When inspiration comes to mind, the women’s soccer team thinks of Jillian Loyden. Not everybody can have the chance to say that they met an Olympic and World Cup player. On September 23rd, 2012, the women’s soccer team here at Wilkes was able to do just that. Jillian came to Wilkes to talk to the team about the game of soccer and obviously inspire them and make them never stop chasing their dreams.
“Dream big and go after it. You were born to do big things” was just one of the inspiring things Loyden said after asking her what’s her main goal for coming and talking to the girls. She wants to travel around, being a positive role model to young soccer players, and make them push themselves to be the best player they could be. She came to speak to the team, talk to the youth about her experience about the World Cup and the Olympics, and just simply interact with the girls and talk to them.
After talking to a couple girls on the team, you can really tell that they took what Jillian said to heart and realized what she said is true. They now believe that even if they dream big, to just go out and excel. She also wanted strived to make the players on the team realize that even if they don’t start the game, or get as much playing time as they would have liked, she enforced that you’re still just as important as anybody else on the team. This will make you a better teammate. If you believe that your time will come, and you put the effort in, people will notice. Only positives can come out of working hard and reaching your goal.
We asked Jillian to tell us about her experience with soccer and how she’s grown up and molded into the kind of player she is today. She says, “It makes me smile. It makes it worth living for”. For Jillian, she lives for the opportunities to be able to travel and play the exciting game she loves. To Jillian, it’s more than just a game, it’s her life.
The girls on the team, after hearing the motivating words of Loyden, took what she said and left it all on the field. They ended up defeating Daemen College that day, 4-0. The girls were really excited and thankful for Jillian to take the time out of her amazing and entertaining life to come and speak to them. They won’t forget the words she spoke, and will forever use what she said for the future.