A Hero's Journey: Nate R

Since I was 10 years old, I’ve been playing for IDF. I could talk for days about the opportunities that have been given to me, the lows in my career where I wanted to quit playing soccer altogether, and the experiences that I have had that have helped me grow as a man. Not only does IDF provide the environment and opportunities to develop as a player, it also provides the environment to develop as a person. This picture was taken in 2017 from a trip the team took to Iceland and England to play against professional academy teams. Not only does this represent the opportunities I have been given at IDF, but it also was a pivotal moment for me - when I really realized that my coaches and teammates had full trust in me.

Leading up to this trip I was terribly nervous. I had been on a trip overseas with the team a couple years prior but saw only a couple minutes of playing time in a couple of games. From then, I worked hard in training every day and became a starter for my team more often. I knew the local competition would be nothing compared to what I was going to have to play against overseas, especially now that kids were getting close to fully grown. When the day finally came for our first game of the trip, and the only game in Iceland, I truly was surprised that I was picked as one of the starters. I didn’t have much confidence in myself and knew that this was the game where I would have to prove that I belonged as a starter. With the system of me always man-marking the striker and my teammate covering me, I knew I was going to have to work hard. We ended up winning the game quite comfortably and I even got an assist. It felt amazing to win my first full game overseas and now knowing that we didn’t go over there to get run over by European teams, was very relieving. We then left for England to play 4 other games. Over that time, I was picked as a starter for all 4 games and ended up playing every minute of the trip. We went on to win 3 out of the 5 games, but for me that was not the biggest takeaway. Obviously, it felt good to know we could compete with teams overseas, but my game was really lacking confidence and this trip was perfect for my development.

After getting home from the trip I felt like my growth was exponential. Something about the feeling of knowing that my coaches and teammates trusted me to play with them, made me want to work just that much harder. It was a turning point in my soccer career and it allowed me to have confidence in myself and be more relaxed on the field. I have taken that with me throughout the years, along with other important values I have learnt at IDF and will continue to try to become the best player and person that I can be.

- NATE R, IDF PLAYER SINCE 2013