WSOC: STOPPAGE TIME

In My Words // Kaylene Pang

By Washington Huskies

August 22^nd, 2018

My name is Kaylene Pang and I am from Bellevue, Washington. I am a rising sophomore studying mechanical engineering with the intent to focus on biomechanics. I committed to UW in my sophomore year of high school, and I have no regrets about my decision. The academic rigor, highly competitive soccer program, and urban location were its main appeals to me. In addition, my whole family are UW alumni, and so I grew up as a Dawg and a regular attendee to UW volleyball and soccer games. I always idolized the female athletes. The women seemed so strong and powerful; it was inspiring knowing that I could become like that too.

I started playing soccer in kindergarten and became a proud member of the “Purple Marshmallows,” with my dad as the head coach. I immediately fell in love with the game. I loved the rush of dribbling on a fast break, making a strong tackle, and playing with all my friends. When third grade came, my dad signed me up to tryout for the local premier club, Eastside FC. I was very resistant at first and claimed that I did not even like soccer that much, but I was really trying to hide how terrified I was of this next level and failing. However, my dad saw through this facade and still made me show up to tryouts. I made the team and went on an amazing, nine-year run with EFC 98 Red and never looked back.

Soccer has given me so many incredible, life-changing opportunities. In 2008, my team walked out the men’s Brazilian national team for their international friendly against Canada. In 2013, I won a US Youth Soccer national championship in Overland Park, Kansas. When I was sixteen, I was invited to play against US women’s national team legends Heather O’Reilly and Becky Sauerbrunn, with the Sounders Women WPSL team. And this year I got to travel to Japan to explore Japanese culture, as well as play against and with Waseda University’s team. I am so thankful for my dad calling out my bluff before U10 tryouts and forcing me to play despite my fears, thus throwing me into the greatest journey of my life.

As cliché as this sounds, soccer’s challenges have helped me develop so many skills that I have been able to translate into my life. One of the hardest lessons I have had to learn was understanding the importance of going out of my comfort zone. I used to be terrified to play with Olympic Development Teams (ODP) and going to US Soccer training centers. I feared the judgement from playing poorly, and so my sole focus during these events was to not make a mistake and I would count down to when it was over. This mentality brought many years of heavy stress and anxiety, and so I eventually got fed up and sought out ways to alleviate these burdens. I found that changing my perspective was key. I realized that these trainings were not just to impress college and national scouts, but rather an opportunity to become a better player. I learnt to accept the fact that to improve, I had to put myself in these competitive, high-pressure situations.

I realized that this understanding was so relatable to life outside of soccer too. For instance, I believe that there is great value in taking challenging, academic loads or trying to meet new people. How does one expect to evolve their knowledge and perspectives by taking unchallenging classes or staying within their cliques? To become the best player, student, or person that one can be, people must be willing to embrace discomfort and take life’s hardest challenges in stride.

Furthermore, too often I feel like societal pressures cause girls to struggle with developing their self-confidence and self-esteem. However, soccer helped me grow enormously. After dedicating hours to running sprints, training, and seeing my play improve, I have learned to trust that my hard-work will always result in success. I gained confidence in my abilities. Because of soccer, I know that if I have a strong work ethic, success will eventually follow; and in the meantime, I am satisfied because I did all that I could: I tried my best.

Soccer has made me believe in my ability to improve and achieve my goals, and I think that other girls should also strive to reach this level of confidence. By having girls get involved in sports or other activities, they will develop confidence because they are given opportunities to achieve. There is power in confidence, and I think it is more important now than ever that girls realize that.

I am excited for this upcoming season because I know my teammates and I have put in the work and we are about to see it pay off. Go Dawgs and BOW DOWN!