What Would Zak Do

Is it “Soccer,” is it “Football” that debate might exist forever.. but I know it as “The Beautiful Game” 

I really wanted to write this to share what’s it’s done for me.

1. Peace

Everyone has their place of zen. The place you go that clears your mind of all stress. 

Mine is the soccer field. As soon as you step on its like clearing your cache (for all of you IT folk out there) it wipes the slate clean. 

Doesn’t matter what’s going on, you have a new focus and that’s the game right in front of you. The end result doesn’t even matter, sure winning is obviously best, but you are out there with a great group of people who are all there for the same reason. 

Thankful for the peace it’s brought me all of these years and continues to bring. 

2. Relationships  

I started playing as soon as I could walk, but even as a young kid I built close friendships. Then I moved from Chicago to Denver and one of the first things I did was get on a new team, it’s what helped me adjust through that transition. 

I was able to get on a club team and continue playing and along the way I met some of my best friends that still are to to this day from that team around the 11-15 age.

We continued to build connection through the high school teams but went our separate ways through College. But exploring colleges I based my decision partly on which schools had a soccer program that I might have a chance to walk on at.

When I got to college, the guys on my floor in my dorm all played for the team, they helped make a strange place feel like my new home, and to this day these are still some of my best friends. I eventually tried out and made the team, but Soccer was a much deeper commitment at that level so I only ended up playing intermurals and I still had to pay for College – since there weren’t many scholarships available at the D2 level. 

After school I hopped in some local leagues for a while and eventually found a team that I played with for 10+ years and along the way created our own club called Mamba FC and I’ll forever have a bond with that group. 

Forever thankful for this game that has connected me with so many, acquaintances and ever lasting relationships that have gotten me where I am today. 

3. Adversity

Losing. You have to fail in order to become successful and I had to go through a lot of losing to get to the top in most cases. But it teaches you to reflect and humbles you to keep working to improve. Something that’s gotten me where I am today, hard work and persistence. 

Changing teams. Change is hard, being new is hard, it teaches you how to build relationships, build trust, gain respect and be authentic. 

Coachability. The willingness to listen and learn as you go, I had coaches from all walks of life and experience and I took something away from every one of them and piece by piece I built my playing style and found how I can contribute in any soccer setting, on any team. 

Grateful for what soccer has brought me though, it’s shaped me as a person and impacted my life positively in so many ways. It’ll be forever known for me as “The beautiful game”