Jordan Scarlett

Jordan Scarlett the newest Hartford Athletic joins the show to talk about his team, food, and his jamaican roots. 

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Jordan's Scarlett, one of their bestdefenders, joins us now on the hotline,
and Jordan, let's just talk aboutwe'll go back in your career a
little bit. Grew up in theBroncs after moving over here from Jamaica.
You're a heck of an attacker,score a bunch of goals. When did
they decide to switch you back todefense and defender? Yeah, like that

(00:24):
part started in Jamaica. Honestly,in Jamaica, I used to play striker.
Yeah, and then you know,it's like on the teams, but
when we play in my community,like we play streetball or pick up,
I normally play with the older guysfrom a young age, and so I
always like do moves and either mechthem or do something and I would score,

(00:45):
but they will end up kicking me, you know, and after a
while keep getting kicked. So Imoved to midfield, but then they could
still reach me in midfield. Sothen I just keep going back and end
up in defense and now I doall the kicking. That's great, So
that's how that transition. But thatalso gives me the opportunity to be able

(01:07):
to kind of play anywhere. SoI kind of have a feel for most
of the positions in E eleven sofar, so that's that's kind of how
I went. But when I cameto America. Now, in my high
school, I was kind of Iwas a better player, best player,
so my coach put me back atthe number ten spot. So that's how
I was able to get a bunchof goals and assists in my high school

(01:30):
time. We were talking about thisbefore you came on, just wondering how
a draft night goes for a soccerplayers. We've just had the NBA Draft
here recently. We're big on theNFL Draft around these parts, but how
does the draft night go for you? Especially having family in Jamaica, family
in the Bronx, Like, whatwere you doing? Can you remember those
moments? So I wasn't in daythe first round because I went in the

(01:53):
fourth round. The mine was thenext morning. I think the first two
rounds are the first three rounds wentand like the day before, so I
knew like I would be getting callswith my coach like the morning the next
morning, so you know, Iwoke up. My boys were like the

(02:15):
soccer had a soccer house, somy boys woke up early with me.
We went to class and then afterclass, we know that I'm gonna go
to the coach's office because they'll begetting calls around ten ten thirty, so
we all they were standing outside thedoor and I was sitting in the office.
We got a call from Orlando.Orlando call about me because I had

(02:38):
one to a combine in Las Vegasand they were there, so they wanted
to get me. But then Ialso went to New York Red Bulls combine
that they set up on their own. They they wanted me also, so
Orlando had the sixty fourth stick.Red Bulls had the sixty third pick.

(03:00):
Orlando is gonna pick me, butthen Red Bulls find out about that,
and then they Rebels draft me.And after that it was just honestly,
like yeah, as soon as thatI called my mom, I called my
family, called my friends and yeah, who were all ecthetic, honestly.
Talking to Jordan Scarlett, he's adefender for the Harford Athletic, grew up

(03:20):
in Jamaica, moved to the Bronxand then he went to Iona. Tell
me about a corner kick and whereyou get to be positioned on defense and
is it one of your favorite plays? As a defender. Am I attacking
the corner kick? Or am Idefending the cornerick you're defending? Okay,
yeah, it's so Normally in mypast teams, we normally like go men

(03:46):
for men. I kind of mepersonally. I'm normally given the task of
matching up with their best attacking playeron set pieces. Whoever the tallest guy
is or who's ever have the mostgoals are getting the most looks that goal.
I normally matched up with them.But since playing for Hartford, I'm
more for the zone guy. SoI'm in the center, which that's where

(04:09):
most of the crosses end up anyways. So it's about like having the first
reaction because the runners are are attackingme, so I have to attack the
ball as well. So if Ijust get the first drumps, I normally
have first contact. Then ever normallyget the ball away. I just watching
you and hearing you talk about thatplay, like, you're a very physical

(04:29):
soccer player, and you went througha set back last year, you suffered
a knee injury. You're coming backfrom that and having a successful season so
far this year, But what waslike the key to get over that injury,
whether it was mentally or for yourrehab. What has it been like
since that injury? So honestly,that injury was probably the most pain I've

(04:50):
ever felt in my entire life,Like the night after I was released from
the hospital, I just I stillfeel it till this day. But it's
just about like knowing that I,like I will get to play again,
And it's just I like challenges.Like growing up, there's always been challenges

(05:10):
and you get just pleasure when youovercome something and you see the light of
the tunnel. And now to beable to be on the feeling to be
playing ninety minutes game in game out, it's just showed that, like you
know, the your ten thousand hours, eventually you always cross that threshold and
you could keep going forward. Soyou know, it's having a good support
system my girlfriend, my mom andmy best friends and stuff like checking in

(05:34):
on me make sure everything went smoothwhile I was in surgery. And just
like the trainers and like the coaches, those helped too, you know.
And while I was coming back,like my team hardware, like the players,
like I'm jogging on the sideline,they're in mid game and they might
get a little second break. Theyget a water break and I'm jogging and
they're all like, yeah, let'sgo, bro, keep going, keep

(05:57):
going, you know, little justlike you might have you having a like
a down date, you know,you can't wait to play, and your
teammates you jogging and they're like,yeah, let's go, bro. Like
just that alone could get you goingfor the next two weeks. So it's
just a good support system. Andjust to know that, like there's a
lot of the tunnel. Honestly,that got me across the threshold. Jordan.
I know when you were in college, you were on the all academic

(06:18):
team a few times. What weresome of the things you studied in college
and what are you into right now. Yeah, I studied marketing or a
marketing degree. I was never reallygood at maths, so I always overcompensate
in my other classes. So inolder classes, I always make sure I
try to get a B plus oras to maybe make up for stats or

(06:42):
finances. But I like the marketingside of it. Honestly, those are
my favorite classes. Just just theway things are presented to people and how
you could get your message across andbranding and all those stuff. Those things
really intrigue me. Let me giveyou some marketing on Charles Charleston Battery.
They stink, they're smelly. That'show they win games is they don't use
deodorant and they don't wash themselves.That is a big secret to their success.

(07:06):
I don't know if you know that. I'm trying to market that across
the Eastern Seaboard. Sir, heknows it's true. All right, let's
do the five questions we ask everybody. With Jordan's scarlet, Kurt's ready with
the music. Athletic Charleston Battery sevenpoint thirty kickoff. This is a Friday

(07:29):
night special, boys and girls,so don't miss it. A big one.
If we can get it, canmove up the table against this second
place team in the USL on theEast side. All right, these are
five questions we ask everybody. Jordan, your coach has done this, several
of your teammates have done this withquite some success. And we know a
lot about Jamaican Americans like yourself.For some reason, you guys love your

(07:54):
Hennessy and that's question number one.I feel like that could be a part
of the answer. If you wereout in about and you see a Hartford
Athletic supporter what drink would you wantthem to buy for you at the bar
if they offered What would be thedrink of choice from Jordan Scarlett? Okay,
it depends on the night. Ifit's if it's a light night,

(08:16):
I'll take a Sorrow restaurant there,Oh, beautiful drink. Yeah, trust
me, cold Sorrow rests nice ifwe're if we're having fun, No,
I go for a little nsc inCarnberry do com mm hmm yeah in the
Hennessy and Red Bull. That hasbeen the top two for Jamaican people.
Yeah, no, all right,all right? What about food, sir?

(08:41):
I know we have a lot ofgreat Jamaican restaurants around here, but
you you know you side the fencesthe New York kid too. So what
kind of food do you know Hartfordhas and you're happy to be here because
of such? Well, there's athere's a two really good Restamican restaurants.
Well, to be honest, butmy girlfriend was very wonderful, coach.

(09:07):
I don't eat out a lot,but every now and then we stopped by.
There's a jamaican's box called Russells.Those are those dut dust That one
is really good to our Dunge Rivernormally go get some Jamaican food on night,
maybe every every two weeks or so. Okay, excellent. How you
kind of answered this question already,Jordan, But I want to know more

(09:30):
about the sandlot soccer that you playedas a kid. You already mentioned you
were the young one against all theolder guys in Jamaica. What was like
that field? Like, what waslike that whole experience like when you were
a youngster growing up? How howwas the sandlot soccer of Jordan Scarlett?
Yeah? I think like just likeI feel like today and today's day and

(09:52):
age, everything is for the youngerkids. Everything is so organized. You
know, everybody's told exactly what todo. Like in Jamaica, just pick
up, you know, you getyour best friends. And back in my
time when I was playing, likeI think all my friends are better than
me. I just they were justso good and like they're the one who

(10:13):
progressed me. Whever we're playing streetball, so we will play on a
all right, for example, ona Sunday seven o'clock, I'm playing with
the grown folks right seven am,and then we'll play that and then around
four point thirty again I played withmy age group. And then there's a
night soccer like close to like teno'clock. We're playing on the streets under

(10:33):
the light, you know, andthat's just like expressing itself. You could
try the different things, you couldlearn so many other tricks that other players
do that you could put in yourlocker for a future. And I just
feel like it just gives you,like you know, meet friends, but
gives you a different type of expressionwhen you're able to like without play without
rules, you know, totally.I'm so down for some ten o'clock street

(10:56):
soccer in Jamaica, man, thatwould be such as one site that we
love is the supporter section over there. I've got my tambourine ready for twenty
twenty four. I'm loud and proudwith a lot of the drums over there.
Horns have been a suggestion from someHartford Athletic players. But if you
were in the supporter section, Jordan, what would your instrument be? Uh?

(11:22):
Instrument? Hmm? You know,so like in the Jamaican stadium,
whether it's crack of steel or soccer, right, they always have like orne,
yeah, like yeah, the samething you said, Like that's what
I like when I was called forthe Jamaican national team like before I was

(11:45):
before, Like it was a dreamto go, you know, and to
play in the national stadium. Andwhen I got cold and I was on
the bench and I was just soakenin the atmosphere, like it just felt
like I was at home again asa kid watching the TV and hearing the
Orange and to be there and hearthem. So I feel like that's something
that will really go you know,like some like arts, but also right,

(12:09):
do you know that that Liverpool songsyou never walk alone? Yes,
yes, yeah, imagine if wehave hardware, we create created something for
ourselves that the whole entire stadium thingwhen we were winning up to zero or
whenever we could be down or whatever. That's to motivate us. Like we
have a specific song that everyone knowsthat that's the that's the bread and butter

(12:33):
part for it, you know.All right, we're writing stuff down in
the studio right now. I thinkit's a consensus guys we need more horns
in that section and Kurt's working ona song for us right now. All
right, last question here, Jordan, what was your childhood obsession like a
movie, a TV show, somethingother than soccer that when you were a
kid, you were kind of obsessedwith. Okay, but this is a

(12:58):
heartbreaker. But I was so obsessedwith wrestling, like pro wrestling, like
w W, e WWF, ProWrestling, WWE, like the Rock,
don't like all of those like butI'm telling like my mom she would she

(13:20):
would buy me the books like thelike the writing books with the Rock on
it, or the just the WrestlingMania everyone on it, like Kane like
undertake up. And I'm telling likein the school yard on the like breaks
in primary school, we would likeactually like wrestling tark to kind of go
halfway, you know, do themove and stuff like that. I was
really into it. And then andthen I found out that it was fake

(13:46):
when I came to the pre determined, pre determined, determined, But they
still spark. That took the winout of my salesman. I'm telling you
what I just I was just like, oh, all right, enough enough

(14:09):
now, you know. So thatwas one of them. I really love
wrestling. Awesome. Maybe we canhook up at Jordan with some tickets to
WWE here get you back into it, sir, good luck On Friday,
what seven thirty with the kickoff CharlestonBattery in town. We need a win
and hopefully this guy provides some ofthat action for us. Jordan Scarlett,
thank you so much, sir,Thank you for having me. Guys,

(14:31):
thank you so much.