Mia Richardson '22 Recruiting Profile

My name is Mia Richardson and I am a freshman in college. 

I played competitive soccer for 14 years of my life and last year I made the very difficult decision to take a break from it. For as long as I remember I loved everything about soccer, even waking up at the crack of dawn the day after Thanksgiving to drive two hours to the Turkey Tournament. It's where I formed friendships, gained confidence, and learned to deal with failures. The pitch was where I spent my whole childhood. However, it was that same reason why I felt I had to step away. For my entire life, I was defined by soccer, every conversation with a relative would begin with, "How's soccer going?" and "When can I come to one of your games?" At first, I loved the support. But as I got older the questions shifted to "Where are you going to play college soccer", "Are you talking to coaches?", "So-and-so already committed you are falling behind Mia." I was drowning under the pressure and began worrying about letting everyone down, terrified I wouldn't be able to meet their expectations. I started to resent the pitch as it represented all of my fears and self-doubt that bubbled inside me. I began to wonder who I would have been had I never started to play the game. Nothing came to mind. I realized then I needed a break away from the sport, just to find out who I was without soccer. My first semester of college was hard. I had a lot of free time without the weekly practices and games I had grown accustomed to. The friend I would have made from playing never came and I grew lonely. I missed the game more than anything. I began going to the gym every day to get stronger and would run around the harbor connected to my school. I knew I would be transferring next year and understood that I needed to make up for the lost time. I got into the best shape of my life, lifting weights and running daily. While I was scared to do so, I joined my school's intramural soccer team. I was amazed at how comfortable it felt to be playing again. The fun-loving nature of it reminded me of when I played as a kid before the pressure took over. This hiatus that I took allowed me to miss the sport again. It made me remember why I loved soccer in the first place, it made me want to beg for it back. I think it is better to start sophomore year and play with a deep love and passion for it rather than join and be overcome with self-doubt and lethargy, mourning something you once loved to do. I believe I am a worthy candidate to play college soccer because I have lived without it, I know what it is like to miss doing what you love so I will do anything in my power to play and to keep playing with everything I have.