From College Graduate to Professional Soccer Player : My Journey from the U.S. to Japan

 

Not many people talk about life after College in the U.S. What am I going to do? Where am I going to live? Will I be able to play my sport professionally? It is the possibility of the unknown. For some people, it is scary. For others, it is exciting. For me, it was a mix of both, and with the help of my dedicated agent, my dreams of playing professional soccer came true.

 

My College Success: The Academic and Athletic Journey

 

During my five years in the United States of America, I attended three different universities, pursuing three different degrees but all with the same athletic goal: to play professionally after College.

 

In 2019, I attended my first community College in Texas, Tyler Junior College, where I earned an Associate’s Degree in General Studies and won back-to-back National Championship titles in the NJCAA division I level.

 

After two years, in 2021, I transferred to a Division I College in Omaha, Nebraska where I pursued my degree further into Graphic Design and expanded my knowledge for soccer under one of the toughest conferences in the nation: the Big East Conference.

 

Finally, the following year in 2022, I transferred to Florida Institute of Technology, where I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Multiplatform Journalism. Alongside this, in the fall of 2023, I earned Sunshine State Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, CSC Academic All-District Team, CCA South-Region First Team and USC All-Region First Team, as well as making it as far as Final Four in the NCAA National Championship Tournament.

 

The U.S. College system offered me a unique blend of athletic and academic opportunities with the amazing bonus of a paid scholarship. Attending each institution has given me the necessary knowledge, maturity and understanding of the game that I needed to take away with me, to start a new life in a different country.

 

Teaming Up with an Agent: A Key Step Forward

 

During the early months of 2024, and with graduation just around the corner, I wasn’t sure of what my life was going to look like in the future. For the first time in five years, I needed to find a route for my soccer journey, besides college. I never felt so unsure about my future.

 

After reaching out to a former Japanese teammate and the head coach from the first college, I got in contact with Yuki Kariya at Zero-Zero Inc.

 

Kariya offered his expertise in contract negotiations, his personal kindness and his own knowledge of soccer, which extended to his network of connections, here in Japan. Coming from Australia, with limited knowledge of Japanese language and the culture, Kariya was able to translate Japanese conversations to English for me, via zoom calls and has been able to appropriately determine the best contract for me, according to my goals.

 

With this, I had the utmost confidence in Kariya when a professional contract came my way: Lilywolf F. Ishikawa.

 

The Big Break: Joining a Professional Soccer Team

 

For the last six months, I have been a part of Lilywolf F. Ishikawa, in Komatsu. A team where we secured four wins in the Kitashinetsu Women’s Soccer League and qualified for Ishikawa Prefecture, with two wins, in a nation-wide tournament: The Empress Cup.

 

More than that, I have finally been able to live out my lifelong dream of playing soccer in Japan. I have been given the opportunity to learn, work and thrive in a different environment, language and culture and so, have grown as a person.

 

Looking Ahead: What’s Next?

 

My journey from the U.S. to Japan could not have been possible without the help of Kariya and I’m grateful to have been able to work with him. I am looking forward to working with Kariya next year, in the hopes of securing a contract with another amazing soccer team in Japan.