As you may expect, being a USL 2 player in the summer isn’t the easiest thing to do. Although summer is typically a time for leisure and relaxation for most people, the summer schedules of USL 2 players are very different. This is because in addition to work responsibilities, career aspirations, and maintaining a social life, which is all to be expected from college-aged individuals, we also balance individual training schedules, lifting and fitness schedules from our college teams, and a full commitment to our USL 2 season. But despite the busyness of this summer regimen, balancing many responsibilities and being a part of a group all doing the same is extremely rewarding.

The most enjoyable part for me is that the ambitions and responsibilities differ vastly from player to player, yet the high standards and expectations of each player, as well as the commitment to our team, remain consistent. Teammates of mine at Blues have been involved in MLS NEXT Pro and USL League One trials throughout the summer, internships and career-focused research, summer classes, and much more, yet every player is driven and motivated toward playing high level soccer in the same way. In fact, this is a certain environment I’ve never experienced before. While several teammates are highly capable and serious about playing professionally, others have no plans to pursue it and are focused on their post-playing careers. Yet still, training, staying sharp, and gearing up for the fall season never takes a backseat to other obligations. Each player is fully focused on soccer, even with their outside responsibilities and ambitions.

Signing an autograph for a fan, which has been a fun feeling to get used to!

As an example of this, P.T. Allen dreams to be a pilot, so he’s spent the summer giving complete dedication to flying and completing aviation coursework while also being fully committed to Blues and his individual soccer training. Another teammate, Luke Madden, is heavily involved in a startup while also pursuing ambitions to play professionally, which forces him to maintain a demanding schedule balancing both dedications. Other teammates such as Sam Vigilante and Kai Feng are also juggling summer internships, personal research, and school coursework while dedicating themselves to their soccer goals and our season. I also can relate to this busyness, as I train daily with my brother, commute an hour-and-a-half with him to Blues training, and am carrying out a research project for an internship.

After sharing many conversations with my teammates, this busy schedule we take up as USL 2 players isn’t dreaded or regretted in the least, though. Each of us has found real value in giving our all to both our playing and personal goals this summer—all in unique ways.

For P.T., balancing his passions of soccer and aviation studies has been the expectation since he arrived at university. In fact, he chose Liberty University because it is one of the few Division I soccer programs that offers an Aviation major at their School of Aeronautics. But his schedule became far more difficult this summer with flying, higher level courses, and soccer all picking up. His schedule has included flying planes and attending class from 6am-9am every day, completing daily recovery and rehab from his double-knee injury at 9:30-11:30am, and then making an hour-and-a-half long commute to training multiple times a week and even longer time commitments for games. Because this commute is far different from the typical ten-minute walk from training he’s used to at Liberty, the most difficult part of his schedule is finding the time to study for exams and assignments, he said. At the same time, though, he told me that balancing this rigorous summer schedule has in fact challenged and helped him grow tremendously.

“It’s a huge commitment and has really left me with little time to do other things, but it's definitely worth the experience,” P.T. told me. “I’ve been able to learn what I’m capable of doing as long as I put my mind to it.”

Luke Madden has discovered a different kind of value during his USL 2 summer. For him, having massive responsibilities at his startup (check out Ralle Movements!) is extremely demanding while being in mid-season and actively pursuing professional soccer clubs. The main challenge, he told me, is having to make sacrifices at times in his startup responsibilities. While his startup and team members are based in New York City, which brings its own challenges, he often feels worried that the demands of his soccer schedule causes him to miss out on opportunities he’d otherwise pursue.

He explained, “There are things that pop up in a startup more than normal businesses where you need to act right away or jump on an opportunity while it’s still ripe. “ He continued, “Games or trainings can kind of cut into this, and you feel like you're missing those opportunities or the timeliness of those opportunities a little bit.”

But even with the pressure balancing his soccer goals and his startup responsibilities, I was pleased to hear that he wouldn’t want it any other way. He told me that pursuing each of his passions in full isn’t only energizing and invigorating, but it also gives him multiple creative outlets and a space outside of soccer to find value in himself. This is especially important to him as he navigates a difficult path trying to go pro. While he gives his all to soccer, he gives just as much to his startup and its team as well. He explained the value of balancing two things so important to him.

“[It’s] allowed me to become a more holistically developed person,” he said, “so it’s been really good for my overall well-being.” He emphasized this, saying, “I really enjoy it, and it’s something I want to continue to pursue along with football.”

While Luke has benefitted from his hectic summer schedule in a different way than P.T. has, each has experienced a summer of growth and fulfillment. In fact, this is what makes the USL 2 summer so special for players pursuing various goals and balancing it all. Everyone derives value from their USL 2 summers in very different and unique ways, making the summer not only about achieving our playing goals but also about growing as individuals.

For Kai, who’s a mechanical engineering major taking summer courses and doing career-focused research, he’s been so busy that he’s discovered a newfound fulfillment in being able to work and improve on so many things at once. He told me that despite how challenging it’s been, maximizing his playing and personal goals at the same time has come with a feeling of achievement he doesn’t get during the fall season. And Sam, who’s job shadowing and contributing research at a private equity firm, has found that in his summer he’s been able to enjoy soccer and appreciate training more than he typically does, due to his busy work days. According to him, the summer set up this way has allowed him to have more fun playing and preparing for the fall season, as he now also approaches his training more efficiently (he’s also been lucky enough to have a boss who’s a Blues fan and accommodating of his playing schedule, which helps!).

But as you can see, the schedules we have during our USL 2 summers are extremely busy and demanding—and certainly more rigorous than the summers of many of our peers. But by being able to pursue our goals in full, play extremely high level soccer, and find much growth and value in ourselves, there’s no other way we’d rather have it.

For me, it’s a privilege to compete and experience a USL 2 summer, especially while surrounded by many high-achieving teammates like mine. As we enter the fall seasons, the greatest thing is knowing that the hard work we’ve put into the USL 2 season, and balancing it all, will contribute to each of our successes down the road.

- Jadyn Hsieh-Bailey