm, the more you will trust yourself to get through the next one even if it is more severe. 

This might all just be part of growing up. Getting more wisdom. More experience. I probably would not be able to write about all of this if I never had the chance to live it. 

And I am really glad that I have experienced it at a young age and that I get to experience it consistently with my profession. I have been able to develop my own values that I stick to during times of distress, a code that I live by in tough times and good ones. Through sport, I have learned how being a consistent person, pushing through unforeseen obstacles, and understanding that challenges occur at every point in your life (whether you are successful or not) are things that I can apply not only to my profession but to who I am as a person too. 

Being successful does not mean challenges avoid you, it means that you push through them. The true reward is who you become and what you learn once you do. 

With struggle comes growth.

We Move,