Mallory Swanson grew up as a soccer phenom and is a forward on the US National Women’s Soccer team. In the video below, she spoke with Pure Athlete, a group focused on informing and inspiring the next generation of athletes.
How do You Managing Adversity
When talking about some of her injuries and being left off the US National Teams, Mal said every professional athlete has to make peace with and accept adversity while having grit.
There will always be storms and adversity in your way, and how you manage them will determine your success.
How to Control Anxiety
Mal was a young phenom who had a lot of success early, but as she got older and started playing for the US National Team, she started to question herself and she said when you start questioning yourself, the anxious thoughts and doubts start coming in. Mal said the key for her was allowing the thoughts to come, feel them, and accept them so she could separate them from who she really was.
She was able to decide which thoughts were lured and doubts and when you do that, she said you can fully accept who God made you to be.
She is at her best when she is playing carefree and not overthinking anything.
Young Mal
Mal was asked if she was always the best kid on the team when she was younger and how she developed her skills.
Mal says her dad ran track and her mom ran cross country, so she had athletic genes, but she wasn’t the most skillful or technical player as a kid. When they would do juggling tests, she would get mad at herself because she couldn’t do it, but she would work on it all the time. She also had soccer balls all around the house and would dribble and kick all day wherever she went.
Mal said she had to work hard on the things she wasn’t naturally good at, and she still does.
When talking about her experience growing up playing soccer, she said her parents were very supportive of her and never forced her to push her to work hard, but they never needed to because she was so driven allowing them to just focus on loving and supporting her.
Play Multiple Sports
While she played soccer all year growing up, she also played basketball and ran track growing up. She said playing multiple sports is important for youth athletes. It helps you be more athletic and taking a break makes you enjoy your main sport even more.
What is it Like Playing for the USWNT?
Mal said when you are playing for the USWNT, you are basically renting the jersey and no one has a permanent spot on the team, so you have to keep working and getting better all the time. Every camp, training, and game matters, and that is what makes the team so successful. It is a fun, healthy level of competition and you have to always bring it because every single moment matters.
How Do You Keep it Fun?
She says the one piece of advice she shares with young people is, “Don’t lose the fun.” She says sometimes it is not fun, so you have to remind yourself of the blessings that come with it. Mal says she often reminds herself that she has been blessed enough to do this as a job, that the job is fun, and there are a lot of people out there who can’t do this. She also talks about all the relationships and friendships playing sports, and having the right outlook is what keeps it fun.
But she says when you are young, it's hard because youth sports are so crazy. The talent level continues to grow, which is good, but parents shouldn’t force it on their kids and support them out of love.
She says every parent should ask themselves, “Does your kid really want to do this, and are they motivated to do so?”
But she says the best way to keep it fun as a kid is to have multiple sports or things to do.
Advice for the Younger Generation
Mal says her advice to young girls is to always keep it fun, and when you lose the fun, find ways to get back to what made it fun for you in the first place. She also says to go see professionals play. Seeing that can help motivate you and give you a vision of what you want to work toward.
You can watch the video interview here: Mallory Swanson YouTube
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