Brian Wright is the assistant men’s soccer coach at Occidental College. Occidental College is a NCAA Division III institution located in Los Angeles, CA. Occidental College is a member of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) alongside other schools such as: Claremont Mudd Scripps, University of the Redlands, and Whittier College.
Prior to joining the Occidental staff, Brian Wright was an assistant coach for Cal Tech's men’s soccer team for two seasons in 2014-2015. Wright currently serves as ECNL Director at FC Golden State, overseeing all elite teams in their club playing at this level. Wright has played in several youth tournaments throughout Europe and has received world-renowned training from some of the best coaches at the professional level.
Brian has an abundance amount of experience playing and coaching at the club and college level. In this interview, Brian talks about his tips for staying physically active, and staying mentally prepared as well as his tips for recruitment. Brian also shares with us some of his favorite coaching stories as well as his favorite stories from his time playing soccer with his club team in Europe. This is an interview you do not want to miss! Enjoy!
Coach
Brian Wright: Assistant Men’s Soccer Coach at Occidental College.
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Topic 1: Tips on Staying Physically Active
Coach Wright recommends taking advantage of online resources to help stay active with working out and running drills. Brian says it can be as simple as just going outside and kicking a ball against a wall. Brian encourages athletes to look at the situation as an 'off season' and use it as an opportunity to fine tune their skills. Brian thinks it's important to set up specific goals daily, and weekly.
Topic 2: Tips on Staying Mentally Prepared
Brian is currently challenging his players to watch old soccer games during this time and watch it from a different tactical perspective. He recommends athletes watch a game not for the entertainment aspect, but instead to analyze a specific player. He also recommends athletes to create a ‘player development plan’ where they decide what their goals are, write them down, and then develop a plan for how they will achieve these goals.
Topic 3: Recruiting Story
Brian talks about the different aspects of the recruiting process including emails and phone calls. He says when an athlete actually visits campus, is when he develops relationships with the athlete. Brian tells a story of inviting an athlete to visit campus, who they were very much interested in, and immediately saw the genuineness he had. From that point on, Brian knew this athlete would bring a lot of value to the program.
Topic 4: Tips on Recruiting
Brian reminds seniors that the recruiting process is not over for them, there is still time for them to be recruited. In terms of what the juniors and underclassmen can do during this time, Brian recommends athletes do research on the schools they are interested in to find which schools are a good fit for them. He also recommends players watch old games of schools they are interested in to get to know the program's playing style. Additionally, he recommends reaching out to coaches and sending them highlight videos. Brian gives some tips on creating highlight videos and submitting them.
Topic 5: Success - Mental Toughness or Talent?
Brian brings up a story about his team at Oxy three years ago, the team was pretty good, but his athletes mainly focused on the team's mentality which drove their success. They began enforcing mental toughness within all athletes and ended up making it to the championship game of their conference that year. Brian says an important part of making it to the championship, was the team's mentality and their tenacity. Brian also talks about the importance each player contributing to the team, and pushing each other to reach their full potential.
Topic 6: Playing in 30 Degree or 100 Degree Weather?
Growing up in Southern California, and living there his whole life, Brian's initial reaction was to pick the heat over the cold. However, when asked this question, he says he would have to pick the 30 degree weather due to how exhausting it is to play in 100 degrees.
Topic 7: Mount Rushmore of Soccer
Brian's first pick for his Mount Rushmore of Soccer is David Beckham because of the influence he had on Brian growing up. Brain’s second pick is Zinedine Zidane, third pick is Steven Gerrard because he is a huge Liverpool fan and feels he is a great leader on the field. Brain’s fourth pick is Thierry Henry because of his confidence and speed.
Topic 8: Favorite Moment from Playing
Brian tells us a story from when he was 16 and 17 playing on his club team and traveling all the way to Europe for tournaments. Brian remembers one game playing in Belgium against all youth professional teams, all the other teams were under the impression that Brian's team wasn't a youth professional team, even though they were just a club team. They ended up beating the opposing team which led to a few of Brian's teammates being offered opportunities to keep playing abroad.
Topic 9: Not Top Moment
Ironically Brian’s ‘not top’ moment came from the same trip to Europe. They were playing against another youth professional team, and the stands were completely packed with fans. Brian went to pressure the opposing teams left back, but the player miss hit the ball and it ended up hitting Brian. Brian fell down, and for the entire rest of the game the fans were heckling him for being the player that got hit by the ball.
Coach Wright's tips on staying physically active, mentally strong, and recruitment tips should help everyone out in this time of the unknown. Staying mentally tough and creating a schedule every week will contribute to your overall success once you're back on the field.
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Full Transcript:
Jess Gregory
All right, everyone. Thanks for joining me today I am with coach Brian Wright. He is a men's soccer coach out at Occidental out in California. How are we doing today Brian?
Brian Wright
Doing great Jess, thanks for having me.
Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for joining me. How's how's life in lockdown in California
Brian Wright
you know life in lockdown I'm sure it's pretty similar to what everyone else is experiencing across the country, you know, just trying to adhere to the guidelines and at the same time still being active in terms of you know, whether it be working and the physical component getting outside important to get outside and get some fresh air and get your get your body moving. But making the most out of the situation and, you know, obviously taking a positive approach knowing that you know, at some point we will be out of this, but in the meantime making the most out of the situation.
Jess Gregory
That's definitely a plus we got to stay positive here because we you know, are still kind of unsure of When this will all blow over, so, exactly how to keep our heads up. Yeah,
Brian Wright
exactly.
Jess Gregory
Yeah. Now, can you give some tips you mentioned being being physically active as well. Sunshine? Can you give some tips to our kids at home on how they can stay physically active, whether it be outside or you know, if they have a smaller space at home?
Brian Wright
Yeah, of course. I mean, you know, there's so many resources available to everyone whether, you know, on the websites, different internet sites, and, you know, really, you can watch videos of different stuff. I'm sure everyone has their club coach who's sending them information and, and showing them different drills. You know, really, for me. I know some people don't have access to maybe a wall. They may live in a smaller environment, but hopefully, maybe they have someone obviously living with them. So you know, it's just simple as maybe going outside and just passing and kicking a ball against the wall. You know, I was thinking about it, you know, during this time, obviously, there's no games and there's no practices and stuff. But, you know, when you look at an athlete at an elite level, the time when they get the better or better as an athlete is in the offseason. And so you can think of it this as the offseason where you're fine tuning your skills from a soccer piece and then also to you know, getting outside, you know, monitoring, whether it be your mile or your sprint and pushing yourself I think it's important to have goals during this time and not just say, Okay, I'm going to be physically active. I'm going to work on touches every day. It's, it's making a specific goal every day in every week to be like, okay, you know, today I'm going to make sure that I touch the ball with my left foot 100 times or you know, I'm juggling 100 times a day. And then next week, it's 150. It's so it's kind of pushing the envelope every week and every day to say okay, how am I gonna be better tomorrow than I was yesterday. So I think that that is, you know, an important aspect for everyone how they can stay physically active is kind of making this a an offseason program to something they feel is going to benefit them in the future.
Jess Gregory
Yeah, yeah, those are definitely some great tips. And I like how you think of it as an offseason because I remember our offseason in the spring. I mean, even though we we play a little bit, just not as much as in the fall, but were we working out a lot. So this gives you that time for them to just take advantage of it and run with it. Absolutely.
Brian Wright
Yeah. And I know some people don't have access to weights but you know, you can still be doing push ups. You can still you know, the other day, I saw someone walking down the street with the apple juice gallons as they were doing curls is that I mean it. People are getting so creative, but I definitely think you can make your body stronger during this time. I mean, even your own bodyweight is something that can help you to strengthen you know, your body To help it, you know, maintain, but also gain strength as well.
Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. Now kind of talking about the other side of training, which would be the mental training, do you have any tips for kids and what they can kind of do to stay mentally active? Or at least just keep that positivity kind of rolling?
Brian Wright
Yeah. Yeah, of course, I think, you know, one of the things, you know, I also coach clubs, as well. And one of the things that I've been challenging my kids is to watch, watch games, you know, something that you can do right now is, you know, I understand the game is not live, understand you already see the results, or you already know the results of the game, but I think, you know, watching the game and analyzing it from a different perspective, you know, we get so caught up in, okay, again, the physical and the technical component of it, but also the tactical is not just at the training sessions in games. It's also off the field and so on. think that, you know, people can watch games and they can analyze the specific position, you know, you can look maybe 10 years ago of what it was or the modern soccer player, but I think watching games and analyzing it and not watching it for the entertainment aspect, but watching it to say, Okay, I'm a center midfielder. And I'm going to watch this person and I'm going to see, you know, obviously, there's different styles of play, I get that, but what I'm saying is is okay, what is his role on the ball, you know, off the ball, what is this positioning, you know, defensively, how is he, you know, adjusting to the opponent? I think that those are things that you can mentally be doing. Also to kind of what I was saying earlier about the physical component is, is making a kind of a player development plan of, Okay, I understand right now things are kind of on pause but mentally challenging or mentally challenging yourself in a way where you're going, Okay, you know, these are goals that I have in mind. You know what, how am I going to obtain these goals? Because I do think that first of all, if you want to achieve a goal, you need to write it down. as cliche as that may be that is really the truth. I remember if you be like, oh, Brian need to write down your goals, and I'm like this, what are you talking about? And remember, right? When you write it down, you now become a little more accountable to schools. And it kind of now says, Okay, I'm writing it down. Now, what is my my plan within it? Because you do have to have a plan. And so I think that there is definitely, obviously I know, kids are still in school. So there's obviously the mental demands of school during this time, but they can also mentally get stronger. Because, you know, really, if you look at athletes today, I think the ones that separate themselves, you know, at any level, whether it be the youth, the college or the professional, it's the mentality, and it's the perseverance to understand that, you know, yes, things may be tough right now, but I'm going to move forward and I I'm not going to sit here and make excuses, I'm going to move forward. So I definitely think though the, the observing the game, and realize I know, because I used to play and now at coaching, I see the game in a whole different way from the outside. Because sometimes on the inside, you don't see that. So, you know, it's also to mentally looking at yourself, if you have game footage of yourself during the season is same as seeing, okay, this week? What are some positives that I did? You know, what are the things I need to improve on? And then maybe if you have film from a couple weeks later, you know, did I hit those goals and you can start to assess yourself as a player to be like, okay, these are things I want to get better at, or I think I'm good at. But in reality after watching film, these are things that I need to improve upon. So those are just kind of a couple tips during this time. I think they can mentally engage them.
Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. I think people don't realize that goal setting is a big part of mental toughness is being able to set a goal, get it out there and then set that plan for it. Um, something we talk about a lot. And then self reflection. That's a great a lot of kids don't know how to do that without being overly harsh on themselves. So being just kind of look at your, your level of play, and then kind of reflect on Okay, what did I do? Well, what can I improve on? Those are awesome tips.
Brian Wright
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, personally.
Jess Gregory
Now, um, let's kind of move into some recruiting questions here. So you share like one of your favorite recruiting stories, whether it be your own and how you started playing or you know, a player that you remember just had, you know, a cool story.
Brian Wright
Yeah. You know, for me, recruiting not that old but recruiting was a lot different when I was being recruited and you know, it's it's definitely changed. I think, you know, for me Really, it's obviously, you know, you you have the emails, you have the games, you know, you do all that stuff, you have the phone calls, you know, for me, really the the recruiting aspect is that I remember, you know, with with players that we've taken over the years, it's, it's when they actually come on campus. And you know, I distinctly remember, you know, times where players would come on campus and, you know, we were interested and we were definitely obviously wouldn't have been if if we didn't invite them but we invited them onto campus and I remember specifically one and it was almost as if he had this aura of him where I was like, wow, I mean, instantly just connected with the guys and and i think that the relational aspect of, say soccer, but life is Well is so underrated sometimes because we focus on Okay, who he is as a soccer player and what can he do for my team? And can he help me win and build a program and all these things but, you know, some of my fondest memories in the recruiting trail is just being able to interact and getting to know these young players at at an individual level. And, you know, I remember this again, back to the the one recruit it he was just so appreciative and he was just so thankful to that he was in this position, and I'm not sitting here saying everyone has to be thankful. And that's my point is, is you could tell he was genuine. And he, he, we knew that as a person, he was going to bring such value to our program. And, you know, he's, he's actually going to be a senior this year. And if you know of those last three years of him being our program, he's affected our program, and simply we could tell just on who he was that day, and so for me, it is You know, my encouragement is, is don't underestimate the power of the connection piece that you can have on, you know, these recruiting trips when a coach says, Hey, I'd like to bring you on campus and for you to meet the team and for us take advantage of that. That is an important aspect that I feel is sometimes missed. Because, again, we're so focused on the soccer piece. So that for me is something that you know, in the recruiting this specific person was so evident, and they've made an impact in on our program that's going to last, you know, years beyond him being there.
Jess Gregory
Yeah. Yeah, I definitely think that kids don't oftentimes think about the relationship that's being built at this time because they're like, Oh, I just gotta be good at soccer. I have to have a great and we'll just come but you are building a relationship through your emails through your phone calls and then when you do finally get to meet them, and it's it's not just one other so
Brian Wright
right and you have the coaches individual attention time. Because when you're on the field, it's kind of rushed, you know, we're going to see different games and you're just processing getting done with your game or you're about to start your game, whereas it's a relaxed environment where everyone's really able to sit down, ask questions and get to know each other.
Jess Gregory
So slowly, that helps you find the right fit to so that you know if this is where you want to be in, and these are the people you're going to be around each other a lot. Absolutely. Yeah. Like, right.
Brian Wright
Yeah, exactly.
Jess Gregory
So good stuff. Um, let's talk a little bit more about the recruiting process. What are some things that kids can do to stay in the process now? You know, communicate with you guys as coaches and kind of get the ball rolling, you know, get it started?
Brian Wright
Yeah, I mean, I think the first thing that that players can do during this time, and I'm mostly talking about juniors and sophomores and freshmen, I mean, I get it seniors are kind of wrapping up their senior year and, and, and just socially Seniors understand to, it's not over, right? Like, it's not like coaches still need to fill their 2020 roster. So I think seniors have to understand that there's still a lot left for them. There's this isn't just because we're not playing right now. There's still a lot left for them. And so just to give them encouragement, because I know because I actually have I coach in a club, I coach, seniors in their Scourge and I'm, I'm encouraging Listen, it's not over coaches still got to fill their 2020 roster. So I just wanted to say that but in terms of what other people can do, you know, who maybe weren't seniors is, I think the first thing to do is research, the college that you feel is going to be a potential fit for you. You know, a lot of times I, you know, players come into this situation and they say, Well, I want to go to that school, and I want to do this and I want to do that. And a lot of it is word of mouth reputation. You saw them in the Final Four, whatever it may be. I think that's the first step. And it's Second step is, you know, obviously, what part of the country do you want to live in? And, you know, what division Do you want to play? And I think that's something right now that players if they go on, you know, college websites, you could probably watch your YouTube you can watch all the games, you can start to see what is the style of play that these teams are playing? What type you know, does that fit into your style of play? Is it something that excites you? Is it something that you want to be a part of? I think that that's definitely something doing your research right now. Because when we come out of this, you are going to either decide, okay, that is a college and you'll go watch games live, you'll meet the coach and do all that stuff. But I don't discount getting to know the program from afar. You know, you could even go You could even see like some of the guys on the roster. You could go check out, you know, their social media posts, how are they excited, you could probably direct message them, they could get back to you and Give you, you know, input of Yeah, hey, this is a program you want to be part of. I mean, there's so many things I think that you can do that are not soccer related that can help you make the decision now, from the soccer piece. Obviously, we kind of touched upon it, I think you can definitely email, you know, coaches during this time. You definitely want to get old footage, you know, because obviously, no one's playing right now. So maybe you cut up some old footage in the last year of yourself and, or you redo your highlight reel to showcase your abilities again. But also, you know, I know, for me in the last month, I've talked to a lot of people because people have been reaching out Hey, coach, do you have time to talk and, and the reality is, is Yeah, we have time to talk for 10 to 15 minutes. I think in the past. We were so bombarded with other other things that we've now prioritized, you know, okay, yeah, we can jump on the call. Yeah, we can explain our program to being persistent is an important piece as well. And so I think getting To know the program, you know, you can really see how a program is, again with so much social media and the website and then also to engage with the coach, maybe it's not the head coach, maybe it's the assistant coach, maybe it's the volunteer assistant, you know, I think that there's still opportunity for you to engage in a way again, from the personal aspect that you know, maybe hasn't been as prevalent before. So those are definitely things I think that you can do during this time to help your recruiting process but you know, I think sometimes highlight reels. I think highlight reels are definitely something you can fine tune. And when I say highlight reels if you're a defender, you don't show me you scoring goals, right? Like show me specific defensive, you know, clips that are showing you off the ball, you know, you know, pinching in or covering or something like when I say the highlight reel is really make it special. that characterizes you as a player rather than Oh, these are highlights of things I did well, I connected a pass. Okay, but you're a defender. That's great. You connected a pass I can say, but how are you when you're being pressured? Is your first touch out of pressure? You know like are you able to you know tackle well can you win the ball in the air like show us the attributes of why you feel you should be a defender at the next level and and and pick those specific clips rather than just giving us a highlight reel of things you did well make it specific to your position and highlight those things in the video to say hey coach, this is where I feel I bring the most to the table for for your college and here it is in my video x y&z and explain it to us rather than here's my highlight reel and we have to figure out what is it you're trying to show us. So I think there's more depth you can go into a highlight reel during this time.
Jess Gregory
Okay, yeah, those are some awesome tips. It sounds like mainly you want them to be consistent and proactive so that they know why they're reaching out to you. And then take this time to, to kind of fine tune what they have so that they can share that properly. Yeah, absolutely. Cool. Well, don't forget to take those tips kids, because those are really good ones. And maybe you'll end up at oxy. Who knows? Awesome. All right. Now earlier, you did mention something about when you were talking about the recruiting process, how you had a team that was pretty mentally strong. So I kind of want to dive into that a little bit. So if you could tell me about a team, maybe it was that same one that was mentally tough and successful and kind of why that made that team successful?
Brian Wright
Yeah, I mean, we so about, I'm gonna say three years ago, when, you know, when we were specifically at oxy, we were kind of in a, you know, state, whereas like, we were good, but we weren't over the hump. And so we really took an emphasis leading up into that season, to really Focus on the mentality piece. And, you know, a lot of people say, Well, no, how do you work on the mentality piece? How do you get mentally stronger? There is no easy answer to that. And there is no easy solution. I think it's something that you build over a period of time. And so, you know, we had kind of been enforcing, you know, with our first years and our sophomores and juniors every year of, hey, we've got to be mentally strong. Hey, we have to, we have to keep pushing the envelope and, you know, that season, you know, we made it to our championship conference game, which we never happened before. And, you know, for us, yeah, we we really realized that, you know, the soccer piece and the components were there. What was lacking was the mentality and really, it came down to not only us, the techniques we use But the group collectively and cohesively believing that we could do this. And I think, you know, some people say, well, it's probably just your starting 11 and your captain. No, that's not true. It was everyone. Why? Because every single person on our roster that year, had to push those 11 you know, during training sessions, off the field stuff, you know, there's obviously academics when you get to the college level. So there was a lot of things that were pulling and tugging everyone that year. And I think what we really understood was, you know, once we stepped across that line, and onto the field for our games, or training sessions, everything outside of that didn't it didn't really matter in that moment, because we were focused on us and getting better. And I think that that helped us to really establish a mentality of once you cross that line, you get into a different kind of mindset. You know, it's not the same mindset, maybe you are in the classroom, or when you're hanging out with your friends or, or taking a test, it's the mindset of, you know, I have a job to do. And I'm going to do it to the best of my ability. And if I'm doing it for 90 minutes, if I'm doing it for 10 minutes, or if I'm doing it from the bench, I'm mentally engaged in the game to help my team succeed. And, and to and, and again, there's no guarantees, you're gonna win. But it puts you in a position to be successful and hopefully get the right result. And so, you know, we experienced something last year as well during our season where it was kind of the same thing. We kind of hit into a slump. And then all of a sudden we reeled off all these wins, and we made it to our conference tournament again, but again, it's a testimony of the mentality where it's hard. I think one of the things that's underrated, at the college level, is how mentally taxing it is to play college soccer as an athlete because you to juggle the academic side, along with the, with the athletic side. And so, obviously kids are doing it now in the high school. They're juggling both, but there's more demand when you get to the college level and it's a it's a discipline thing you know, and understanding Okay, you know, tonight maybe I can't hang out with my friends because I have a game tomorrow that's early, or I have a test I need to study for and, and it's making a sacrifice mentality is more of is a sacrifice than it is anything else. I mean, I'm sure everyone watched, you know, Michael Jordan's the last dance to ESPN because you have nothing else to do. And, you know, he's just talking about how certain guys who are professional were living their life in a certain way. He basically said no, no, no, I want to be great. I have to do what basically different and I have to go against the mold of what is normal in order to be great. And I think that is a mentality. That is that is something you're not, you know, say born with. It's something that you develop over a period of time, so
Jess Gregory
yeah, absolutely. I think that's another thing too, that you brought up is that it's not just the kid that's playing, that's a starter that's on the field that can, you know, be in the game all the time it is the other kids that are, you know, pushing those kids to be a starter and fighting, fighting for that position, and then having to still have a positive outlook when you're on bench. And that gets overlooked a lot, I think, because kids just think I'm going to college, I'm going to play and everything's gonna be great. But you also have to know your role and be able to step up in that role for the team for the collective for it to work out.
Brian Wright
100% I mean, something that's in my memory, even as you're saying, that is, I remember, I think it was last season, the season before and, you know, one of our seniors, you know, just wasn't performing at the level that he needs to and he's kind of dealing with an injury and, you know, one of our second our sophomores came in and, you know, he he was just he was, he was doing better than him in practice and in the games. And I remember during the first half, that this software did not have a good first half, you know who the first person was to greet him was that senior who his spot was taken by him. And he consoled them and said, hey, it's okay, you're going to do better in the second half, you're going to you're going to make a difference. And guess what he comes out in the second half, you know, and basically has the game winner for us. And so for me, you're right. I mean, so many people get caught up in you know, it's just the stuff it's just the people who are playing and not I can't tell you how important our benches because they're up on the sideline, you know, our guys look to our bench. I mean, our guys literally will say, We need you guys standing up, not standing up. We need you engaged. Because Because we can't do this by ourselves. We need you mentally engaged because, you know, they say Listen, you know the defenders will talk to the defenders from the sideline. Hey, Watch him, Hey, watch, may need that. And that is still an important and also to it goes back to your mentally engaged in the game in that moment is your opportunity will come. I think some people get lost of, you know, why do coaches get so tired after games because we're mentally so engaged, tactically thinking about the next move. And I think that's how it should be for players because your opportunity will come. And the question is, is are you going to be ready for what you see on the outside, because now you're going to experience from the inside and that what you've seen on the outside experience wise will help you experience wise on the field. And so that's why I think we get so caught up in especially first years and then second, you know, sophomores that get so caught up on on that plane, you're not playing but how can you help the team because your time and your moment will come? And I think that the more you support the cause and help the team in that moment, the better off because really at the end of the day if the team wins a championship it's a credit not just to the guy We're playing but to the guys who are not playing as well, because they're pushing those players during training sessions and helping each other and, and that really is the again, it's the, it's for the greater good, you're sacrificing for the greater good. So that is something that stood out for me is is again, the support of people understanding. It's not about me, it's about the team and how I support them.
Jess Gregory
Exactly. Yeah, cuz you're not just gonna recruit 11 players and a goalie, you know what I mean? You're gonna make sure that you have enough so that you guys can play against each other and battle each other. So yeah, as long as kids kind of understand that there's going to be a role and eventually, you know, if they keep working hard, they're gonna they're gonna see that playing time, but you got to do it for the collective not just for yourself.
Brian Wright
Quick. Yep,
Jess Gregory
definitely. All right. Now, we've talked about some pretty heavy stuff here. So let's get into some fun stuff and let viewers learn more about you. So we're just going to get into them some goofy questions and you can go ahead and share your thoughts. Ah, first one I want to ask you is if you How to play in 30 degree weather or 100 degree weather which would you choose and why?
Brian Wright
You know, it's funny I've I've been asked this question before obviously I love being a grown up in Southern California pretty much my whole life I love I love the sun, I prefer the sun. But when it comes to this question, I would have to say the 30 degree weather. And the only reason why is, you know, playing as playing in Southern California can get pretty hot playing in 100 degree plus weather is miserable. Yeah, it's tough. I mean, there's water breaks and stuff. I mean, I understand 30 degree weather, there's probably snow and different stuff like that. But for me, I prefer the the 30 degree weather I think, I think it's, you know, just feel like it just it seems more bearable to the human body, at least from my perspective. I know people say it's freezing. It's true, right. I think I'd rather be freezing and super Hot. That's the way I look at it.
Jess Gregory
You can put more Clothes on. You can't take enough off to me. Yeah,
Brian Wright
yeah, yeah, you definitely definitely. Yeah, you were the minimum when it's hot but there's nothing you can do. That's it whereas least I least you can start the game with like some leggings and some stuff and then all of a sudden you realize I'm hot and you can take it off.
Jess Gregory
Exactly. Yeah. All right. Now let's talk about your Mount Rushmore of soccer players. So this is your top for all time favorites. If you want to name them off, and then just a little blurb about why you picked them.
Brian Wright
Yeah. You know, I think you know, this generation you obviously kind of right right away point to the Messi's in the Christiano Renaldo's of the world. They're not on my Mount Rushmore and the reason why is because I grew up, you know, we're all kind of the same age so they weren't who they were until after I had already got my soccer career started. So when I look at my Mount Rushmore, I look at people who have have kind of affected, you know, my style but also affected, you know, my, my perspective on the game. So I think the first person that really, you know, I started playing soccer when I was five years old. But the first person that really made me realize what soccer was and and this is before he became fan so I'm not just saying this, it was David Beckham at Manchester United. I know he, he really, you know, the way he because I kind of evolved and I was a forward growing up mostly and then I kind of evolved into the college years, you know, kind of being a winger and so kind of molded my game specifically on them. And you know, if you look at them in the early Man United days, he, he was he was the fittest guy out there, he's whipping in crosses, he was such a he was, you know, defensively very, very just like stuck in and so, you know, I appreciated that, you know, wasn't just as good looks. There's more to it. And so for It was it was definitely him, I'd say, the second person on that list would probably be Zedan. You know, again, because the World Cup was you know, not I mean, let's see 94 World Cup was in the US and so that was kind of first time us was really exposed, but then you had the 98 World Cup in France. And, you know, we hadn't really seen the international national teams as much as on TV. Kids don't understand soccer was not on TV as much as it now when they see Champions League and Premier League in law league all the time that that wasn't the case. And we didn't have you know, Instagram and Facebook and stuff. So when we saw games, it was like, you know, okay, I need to watch because I may not see this again. So is the dawn, you know, watching him, you know, I'll never forget. Obviously, most people Champions League has volley on the left foot and that basically won it for Real Madrid. I think the way he he played And and I think too, and this is what I tell midfielders all the time is, he was so simple. Yes, he had great, you know, fluidity and skill level, but he made things so simple. If he saw a five yard pass, he would just pass. He didn't make the game complicated and that's what I loved about him. My third person, Steven Gerrard Yes, I am a huge Liverpool fan. So that's definitely, you know, a factor into that. But Stephen Girard, you know, loyal guy, you know, in a time when he probably could have gone anywhere in the world. I mean, he was with Liverpool his whole life. But he also just showed the grit and determination of what a soccer professional soccer player is. And so he really inspired me obviously of the 2005 Champions League final against AC Milan. I remember sliding on my carpet when they tied the game three, three because I was just so excited but you know, It's just he exemplified the, you know, what a captain is what a leader is on and off the field. And so I think that that was definitely my third and then my fourth Thierri Henry, another French, you know, I think I did not have the speed like him. He is, you know, he's super fast. I was actually watching highlights of them the other day. He I mean, he was he was remarkable in terms of his speed but he was just so cool and calming score goals and just had a confidence about him. You just knew when he was on your team, things were going to go well and so I think I took apart from all four of those guys that kind of implemented my game as well. To help me kind of mold myself as I went on my college professional career that that those were definitely aspect and obviously there's there's athletes offset outside of the soccer realm that influenced me as well. But those things Definitely where my four for me and why. Now they're on my Mount Rushmore. Awesome.
Jess Gregory
Yeah, I always like to hear why people pick them. It's not just like oh yeah, Messi cuz he's Messi. You know what I mean? Like you're talking about these people because you looked up to them as to so that's really cool. I love here though. Yeah. Awesome. All right. So now next question. We're gonna jump over to your Top5 moment. That was just awesome that you can just remember off the top of your head, whether you were playing or you were coaching, but this would be your like, topping up in history.
Brian Wright
Yeah. So I was thinking about this. And there's, there's a lot of great moments. You know, I've been very fortunate and blessed to have a lot of great moments in the game that's brought to me, I would say. So when we when I was about 1617, my my club team, we used to go to Europe and play an international tournament, and we used to play against youth teams, youth professional teams, you know, during this Early 2000s, you had, you know, Leeds United, which is in, you know, used to be in the English Premier League. They're still in the English, I guess you could say leagues about the top flight. And, you know, we're playing against their youth professional team, you 17 I mean, these guys, some of them are already on professional contracts. Some of them are already, you know, on their way to the first team. And so, here we are a club team playing in and I remember in Belgium, we were playing in an international tournament, all youth professional teams, pretty much everyone thought we were a professional team in the United States, which we weren't we're just a club team. And we're tied against Leeds United. And, you know, it's a chippy game where, you know, they're they're spewing stuff at us because we're American like, You guys suck and dah dah dah dah and all this stuff and I'll never forget it and the funny I'll, I'll share a funny aspect of it, but so it's Probably about the fourth minute, I'm going to say. And at the time I was actually playing right wing, right midfield. And a striker gets the ball top of the box. And he turns, and he shoots, and it hits the post. So if you're looking at the goal hits, hits the left post, and the ball comes out to me, and I'm at the top of the 18. And it's one of those moments where I know everyone probably experiences where time kind of stops, and you have a moment to actually think so this ball is coming towards me. And I'm about to just smash it. Now keep in mind, I am a right footed player, but it's coming to my left foot because it's coming. Because I'm on the opposite side. The ball comes and I'm about to just smash with my left foot, but something inside of me says no, because it's coming at such pace. Just hit it, just direct it. So I ended up hitting it with my left foot And the ball bent around a defender. And the goalie and and the goalie can't reach it basically goes into upper v. And we beat Leeds, United's youth professional team to one. And from that experience, a couple of us, you know, we're able to get opportunities to stay overseas because everyone took us serious like, wow, this team's pretty darn good if they're beating youth professional teams. And so, but scoring that goal was such a huge moment and highlight because it really kind of propelled Excel my career from that moment to do the college and professional stuff. And so, but it's just like, it was a slow motion. And the funny thing is that goal is on is on video is on tape. Yeah, I've yet to see it to this day. Because every time I ask people for it, they'll say, Oh, yeah, I'll send it. I haven't seen it in like 20 years. So I've yet to see my actual goal, but everyone else who's seen is like, yeah, that was an amazing goal. And I've yet To see it, but that is definitely something at the top of my list where game winning goal, you hit it just perfect. And, you know, you have all your teammates celebrating and it's done it, you know, essentially, in a foreign country, you know, in Belgium and Europe and, you know, everyone's, you know, the accolades that we got after that was was pretty cool. So that was definitely my highlight. From a playing standpoint,
Jess Gregory
nice. We got to find that tape man so that we know
Brian Wright
this. I know, it's on DVD. It's somewhere out there. I know that because someone had it. I reached out to them and they said they would tell they would, they would mail it to me and they never did. And that was like six years ago. So yes, I am hoping I will find that DVD one day and be able to actually watch it.
Jess Gregory
So fingers crossed. So all right now that's an awesome moment. Cool that you got to to share in that and go overseas and do all that. that fun stuff. That's definitely a unique experience. Now let's let's talk about the flip side. What is a moment? That would be a not top moment of just something crazy happened and you've never forgotten?
Brian Wright
Yeah. So ironically, my not top pin moment came on that same trip. Okay. So we were because we were in or not, we were we, you know, went overseas. We were in Belgium for one week, and then we were Netherlands for the second week. And the second week, we were playing against another youth professional team. But this one was a little different because it was more of an expert exhibition game. And there was about I'm gonna say 2000 people who came to watch because it was a local youth professional team and and, you know, in Europe, everyone supports everyone doesn't matter if they're in the top league or not. And so we're playing this team, and we're just thinking it's an exhibition game. Or they're, you know, no big deal. Yeah, you show up in the stands are completely packed, completely filled. I mean, they're singing, they're dancing, they're waving their flags. I mean, keep in mind, we're 1617 year old guys, and we're like, let's go on. And so you know, I mean, we we embrace the moment we're like, Okay, this is how it's going to be. I mean, you could tell that the team was pumped, everyone's ready to go. And so we play the game and we're going, and there's a moment where, you know, we're really repressing them because we don't want them to feel comfortable. So we're pressing them a little higher than usual. And again, I was playing kind of in a right mid position. And so we pressing and so there was a moment where the ball went backwards to the left back. And so I go to pressure him and I'm about to get there and I pray you know, because I am about to cut off the pass and everything. And, you know, I put my leg out, as you know, about to block it. And he miss hits it. And it just smacks me right where the sun don't shine. It just smacks me. And in the video you can see me I just fall over like a tree. Yeah. face down on the field. Now granted, there's 2000 plus people that are watching this. Yeah, there, they have no sympathy for me in that moment. They are laughing. They are calling me names. And I am in a heat of like pain. I mean, I am in tremendous pain. I mean, I had to come out for a little bit because I was just in that much pain. So pretty much rest of the game. They are making fun of me for basically getting kicked by the ball in that place. Every time I'm on the ball. They're calling me names. Every time I touch the ball, you know, instead of whistling. They're like, Oh, that's the guy who got kicked out. You know, I mean, the whole game and so it was just obviously Something I did not mean for it to happen, but it just, you know, it just happened in that way. And so it was just it was just more, it's just more embarrassing than it was anything else because of the amount of people. And you know, after the game people are, you know, we ended up tying the team won one, but after the game people like, Oh, you gotta make sure you go I sit and done it, you know, I mean, they're just, they're just, they're just nailing me. So definitely not my not my finest moment in terms of heckling, for sure. So,
Jess Gregory
yeah, it probably would have been as bad if there were like, 20 people there.
Brian Wright
Exactly. It wouldn't have been as bad if it was just like a regular club game and just parents there and everyone would have forgot but because that was early on in the game, probably the first 1015 minutes they reminded me the whole game what had happened to me and it was it was not it was not pleasant on top of, you know, marine acting, how I did it and how I fell. I mean, it was again, it was it was it wasn't bad, but because of the fact so many people saw it and they were making me that's when I I was like, Oh gosh, this is definitely not one of my finest moments. So yeah,
Jess Gregory
that's definitely a contender for the top not gonna, again if you can find that video. I
Brian Wright
again I believe the same guy who has my video bullets on there as well so yeah,
Jess Gregory
yeah, we got to get a hold of this guy Why is he holding out on us?
Brian Wright
I know he's holding it out I think he's trying to like you think he's probably got a secret YouTube video with all this stuff on there and I have no idea about it
Jess Gregory
well Now I know what I'm gonna go look for later so I can add it on to this.
Brian Wright
There you go.
Jess Gregory
Oh man. All right Brian well I really appreciate you sitting down chatting with us today. It was a super fun conversation especially ending off like that I don't mean to laugh but it was pretty good.
Brian Wright
My pleasure and I'm very happy that you guys reached out and we're able to do this with the EXACT. EXACT is a an amazing organization that helps kids get to the next level. So I'm happy Happy to help and happy to just have a talk and chat about how we can help. You know, because really, at the end of the day we want we want to help kids during this time, you know, and and provide as much normalcy as we can to let them know that, hey, we're going to come out of this and everything's gonna be okay. So I appreciate it.
Jess Gregory
Yeah, absolutely. Thanks so much, man. Hopefully we'll get to see you back out on the field soon, but if not, you know, we'll sit down and chat again.
Brian Wright
Perfect. Sounds good.
Jess Gregory
All right. We'll see ya.
Brian Wright
Thanks, Jess.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai