From College Fields to Professional Pitches: The Journey of a Soccer Player!

Welcome back to the Big Life Podcast!

Transitioning from college soccer to the professional level is a dream for many female soccer players, but the journey is filled with challenges, pressures, and unexpected twists. In this week's episode of the Big Life podcast, Sam and Jordyn dive head first into this topic as two athletes who are currently navigating these waters. Sam shares her personal journey from college soccer at Iowa to playing professionally in Sweden. The shift from being a top player in college to starting anew in a professional setting comes with its own set of pressures. "Winning or losing is quite literally for me, it's my job, it's my livelihood, it's my community, it's my contract and so much," she explains. This statement encapsulates the heightened stakes that come with professional sports, where every game can impact a player's career and future.

Meanwhile, Jordyn gears up for the Big Ten Conference kickoff, discussing her team's preparations and the challenges of their first away trip of the season. The duo also recaps the latest results and highlights key upcoming matches in the Big Ten, including intriguing match-ups involving new West Coast additions UCLA and USC.

The episode also touches on the differences in funding and facilities between college and professional soccer. While college programs in the U.S. often have extensive resources, professional teams, especially in Europe, focus more on the essentials for football. This shift can be jarring for players who are used to the "flashiness" of college sports.

Thank you to our sponsor, IDA Sports. IDA Sports shares GSN's commitment to empowering women in soccer by providing them with the specialized gear they deserve. The company's cleats are designed to address the unique needs and preferences of female athletes, aligning perfectly with the mission of "The BIG LIFE" podcast. 

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Episode Transcript

(00:04):
Hi, everyone, and welcome back to the Big Life Podcast.
All right, I'm not gonna lie, that was a take two on the intro.
Words are coming out a little hard today. So, Jordan, how are you?
I'm doing good. A little bit better than you. It sounds like you had a really
long day where mine's like barely started at this point.
That's like, I don't think Jordan and I will ever quite get the time difference between us.

(00:26):
You know, mathematically, the amount of times like I've scheduled
meetings and like have been off on the time conversion or we
like realized that like my day's over and hers is just beginning right now
so we're working through it we're growing we're learning it's
only been like you know six months at this point so
oh yeah sam's definitely had to take one for
the team here because i messed up the conversion so often

(00:47):
that now everything has to be in eastern time so she has
to do the math because i just kept getting it wrong we try
you know it happens it happens to the the best of us but
now been a long day here I was just saying to Jordan my long
days are Tuesday so I was at the soccer facility from
7 30 this morning to about 4 this afternoon didn't
come home during any of that so super excited to be back on here talking about

(01:10):
more soccer but this is the big life and there's some big things to talk about
and I know I'm happy to be here with Jordan and you guys so Jordan big moments
in the big life this week let's recap the weekend what came off the news headlines for you.
Yeah, yeah. I think, unfortunately, our last guest had a little bit of a tough
week with UCLA going 0-1-1, playing two SEC schools.

(01:35):
Yeah, that was definitely... So last year, we had the podcast and the kind of
curse of the podcast that we were kind of talking about.
I don't know if it's back, so we're really sorry, Marguerite, about this.
But But yes, UCLA went 0-1-1, tying Tennessee and then losing 2-0 on the road to Kentucky.
So definitely not the result they wanted. And I don't know, the first thing

(01:58):
that kind of struck me about this was we know that UCLA is having injury issues.
You know, Marguerite talked about it very openly last week. But also,
you know, there is a very big difference going from West Coast to SEC style soccer.
And I wonder if that had anything to do with the results on the road for a really
tough road stretch for UCLA.
Yeah, yeah. We talked about it
too with them missing. I think it was three players to the U-20 World Cup.

(02:19):
So how kind of those reinforcements help just numbers wise and talent wise on a roster.
It's hard to tell and like really speculate what this means for their future
in terms of standings and things of that nature.
But it'll be interesting to see how they bounce back going into USC for the
first week of conference play this coming week.
Absolutely. And we will get into more of that. But, you know,

(02:39):
Jordan, we have to give them our due.
I feel honestly a little bad about the amount we've talked about Michigan on
this podcast. And they're not great start to the season.
And then they went and they tied on Thursday. And I was like, whoa, they got a tie.
It was 0-5-1. one. They tied Iowa State, which, you know, me being a Hawkeye,
I'm more than happy with that.
And then I looked at my phone on Sunday and they beat number 24, Alabama, 1-0.

(03:01):
So they have their first win against a ranked opponent.
Jordan, what do you think this win means to this Michigan squad?
I think it means terrible things for Alabama, but I think this is what we talked about.
It was kind of a turning point for them. They could either choose to fight it
out and really try and salvage this season for them.

(03:21):
And I think that's exactly what they're doing.
You can band together and you can go one way, or they could have given up and
just kind of called it quits on the season.
So I'm really happy to see this and this result for them.
I mean, it was a tough start to the season and that kind of fork in the road
where they had to make a decision.
I think hopefully that decision was made and you start to see some more success from them coming, but.

(03:42):
You know, it'll be it'll be an interesting week to see what they do with this.
If, you know, they're able to still kind of fight through it or if this was
just almost like a fluke for them, which I hope not.
But yeah, I think this couldn't have come at a better time for Michigan.
You have a ranked opponent at home. I believe it was their senior night,
too. I could be wrong about that.
And now you're going into Big Ten play this week, which we'll talk about.

(04:04):
Big Ten conference starts this upcoming week. So your next game is against a Big Ten opponent.
This is kind of where the line in the season in a way restarts.
So yeah, we care about non-conference. We care about stuff like that.
But it's your conference that really means everything.
So I feel like for them to have this momentum after a big win going into Big
Ten play is probably the best thing they could have done to really move that

(04:26):
second half of the season moving forward.
Absolutely. And as Marguerite said, once you get into conference play and things
of that nature, even though Michigan had a tough start, every team is so talented.
And soccer is one of those games where it also takes one goal and you can win
the game regardless of the rest of the stats.
So I don't think anyone's out of the question in terms of conference play and

(04:47):
having this momentum going into that is really good for them.
And it'll be interesting to see what they do.
And speaking of momentum, one of the teams that came out to a really hot start
this season was Ohio State.
However, they did get their first loss of the season to an Auburn squad.
And listen, I know we talk about the big time. We don't really talk a lot,
but I think Auburn has really been turning a lot of heads this season as they've

(05:09):
been a team that isn't always talked about in the SEC, isn't one of the heavy
hitters, some people might say, but have not conceded a goal this season.
And they kept that streak going as they beat Ohio State 1-0.
So, I mean, I think that this is just a tough game and I didn't watch the game,
but the box score kind of alludes so the game could have gone either way in
terms of shots and competition.

(05:29):
But Ohio State getting its first loss obviously isn't great.
However, they've had a really solid non-conference going into Big Ten play.
Yeah, absolutely. I don't have really much to add on that. I think they're two
talented teams. Auburn not letting in a single goal is so impressive.
That is so hard to do going seven games deep right now.

(05:49):
So, you know, props to them. But, yeah, tough result by Ohio State,
but, you know, still a very, very talented program, and I think they'll have no issue bouncing back.
Completely agree. And now one of my favorite little tidbit facts I did is I
did some sleuthing into the Big Ten.
This one is just as random, but really interesting, I think.
So the two teams, when you look at Big Ten standings right now that are sitting

(06:10):
on top of Big Ten, just based off of their non-conference record right now,
sorry, sorry, bud, is Minnesota and Indiana. Vienna.
So two teams that you really don't talk about in the Big Ten a ton.
I think they're two very, very competitive programs, and I've played very hard-fought
games against both, but they're not your heavy horse predictors.

(06:31):
And both teams have won all of their games except one tie. They have zero losses.
So one's 4-0-1 and one's 5-0-1.
But that one for tie came against the same opponent. Both teams have tied Brown University now 1-1.
And we shouldn't be be remiss in saying that Brown was a sweet 16 team last
year. They had a very, very talented squad.

(06:53):
And so I think it's honestly kind of humorous that they tied the same team.
But I think that also says a lot about their depth of the squad,
meaning that they've won all their games. They're undefeated and they're one
ties against a very good opponent and a mutual opponent.
Yeah. Yeah. I think very, very impressive record.
I'm not quite sure their strength of schedule for the rest of their games,

(07:13):
what that looks like, but they've got to feel good going into
this conference play with with that record and the tie
to brown is nothing to be you know ashamed of by any means like
a talented program and top 16 like you said from
from last year so although i don't i
don't think they're the top of the conference necessarily i might put like a
green school maybe at number one but it is what it is you know all right all

(07:37):
right well okay as we transition into big 10 conference starting this week jordan
you know you're in your locker room all the time you You hear it from your coach all the time,
but you've also lifted. This is now your fourth season in the Big Ten.
What is the focal point or what can athletes be doing as you transfer from non-conference
to conference to kind of like change that mentality?

(07:57):
Or what does that shift mean to a player?
Yeah. You know, honestly, I think the way we've learned to handle ourselves
in non-conference play, especially this season, having such a competitive schedule,
playing so many ranked teams and good opponents, that there really shouldn't be much of a shift.
You play every game to win, and that's that.

(08:20):
That's how you go about your season. I do think there is a little bit of added
pressure when it comes to Big Ten play, knowing how competitive of a conference
this is and knowing how talented it is, that every game from now on out is going to be hard.
It's going to be competitive, where maybe some other schools or your non-conference
play you have, like we played Queens, you know, like you have those kind of

(08:41):
breaks in your schedule where you have an easy opponent.
That is now done. Like that is gone. You will always have a competitive team to play.
So I do think there's a little bit of getting your mind used to that adversity
day in, day out, Thursday, Sunday, every single week. There's no more breaks
in that schedule for you, really.
But other than that, I mean, I think there's the added pressure with conference counting more.

(09:05):
When you're looking at making a tournament, you're looking at the NCAA tournament,
every game that you go farther into your schedule, there's less and less opportunity
to continue to prove yourself.
That block gets smaller and smaller and smaller for you to make a name for yourself
and for those rankings to get moved and adjusted.
So I do think there's a little bit of added pressure with it.

(09:25):
But at the end of the day, I think competitive teams will go out there to win
non-conference, conference, whatever it is.
And that's how it will look. It'll be a lot of the same mentality moving forward.
There's going to be added diversity
with travel because we've been at home pretty much the entire time.
Our only away game was Notre Dame, which is not a far bus ride at all.
So our first actual travel trip will be this week. So that'll be interesting.

(09:50):
Something we haven't really done as a team. We haven't flown yet anywhere. So...
That'll be interesting to see how we handle that. But for the most part, it'll be the same.
Yeah, it's interesting. You know, I look back at my time at Iowa and now that
I think about it, there's like almost a weird curse at Iowa with that first
game back from a non-conference shift.

(10:11):
If I remember right, we've had very successful non-conference a lot of times.
I remember last year, for example, we were 6-0-1-1, I believe,
going into conference play.
But that first game, I don't know if it's just getting used to Big Ten style
again, but we always seem to struggle.
I know last year, I believe we lost to Wisconsin, but I know for fact the year
before we lost to Wisconsin, but we lost to Wisconsin bad.

(10:34):
Like we were up one zero at half. And so 45th minute, we're up one zero second
half starts by the 50th minute. We are down three to one.
So just some crazy things that have happened.
And I think a lot of it is the intensity of the big 10 and games mattering so
much more when you're not used to that, or when when you're not prepared for that, it can bite you.

(10:55):
And I've been a part of a program where it has before. And that first game doesn't tend to go well for Iowa.
So I truly, truly hope they break the curse coming up in their next game.
But I remember in my times, it was different. And I don't know necessarily why
it didn't really go positive for us a lot.
But I don't know if it was that shift, if it's the competitiveness, if it's the fact.
The one thing that's true about the Big Ten and any sort of intense college

(11:18):
soccer environment is you have to be intact hash from minute one to minute 90.
And if I look back from those, it's those little lapses. It's you can be punished
for something for tuning out for 30 seconds and boom, all of a sudden you're behind.
And I think the attention to detail has to be so much greater.
And if you're not ready for that, then it can really easily sneak up on you.

(11:38):
Absolutely. And I think I'm talking as more of like a seasoned player now.
I'm trying to remember what it was like when I was a young freshman going into all of this.
And I'm sure it was a different mentality and a lot scarier to do.
Luckily, we have a very seasoned team with a lot of seniors and fifth years on the field.
Which I think will definitely help with those nerves and things of that nature.
And honestly, we're a team that plays better against better competition.

(12:00):
I think we're a lot more nervous going into a game versus like a Loyola or an
Ohio who are still good programs, but ones that, you know, ranking wise,
we should definitely beat.
I think there's almost more pressure to those games for us because we don't
know how we're going to perform versus Penn State or, you know,
some of these top programs where, you know, it's going to be a good game,

(12:20):
you know, we're going to give it everything we have.
I think we definitely do perform better under harder pressure,
which bodes well to a Big Ten conference play.
Yeah, absolutely. And speaking of, there's a lot of really big matches that
I know I'm excited to tune into and see results.
So for our fans who listen and watch Big Ten Network and everything,
the matches that I know I have highlighted this week in Big Ten play,

(12:42):
one of which we look at two teams that unexpectedly, in a lot of ways,
are towards the top of the standings right now.
Indiana will play against Ohio
State. And I think that that has potential to be a really fun matchup.
Indiana was notorious, even Marguerite called it out last week,
for not letting in a lot of goals, but tying a ton of games last season.
I'm pretty sure they led the NCAA in ties.

(13:02):
And Ohio State's offense has been off to a really elite start, led by Kayla Budich.
And so I'm super excited to see those two teams face off. And who is your projected
winner out of those two teams?
Yeah, I think this is going to be something that either Ohio State's going to
come up with like a 1-0 tie or Indiana's going to tie it up with like a 1-1 game.
So I don't think it will be super high scoring. And I think it's either going

(13:26):
to go in Ohio State's favor or a tie from my predictions, but I don't know.
It'll be a fun game to watch.
Completely agree. And then the other ones, of course, the highlight,
we get to see our new West Coast additions to the Big Ten face off this week
as UCLA will play Oregon and USC will play Washington.
I think one of the really interesting things to think about is one thing we've
heard from these teams that are excited to join the Big Ten is that they're

(13:48):
excited for new opponents.
And they get to start off Big Ten play with not new opponents playing against
people that were also in the Pac-12 with them.
So it'll be very interesting to see this West Coast kind of square off as they
jockey for position of the newcomers to the Big Ten and how that kind of looks
as they then join the Midwest, maybe even a week later than we thought.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. What are your predictions for these games? yeah I

(14:11):
think I gotta go with the favorites here Oregon didn't have
a strong Pac-12 season last year they've been looking to turn
that around they've had some success but I gotta go with UCLA and Washington
has had some really great ones and USC is coming off of a two-to-one loss but
they're losing to Stanford they lost to Stanford two-to-one on Sunday so a ton
of experience going into that game so I gotta pick both UCLA and USC to win

(14:33):
that game yeah I think I have to agree.
So into our main topic for this week, as Jordan and I kind of discussed,
you know, I was trying to think about like, what is something that we haven't gotten into in this pod?
And that, frankly, I'm still trying to figure out a lot of.
And I feel like we've been talking so much about college soccer recently,
which is 100% valid. And college soccer is at an all-time high.

(14:55):
We've had amazing guests on and talking with Jordan's journey.
But I wanted to tap in a bit into mine and talking about the stuff that being
a professional soccer player you don't necessarily realize or think about.
So I'm excited to get into this, Jed.
Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, as someone who we've talked about,
my journey is not going the way I would have expected for my senior year.

(15:16):
And one of kind of the issues I'm having or facing right now is that I can't
have an agent to really see what options are like for me outside of this collegiate season,
knowing that it's not ideal and kind of figuring out my future.
So I know I I have personally a bunch of questions and cannot wait to hear your
answers and kind of dive into the Sam Carey brain of it all.

(15:38):
But I mean, to start it off, like, what are the differences that you feel going
from collegiate pressure to the pro life?
Like, is there an increase? And we talked about non-conference to conference
games and that kind of shift and maybe added pressure. But when your job's on
the line, what is that like?
Yeah, I think you just hit the nail on the head. And it's something that I'm trying to balance.

(16:03):
And I've talked to a lot of my teammates about this. And I think they kind of think I'm crazy.
And if anyone knows me personally, they know I am an overthinker that I do like
to play out every possible scenario in my head.
But we'll even be watching a game
where there's a low team in the table playing a mid team in the table.
So realistically, as a team, we'd want the low team to upset the mid table team

(16:24):
because that takes away points from them as we're looking at our seedings, let's just say.
And in my brain, I'm like, no, I want the mid table team to win.
And everyone's like, why? And I'm like, let's just keep the low teams low.
Because in European football, as you know, so many other parts of the world,
it's a relegation promotion system.
So we have 14 teams in our league.

(16:44):
And every year, the bottom two teams go down to the B division.
And then the top two teams, the B division go up to the A division.
And if your team goes down, you lose funding, you lose sponsorships,
you lose is honestly contracts.
There will be contracts cut. There will be so much impacts of your team going down.

(17:05):
So for us right now in the table, we have one team that just promoted from what's
called the Elite-a-ton.
So that's the team under the Don Mills-Vonskin
or the league under the Don Mills-Vonskin or the two leagues.
And there you have two points on the year. They've tied two games and that's it.
And so every time they play, we're like, oh, we want them to get an upset.
I'm like, keep them down. Just keep them down. So I know there's a lot of rambling in it.

(17:29):
If you don't necessarily know what I'm talking about or can look at my hand
gestures, that may not make sense.
But the biggest thing is you've got to stay out of the bottom.
And winning or losing is quite literally for me. It's my job.
It's my livelihood. It's my community. It's my contract. and so much.
And so there is an extra pressure.

(17:49):
And then there's also expectations. And so for the club this year,
I'm on a team that promoted last year.
So they started five years ago, have slowly worked their way through the system.
So last year was the first year in the top division.
And they finished in ninth place with 24 points.
This year, we are currently tied for fifth place and
we have 20 30 points with eight games

(18:12):
left to go so significantly better showing we're
on the up and up and we're competing we're tied it's fifth and
fourth place are tied and the other thing that's really
exciting about playing in europe and playing in the league that i am is the
top three teams in your table then go to the champions league so i feel like
as it's almost any player growing up starting to play champions league that's

(18:34):
so the champions Champions League is basically a tournament or a league of the best teams.
So it's the winners of every country of Europe then play to like kind of battle
to see who is the best team in the world, as they call it.
And the people who won Champions League last year was famously Barcelona.
They played against Chelsea in the final. There is the final four of PSG,

(18:56):
Olympic Lyon, Chelsea, Barcelona, like all these incredible clubs.
And it's like, oh, my gosh, I want to be there one day. I want to play in the
Champions League. So finishing top three gets you there.
So just every win, everything means so much more. And when it means so much
more, there's so much pressure.
I think the interesting thing for me right now is like, I get more nervous,

(19:17):
kind of like what you just said, playing against teams that we should win,
because you cannot give up points there.
Like you, if you're one of the teams that tied that last place team that has
two points, like that's bad.
That's, you know, like I said, that's bad publicity. That's bad on the team.
That's bad on the program.
And with women's sports being in a growing yet fragile state,

(19:37):
it can be bad on so many aspects.
And so there's a lot, and that was a really, really long answer to your question,
but winning and losing, I thought meant a lot to me in college,
but when it's your life, it's a whole nother level.
Yeah. Yeah. I have a couple of questions with that one. It's really interesting to see here.
You say like the pressure of winning and losing and the attachment you have to it.

(19:59):
Cause I think that's something I'm going through right now where I kind of lost that, to be honest.
When I used to lose a game, I would replay every single touch I had in my head
after college, and it would keep you up at night watching film, doing these things.
Same thing with a win, where I can still feel the crowd against the Michigan

(20:19):
game my sophomore year, beating them for the first time.
I can still feel the ball hit my head and scoring those goals.
Or the Penn State game, where we went from one of the worst teams in NCAA to
the first time beating a ranked opponent in program history.
Like, I can still almost relive those games moment for moment. And they meant so much.
Versus now, like...

(20:41):
I mean, we haven't lost yet, luckily, but I mean, we've tied some teams that
maybe we wish we wouldn't have
or unfortunate results or when you're playing bad or any of that stuff.
Like you don't have the same attachment to it. I feel when I'm not playing like
those results while it's my team, I almost feel like I'm more of a fan than a player.
I don't have that same same attachment to it that I used to where it's like, yes, we won.

(21:04):
But like, I don't feel like I won. like I
feel like this team that I'm cheering on and watching one
it's a whole different set of feelings and emotions that is
really interesting to kind of like go through because this is the
first time in my entire career I've ever been in a position where I
haven't played in a game because I wasn't good
enough to you know I've been I've been injured before

(21:27):
once I've only ever missed one game last
year when I strained my hamstring and then
I sat three games this season maintaining my eligibility so knowing
I wasn't going to play but the mindset between those versus like
sitting on the bench looking at your season because you're not good enough to
be out on the field according to your coaching staff is like a whole different
whole different feeling so it's really interesting to see like the difference

(21:51):
in attachment to results versus a collegiate player who's playing someone who's
not playing and then you have the whole different
level of a pro-life where your job is required to have those results and to
have that attachment to it.
But my question for you is, you mentioned the difference in funding between levels.
What do you feel like the difference in funding is between a big 10 college

(22:14):
program versus the pro-life that you're experiencing in Sweden?
That's a really good question.
I think the difference in funding comes from different aspects,
and that doesn't necessarily so it makes sense.
But I think one thing that the US in general does well, whether this be Big
Ten College, whether this be the NWSL, even the USL Super League,

(22:37):
I've seen it to a very, very strong level, is marketing and flair.
I think that with this, you know how to sell things.
We know how to make things look good on camera. I swear, I have seen more really
cool highlight sizzles before games and media day photos and all these things
that you see in like high school nowadays.

(22:57):
Like it is something ingrained in American culture to be very flashy.
And I think the funding, but also the culture difference doesn't really allow
or accept that, especially in Sweden.
It's very much focused on your football. Like if I need anything for football,
I have it. I have recovery.
I have all the equipment. I have a great field. I have great facilities.

(23:21):
I have great trainers, great coaches, all of those things that impact my football.
I no longer get 13 pairs of shoes, which is really sad. My closet is very thankful,
pole, but it's really sad.
I no longer get all the teen gear and the swag out. I have a travel outfit and
I have my practice outfit.
And I think I have like a winter coat. Like I don't, I don't have all the flashiness

(23:44):
that a lot of things in the U S tend to be.
I don't have media day photos. We took one headshot and left.
Like no one cares about that in the European for the most part.
Even when I resigned my contract, they're like, we can use old photos of you.
We don't need it. it's actually funny.
I feel like every time I do an interview, whether it be with the newspaper in
town or even branding or stuff like that in Sweden that I've been starting to

(24:05):
do, people have attached to me because they think you're really good at media.
You're really good at talking. You're so energetic.
And I'm like, yeah, but that's probably every American ever.
We're all extremely better than you Swedish people at this kind of stuff.
And that's my teammates joke with me about it all the time. They don't really know.
I don't even say they They don't know. They don't care to talk to the media.

(24:26):
That's just it's not their personalities to be in front of cameras and do that.
And I think because of that, it's half the reason why a lot of Americans,
I want to say, look down on European football only because we don't market it
like American football and American soccer and college athletics and all of the same thing.
It's not the same, but I think the values are absolutely the same.

(24:47):
It's the extras. That is where the funding would definitely,
I would say, differ. That's really interesting.
Women's soccer is a non-revenue generating sport in college,
right? We get our money and our funding from our football.
And if you have a good basketball team that generate revenue,
that then fund all of our flashiness.
I mean, I literally just came from an NIL meeting learning how to do voiceovers

(25:11):
and create content around it and do all these extra things that you do in college.
Do you feel like it was was
a drop-off in terms of some of
the stuff like did you feel like I don't
know like it was a step up for me from high school to college I got all these
extra gear I felt more professional I felt like there was more attention on

(25:32):
it I there was extras involved with it with all of the stuff that came with
being a collegiate athlete do you feel like it was maybe a step down because
you have some of the less funding and less flashiness when becoming a pro out,
I think, once again, it goes back to the difference between Europe and the U.S.
I don't think any NWSL player or even USL player might feel like that.

(25:54):
For me, I think the biggest difference is, I wouldn't say I felt like a step
down, but you also have to remind yourself that you're getting paid.
It's kind of an expectation that they don't need to give me two pairs of shoes
because I can go buy them.
And they give me cleats. If I need cleats, I get cleats.
If it's anything pertaining to football, hands down, 100% it's accessible to

(26:15):
me. But like I don't need the newest pair of adidas shoes.
For example, we're an adidas team I've never been in adidas team in my life.
So I didn't get shoes to travel and they just Kind of like go buy adidas shoes
And so I think a lot of it is like anything I need I can get but i'm getting
paid and yes Iowa paid for my school and all that but you know,

(26:35):
it's a whole separate thing i'm making money So it's kind of an expectation
that if I need it I can spend the money that they're giving me for my salary
for those things And so, yeah, it's a little bit different in those regards,
but it's more of a like you have a right and responsibility to be an adult,
unfortunately, and you don't need 18 pairs of shoes.
So I don't know, man, my feet might disagree. I like my style definitely has, I swear.

(26:59):
No, that is that's really interesting. It's something I always kind of wondered
after I went to England last winter break and I got to see some of the facilities
and things of that nature.
Year I was like honestly not that I don't
think Michigan State has maybe the top line locker room
out of everyone in the Big Ten but I mean some of these schools are so
well funded and they have some of the flashiest facilities I've ever seen that

(27:22):
the difference between going to these WSL teams that you grow up watching and
hearing of and that you think are the best of the best you know to see the difference
in funding where it almost looks I don't know how to like not less
than in terms of play, but less than in terms of funding.
It looks cheaper, not as well kept or things of that nature.

(27:43):
It was really interesting to see because I always just assumed it was going
to be another step up where you get even flashier with the pro-life, especially in Europe.
So that's really interesting to kind of hear and see. But you mentioned last
week the difference between putting down roots and being able to decorate a
home versus not decorate a home or things of that nature.

(28:03):
What is, I'm curious in the pro-life, some of the things with injury?
Like if a player on your current roster gets injured, are they still traveling with the team?
Do they still do all these types of things? Because we've gone through our fair
injuries in college right now for Michigan State, but they're still very much
a part of our active roster and they will still travel with us and do all these things.

(28:26):
But in a pro life, it becomes a lot more competitive and you have different
roster caps and things of that nature. So what does that mean as a pro?
Yeah, that's a great question. And I think it means a lot lot of impacts of life.
And very unfortunately, your question comes at a great time because we did have
our starting left forward who has had a phenomenal season, Tara ACL,
in our game this weekend.
We actually just found out about 30 minutes ago that she tore ACL.

(28:48):
So when it comes to being a pro, the first thing is understanding roster sizes.
Every league, every place is going to have its own rules. For example, it's 26 in the NWSL.
In the Damalsvanskan, so in Sweden, in, there really is no roster cap into how
many players you can have on your roster.
But your game day roster can only be 18.

(29:11):
So because of that, when we travel, we only travel 18.
For us, we have, there's been a bit of change during the windows of different,
you know, movement going on, but we have normally around 23 girls on our roster.
So that is five people consistently not traveling.
So typically, those spots would go if you're injured, you're not going to travel.

(29:32):
Also, once again, it is relatively a funding thing.
They're not going to add an extra hotel room for someone who can't fly if we're
staying in a hotel that night or different things like that.
So unfortunately, it is a matter of if you're injured, you're likely not spending
that away time with the team.
The other thing you have to think about, especially when we're talking about
serious injuries such as an ACL or a season-ending injury, is your contract length.

(29:55):
And this is where you really hope you have
a good gm or empathy in
a lot of regards that isn't always the case in professional soccer
so for example you take the usl i
know someone who unfortunately signed a usl contract and in
like the two weeks in between leagues she was back at her place in torre acl
she is with that team in the usl even though she knows she's out for the season

(30:19):
but she's under contract so they are helping her pay for her medical fees her
rehab They are still giving her a salary because they've committed to doing that through contract.
That is the nice thing is everything is through contract and it's legal documents
that you can't really maneuver in a lot of ways.
There's some ways that people will find, you know, ways to waive people and so like that.
But in most situations, if you have a cease and ending injury,

(30:42):
you know, it's things are taken care of still.
The poor girl that I was talking to earlier today, she's 28.
She's played with North Shipping, so my club, for the last, I want to say, three or four years.
And her contract ends this year. So now she's panicking. If she had another
year on her contract, it would be simple.
They would be required to keep her at North Shipping. They would be required

(31:05):
to help her through this process to get her back on the field and all that stuff.
And I'm sure they will. I'm not saying anything like that. But theoretically,
in November, they're not required to resign her.
So now any other club that would resign her is taking a risk because she would
be coming in injured, rehabbing that ACL cell.
So for her, tearing her ACL at this point in her life is one of the worst things

(31:26):
that could happen because it's leaving so much of her future uncertain.
Her contract's up. If Northrop King chooses not to resign her,
then she's kind of in this limbo land and not sure where she could get picked
up or what could happen. in.
So that is, once again, the unfortunate thing about being a pro is when you
go to college, obviously stuff happens.
There's transfer portal, there's a ton of stuff, but you are pretty much guaranteed

(31:47):
to know where you are or hope you know where you're going to be for the next four years.
That is the goal, at least, when you commit to a college that you're going to
stay there and finish out there.
When it's with a professional setting, your contract could be six months,
your contract could be one year, it could be two years.
And we've seen in so many situations, your contract's three years,
but it doesn't matter, we're going to trade you anyway. way.
And we're going to do, we're going to waive you from your contract,

(32:08):
which apparently means we can just rip up the contract and waive you.
And the contract never happened.
There's so many different ways to get out of stuff, whether it be certain leagues
have certain rules, vice versa.
And so I think the really scary thing about injuries is once again,
it is impacting your life. It is impacting your income. It is impacting your
job. For me, it impacts my visa.
So there's so many severe factors in that regard. How does your visa,

(32:29):
are you, you're on a work visa?
Yeah. So I'm on a work visa. So my visa is tied to my employment through IFK North shipping.
So theoretically, if I were to have a season-ending injury and I get released
from my contract, I get deported.
So there's a lot of serious life impacts of different things.
If you wanted to, like, in your off time or whatever, like, get a part-time

(32:49):
job or something, are you able to through your visa?
I am not. So IFK North Spain is the only people in Sweden that are allowed to employ me.
I am lucky in the sense I have a husband who, through being my spouse,
also gets granted residence and a work visa for the same length as my visa.
So he can go get a part-time job in Sweden. He can get any kind of work in Sweden.

(33:12):
But the only work I am allowed to have is through IFK Norshipping.
Wow, that's really interesting. I mean, I guess you mentioned that they don't
really do media or things of that nature.
If you were to get a brand deal or something like that, would you still be allowed to?
Or is that no good because you're not employed by?
Yeah, I can do brand deal because it's kind of an independent contractor situation.

(33:34):
So there is like some loopholes and different things. So yeah,
I am allowed to do brand deals. And I even have my local coffee shop.
Secret drop here. Anyone from Sweden's listening to this, This Cafe Tappan is
making the Scary Carrie because there's no pumpkin spice lattes in Sweden.
And I'm going absolutely nuts about it.
So I've talked to a coffee shop that I go to all the time and I get free coffee from.

(33:57):
And they're making a Scary Carrie, which is the American pumpkin spice latte.
And I'm very excited about it.
That, I think, may be the coolest thing I've ever heard. So we have collaborations
going on. That's what I'm talking about.
Okay. Yeah, you're chill. Wow. Okay. Way to go, Sam.
Bring it in the NIL experience into pro hell

(34:18):
yeah love to see it so I think one of the big questions that we talked about
last week or two weeks ago now I guess and just the injury and the way my season
has gone is the idea of what's next as I mentioned I can't get an agent I don't
know if there's really what opportunities outside of college are for me what that would look like.
I don't know like you're in between all these different ideas do I go get a

(34:40):
job do I stay in school? Do I get a mask?
Like, what is what do I do? Like my career in college with MSU ends in like, four months.
So it's kind of like go time to kind of start planning almost,
especially if I'm not really playing.
So my question is for you, Sam, as someone who has transitioned already to the
pro life, and you've signed a contract for another year in Sweden.

(35:03):
What's next? What are what are your goals and aspirations? Like what is what
comes after the pro life for you? What's.
What's next? You've hit like the most existential crisis question that I've
been dealing with in the back of my head for a little bit.
And I think why is frankly, in a lot of ways, my whole life,
I've been chasing something.

(35:25):
You know, when you're in high school, you're chasing making your college career
the best thing you can dream.
And then I played college. And then in college, I was like, I want to be a pro.
I want to be drafted. I want to be a professional soccer player.
And I literally, like, I didn't even care how cheesy this sounds.
There is quite literally times like that last sprint, that last push.
Like I was thinking like, this is to get me a pro contract. This is to get me

(35:49):
as a pro, like this is what I'm doing it for.
And I think anyone at Iowa could tell you, especially the last two years of
my career, everything in my brain was driven to how is this going to make me a pro?
What is this going to do to make me a pro? and I did it.
I got drafted. I'm on a pro contract. And frankly, on the field,
I have played every single minute of the season.

(36:11):
And I literally could not have asked for a better rookie year.
People do not get the rookie years that I have gotten this season.
And I'm so, so thankful for that.
But I think one thing I am kind of struggling with is I don't know what to chase anymore. more.
And the interesting thing about being a pro that I'm learning very,
very quickly is it's not really realistic to make a dream of,

(36:36):
I want to play on this team or I want to be here.
And I think what I mean by that is, yeah, I can maybe say like,
I want to play in this league.
I want to do this, but movement and all those things depend on your age and
depend on needs, depend on so many any factors.
Like literally my one friend that I'm really close to here has an EU passport.

(36:56):
She is about 10 times more likely to ever get a contract in a European country
that's not in Sweden because she has an EU passport than me.
And there's so many just different factors that kind of play into making goals
as a pro that, you know, one thing we're always taught when it comes to making
goals is make goals that are attainable and controllable and that you can physically we control.

(37:20):
And I can't control as so-and-so signs me into a contract.
You know, going pro was a wide enough scope that in a lot of ways I could control that.
I don't know that I can control fully what my next move is.
So I think one thing I'm having to learn what to do is I can no longer set goals
three years into the future, four years into the future. Like I had done my entire higher life.

(37:42):
My goals now kind of revolve around next week.
My next game. And I think that's done both really good and really bad things for me.
I think in the good, I'm kind of, you know, taking back fully what I can control.
I think in the bad, I'm taking back fully what I can control.

(38:03):
And what I mean by that is when you're so fixated on your goals,
being like, I want to increase my passing accuracy and I want to do this and I want to do that.
Like, I feel like I've become so hypercritical of my game game because that's in my control.
And I don't know, it's this huge balance I've been kind of struggling with.
I'm not chasing a big picture.
When you have a big picture, you can have your bad game because on the scale

(38:26):
of 100 games you play in your college career, that one bad game is not going
to impact your ability to go pro.
When you measure your goals week by week, that one bad game matters.
And so I think I'm too zoomed in, frankly, on my goals right now.
And I need to figure out where the lens needs to be because it can't be too
big and it can't be too zoomed. And And I think I'm kind of struggling with
what's next in that regard.

(38:47):
Yeah, that's really interesting to hear. And it's not something I really thought about.
I mean, you always talk about and we talked about how changing the NWSL from
draft to non-draft gives you more control over where you go and things of that nature.
But at the end of the day, you have very limited power in that regard.
So that's really interesting and that's something I really thought about.

(39:10):
So I have a question about your relationship with your coaching staff.
Because there's some people who I think you and Mr. Dave Diani are like very friendly, right?
You're almost pals with it. And other people have a very professional relationship with their coach.
And there's everywhere in the middle. What is it like going from Iowa with Dave

(39:31):
to now a pro coach in a pro lifestyle? How does that relationship with your coaching staff change?
Yeah, for me, it's been a 180. 80. I'm sure it wouldn't be as stark of a change for everyone.
But as you mentioned, David Deani and I were really tight.
And of course, we were really close in college, but we were literally texting
15 minutes ago. I'll be completely honest.

(39:52):
David and I still chat. We still talk. We're tuned into each other's lives.
I'm planning my trip back to Iowa City when I'm home.
So yeah, it's interesting.
I think I knew it was going to be a change, and that helped me,
but I still haven't been great because the thing about Dave and I's relationship
is he was my coach for five years.
He knew me for eight years of my life at this point.

(40:15):
He knew with one blink what I was thinking and I could read his mind.
And so like, especially towards the end of my career, like I think he gave up
at like yelling at me because he knew I knew like why yell at someone who's
like, I know, like we could read each other's minds. We could fix each other's brains. It was simple.
I think having to relearn a coach has been extremely difficult for me because
I no longer almost have that trust with a coach.

(40:39):
For me, you know, Dave didn't have to yell at me because he knew I knew.
My new coach doesn't necessarily know I know. He doesn't even know what language I speak half the time.
So, you know, those extra comments are made, you know, little things like that,
that I have to get used to again.
You know, frankly, one thing that happened to me last week is I had a little
tweak in my quad, just a really bad dead leg that got pulled a little bit in

(40:59):
the bad way. And I was having a lot of pain.
I knew I was going to be ready for Saturday's game. I knew I could play in it.
But I knew I also needed some time on Thursday and Friday to build me back into it.
If it were Dave, I would have had a relationship that said, Dave,
I will be 100% by Saturday.
Just trust me to get my process there. I was concerned because I don't have
built up trust with this coach yet. He's known me for six months.

(41:21):
He doesn't know that I know I'm going to be 100% and when I mean that I say that.
And so it was kind of a testing the water and everything worked out. He did trust me.
I did play all 90 minutes in our last game. So everything worked out,
but there's a balance of learning someone new.
However, with all of that being said, the biggest difference is it's a professional environment.
And one thing that I don't think everyone fully understands is in the pro pro

(41:44):
environment, the GM is in charge in very, very, pretty much every scenario.
And then the coach, and then the players. There's a hierarchy.
In the same way, in a kind of messed up way, my coach and I have the same boss.
Obviously, there's a couple steps to get there for me compared to him,
but there's different things like that. As much as winning impacts my job,

(42:05):
it impacts my coach's job.
It impacts everyone's job. Different things like that.
And so it's a balance. I think a coaching is way more of a conversation at the pro level.
It is, Hey, as a coach, this is what I'm seeing as a player.
What are you feeling? How do we fix it? It's no longer X moves here.
Wise moves here. You have to pass here.
I think at this level, they trust everyone to be a pro, to be good enough to

(42:27):
be a pro and have a say in read situations.
And they trust players guts as much as they trust their own to read situations.
And it's more of a joint effort to solve problems than I ever was in college
when it was X moves here, wise moves here. or this is how we solve it. Duh, of course.
The other ways though, is it is starkly less personal. You know,
I had a relationship with Dave in the sense of he could yell at me on the field.

(42:49):
And then the next day, if I failed the math test, I could go into his office
and cry about it. And I knew I could.
It was a very personal relationship that means a ton to me and to help me develop
the last years of my life. Fully, fully thankful for it.
I would never go to the sky if my husband and I were in a fight and talk about
it. I love him. He's a great guy, but it's a professional relationship.

(43:10):
And so I I think for me as someone who loves to have genuine personal relationships
and understand the way people think and understand everything they've been through,
you do also have to understand that this is a professional environment and it's a job.
And as much as you wouldn't ask your random coworker everything about their
life, those are kind of boundaries you have to have with your coach too.
And so I'm sure every coach is different and every situation is different,

(43:32):
but there are definitely moments where it reminds you that this is no longer
college and this is no longer the guy that's known me for the eight years of my life.
This is a professional switch.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And like you said, I think there's definitely a range
of it, even at the collegiate level, between those very friendly types of relationships
and then the professional types of relationships that you have as well.

(43:54):
You mentioned that the, does the GM decide what players are on the team or is that the coaching?
So the GM decides contracts, decides what players we bring in, all of that.
That coaching decides the starting 11 in a
lot of regards the x and o's the formation all that
kind of stuff I'm sure there's influence now and then from the GM
as well but all scouting all contracts all negotiations

(44:16):
the players on your roster is mostly by your GM oh
wow I didn't know that I figured it was still the coaching staff who had
all that type of power yeah so it's a kind of
a crazy divide so then the interesting thing is you
know I can be more friendly and personal with my coach a lot
of time then the GM walks across the room and it's like
the air gets sucked out everyone's like okay where is he looking who's he talking

(44:36):
to what's going on and I really do enjoy our DN here Dennis is great but it
is you know it's a different factor it's like that's the boss and as much as
I love and respect my coaches I can kind of you know we tease we joke around
all that stuff but it's like you know who's in charge and it is not your head coach it is your GM.
Wow. Well, yeah, that's really interesting. That's kind of crazy.
Yeah. You know, Jordan, I think one of the best things is when we were discussing

(44:58):
like the main topics, you keep saying like, wow, I didn't know that.
And so much of this, I didn't know.
You know, I knew I wanted to be a professional soccer player.
I knew I wanted to get paid to play the game I love, but there are ins and outs
that you simply just kind of learn over time.
And it reminds me back to one of the first conversations I actually had when I was in Louisville.

(45:19):
I got drafted, obviously, as we know, I get to Louisville, and it was day one,
and I was shitting my pants.
I didn't know how to be in a locker room with people that I've watched on TV
and looked up to. And I'm like, I have to go into training and compete with these people.
And, you know, some people are extremely smiley and welcoming to newcomers,
and other people are like, earn your spot on the team first,
and then we'll have a conversation.
So I was trying to figure out who I can make eye contact with or not.

(45:43):
And one person who immediately was a really warm and welcoming face to me was
a girl named Ellie Jean, who is now a starting center back with racing Louisville.
And I'd played against her in the big 10. She played at Penn state.
She was a senior when I was a freshman.
So I had, she had no idea who I was, but I remembered, you know,
scouting her and I went up to her and I was like, okay, I'm a rookie.

(46:03):
I have never played professional soccer in my life. I have no idea what is about to happen in my career.
What advice do you wish you would have told your rookie self?
And the first thing she said to me was keep your blinders on.
And that is something that over the last seven, eight months of this last journey
I've been on has stuck with me wholeheartedly is the importance is as a pro,

(46:26):
the biggest difference as a pro is you have to keep your blinders on.
And I can tell you that's probably been one of the things I am the worst at.
It is so incredibly difficult. And what she means that this is like every journey
is going to be different.
And I know we always talk about we talk about this college recruiting.
We talk about this through college soccer. Every every journey is different. Yeah.

(46:50):
But especially at the pro level, it's so true because things like getting drafted
to a city that you really didn't have a say in and didn't necessarily have a
roster spot for you happens or season ending injuries happen or death chart happens.
And there's so many factors of life that we know can put us on different paths.
And the best thing is you have to know as a pro is your path is the right path,

(47:14):
but it's the only, only other person that's ever going to have the same path as you.
And whether that be, I spent two years in this league, I spent five years in
this league. I never played. I only ever played in the U S I only went overseas.
There's so many different varieties of paths. And I think that's one of the
incredible things about all the opportunities we have in women's sports.
That being said, there is no way to compare whose path was better or whose path was different.

(47:37):
One thing I have decided wholeheartedly is that I needed this year to play in
Europe, not only for my maturity, not only for my growth, but also I think I
need a stepping stone from what could be considered that highest level in Iowa.
I need somewhere in the middle.
I need to learn at this level so I can succeed at the next level.
I think for me as a person,
I don't want to say I think I can thrive in a lot of settings.

(47:59):
I also know I like being on the field.
And I have found an opportunity in a space where they trust me enough to be on the field a lot.
And I'm thankful for that every single day.
But that doesn't mean that if you were to go pro right now that you would have
the same environment and the same thing.
Putting your blinders on, though, I've deleted social media,
I think, four times in and out, going on different hiatuses because I can't

(48:22):
see who traded who next or this person's going there.
That news is the worst for me because I always go to shoot.
Should I have signed there? Should I have made this decision?
Should I have done something worse?
I've had to unfollow all of those different accounts.
Putting my blinders on meant I literally went five months without watching any US soccer.
I watched your NWSL. I watched your USL. I watched your college soccer.

(48:44):
I could not do it because that was not what was best for me to stay focused on me and my journey.
I was too caught up in the comparison of who's doing what and who's doing how.
Putting my blinders on has been at practice when our GM is walking up and cracking
jokes with certain people and it's not you.
You can't just assume that he hates you and that he is trying to promote other
people or talk to other people about opportunity that aren't you.

(49:05):
Because I've caught myself doing that. We've all kind of caught our college
coaches, you know, talking to one person at the other.
Putting my blinders on has meant when a couple of girls go out to a cup of coffee
after practice and don't invite you, that doesn't mean that they're just talking
crap about you. And it means that you're living your own journey.
And as someone who overreads a lot of scenarios, who kind of goes to those worst
case scenarios, it has been the hardest thing for me to focus on me and just

(49:29):
kind of follow my journey.
And I think that that is one thing I wish I would have known as a pro.
I wish I would have started earlier. It's honestly not doing all the intense
research that I do and not doing all of the social media stalking and that,
because I mean, we all know like the thief of joy is comparison and all of those
different sayings, but that is so true.

(49:51):
And as a pro, the number one thing you have to do is put your blinders on and
focus on your journey. And that has been the hardest part of it.
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. And I think that's great advice for someone at any level, right?
Is to kind of have those blinders on. I've definitely caught myself when Jeff
is over here making a joke with someone else or doing
whatever I'm like oh my god like they're definitely

(50:11):
this is the worst thing that's ever happened to me like you know
and and you do I am
definitely I think we're very me and you are very very different
people I think this is one of the unfortunate things that
we probably have very very much in common where I do read very deeply into situations
and somehow like the path was this and you know I connect dots that probably

(50:34):
aren't there and make an assumption that aren't true and do all these different
things and read into situations way too deeply.
So I think that's great advice for someone at any level, especially,
like you said, in the pro life where things are a lot more serious and a lot
more professional than college or club or high school or things of that nature.
Absolutely. So Jordan, thank you so much for asking me a couple of questions about my life.

(50:56):
And I'm so happy that we kind of got to dig a bit deeper into,
like I said, not necessarily negative parts of being a pro, but just the different
parts of what goes on in a professional atmosphere, in a professional life that
I've had to adjust to over the last couple of months.
Absolutely. Unfortunately, I think they may become, you know,
a lot more applicable to the college team, too, as we talked about all these
rule changes and things of that nature. So who knows?

(51:17):
I mean, I think college will become a lot more professionalized.
And this advice will probably translate to a lot of a lot of kids who are listening
right now when they go to college. I agree.
But Jordan, big week ahead.
We've talked about it. Big Ten Conference starts.
What is on your weekend agenda? agenda.
Yeah. So like I said, this is our first away trip that we've really had.

(51:38):
We're actually flying out on Wednesday and going down to Maryland.
We plan Thursday and then we actually don't fly back until Friday.
This is also the first time we've flown commercial in over a year.
Like we've charted all of our away flights. So this is like,
I mean, I sound so spoiled saying that because I I never would have thought

(51:59):
I would ever be on a chartered flight
in my life period, much less pretty consistently throughout last year.
So it'll still be a new experience for the team, especially this group,
our first actual away trip and, you know, a commercial flight going there and
then flying back the day after, which is pretty rare because usually you fly
back that Thursday night.
So it'll be interesting to see, but we feel good going into conference play

(52:24):
undefeated right now. Now, unfortunately, a couple of ties going into it, but...
Yeah, good week against Maryland. Love to hear it, love to hear it.
And we actually have a very, very exciting week in North Shipping, which I'm excited for.
We have a home game against BK Haken.
And the interesting thing is, so Haken is a team that is very,
very strong in our league.
They're currently in second place, meaning that they have that spot to Champions

(52:48):
League going for next year. But Champions League's on an interesting cycle.
So if I win the league this year, then I play in Champions League next year
type of system. So, and Champions League overlaps with all of the European leagues,
meaning that Haken plays us on Saturday.
But four days later, they have the kickoff to their Champions League season.

(53:10):
So they start battling in what a lot of people would deem a more serious game
than our game when they kick off against Arsenal.
So the hope is that Haken might be a little bit more focused on their game against
Arsenal that's coming up four days later after they play IFK North shipping.
So it'll be very, very interesting, but honestly, just to be on a field with

(53:30):
so many talented level players that they're going to go from us to playing Arsenal
says a lot about the league and the level of competition.
And I know I'm super excited for a little home upset action before they go into
Arsenal. They can have a little like bump in the road before they go to those big games.
So So I'm super much looking forward to it.
It's a big, it's actually a rematch of my first professional game way back in April.

(53:50):
When I first kicked off, we kicked off against them and we had a really upsetting
last minute loss. So hoping for a better result at home and very,
very excitedly looking forward.
Absolutely. Hoping for another Sam Carey header here. There we go.
Sam Carey, it seems like the perfect time. It's only happened once and everyone
keeps asking me when it's going to happen again.
So very, very much looking forward to it. I think this is your game.

(54:10):
Awesome. All right, guys, as always, there's so many platforms.
To be streaming College Talker on. There's ESPN+, Big Ten Network,
Big Ten Plus, and so many more.
Stay tuned with College Talker and we will see you next week.