DEF.PDX Podcast: The Journey Series

Welcome to the soccer journey of Krystyna Freda. On this podcast we talk about the unique soccer journey of Krystyna, who is a female professional player currently playing in Cyprus for Apollon Ladies, and how she went from a small college to playing pro. Krystyna tells us about some difficult times she went through and how she overcame them and looked to the future. We get to learn about what steps she took to prepare for being a professional and what is like transitioning from college to pro. She also talks about women’s soccer as a whole and what she is trying to do to help promote the women’s game in her time off of the field. Krystyna has a lot of advice for younger players that might help them deal with rejection, decisions about going abroad for playing opportunities, and some tips that might help them prepare for what is to come on the professional level. Throughout her career Krystyna has pushed the boundaries of what she thought was capable, and wants younger plays to know that they can too. We get a chance to hear first hand about what is like to be a female soccer player in a male dominated world. Krystyna also has a blog where she gives advice to younger and aspiring professionals, so you can check them out through her social media, as well as another website she built to help promote women’s soccer.

On this podcast Jasmyne Spencer and I talked about her soccer journey from the youth levels to her getting drafted and giving our young female athletes some words of wisdom and advice on how they can make it to the pro level. Jasmyne Spencer currently plays in the (NWSL) for the Seattle OL Reigns. We covered her journey ,players advice, mental health, world news, conspiracy theories, karaoke, faith, the spot/ culture, and getting to know her.

Welcome to the soccer journey of Kyle Curinga. During the podcast we go through the professional career of Kyle and some of the ups and downs he’s had. Including moments like becoming the regular season champion of the USL, having a season ending injury, and playing in two different countries. We also touch on super relevant topics such as corona virus and mental health and how we attempt to deal with them. We have some fun doing karaoke, chatting about conspiracies, talking how God has impacted our lives, and much more. Tune into to learn more about Kyle Curinga and how his journey can help you to see more into the mind of a professional soccer player. Find Kyle on social media:
IG: @kylecuringa
Twitter: @kyle_curinga10

Welcome to the soccer journey of Tommy Case. On today’s podcast we talked about what various struggles took Case to where he is today. He discusses how his love for the game grew in Eugene, Oregon and led to his move to the Timbers Academy and then later to the Sounders Academy. He also talks about the transition from youth soccer to college soccer and what advise he has for people going through the same process. Instagram: tcasepelz

Welcome to the soccer journey of Kayla Klim. On today’s podcast we talked about the experiences that lead Kayla to playing in Sweden’s Elitettan. We discussed some of the differences of going to school in the States verse going to school in Canada and what that decision process looked like for Kayla. She shared about her burnout in university and how being a goalkeeper can sometimes feel lonely when joining a new team. If you want to follow Kayla’s journey or you have questions for her, you can find her as @coachkayla29 on Instagram.

Welcome to the soccer journey of Daniel Amo. On today’s podcast we talked about how Amo’s journey carried him to where he is today and what challenges he had to overcome. He discussed his childhood in Ghana through the Sporting Club Accra and Right to Dream program in Ghana. He also talked about his experience playing in youth tournaments in Europe with RTD. Amo also talked about his transition from Ghana to the Salisbury School in CT and UCSB. We also discussed his journey from college to European teams( Rayo Vallecano, Thisted FC and Getafe B). Amo talked about his nonprofit GoldenEd(www.goldened.org).
Finally, we discussed his goals for this Fall season.
All social media: @d_amo21 and @goldened_gh.

Welcome to the soccer journey of Alex Lara. On today’s podcast we talk about the many challenges that can arise in any players career. Alex shares his past struggles and how these struggles eventually were able to help him grow, as a player and individual. In addition we speak on the important issues of mental stability and how that played a role in his life. This also includes his transition from Mt. Sac (Junior college) to CSUN (Division one) and all the way up to USL championship. He was also able to give some insight into his personal life and the faith he has and how it’s helped him overcome obstacles. Lastly we touched on the short and long term goals he has for his rookie season and the advice he would give to anyone that was or is in a difficult time.

Welcome to the soccer journey of Johnny Rodriguez. On today’s podcast we talked how Johnny Rodriguez’s journey carried him to where he is today and what obstacles he had to overcome. How Johnny is preparing himself to sing his first professional contract. He discusses how he went from a JUCO to a Division 1 and the challenges that presented themselves. When some players should contact coaches. Also we talked about how mental health is a big thing in today’s society and how people shouldn’t keep silent about it. There was a lot of fun things throughout the podcast including some good karaoke from two good/talented singers so don’t miss it. Be sure to listen to the podcast to get to know Johnny and get to know him outside of soccer! Find Johnny Rodriguez on Social Media: Instagram: Johnnybgooodd_

Welcome to the soccer journey of Anthony Legendre. On this podcast we talk about the struggles Anthony had to go through in order to sign his first pro contract. He played in the USL championship with the Tulsa roughnecks and has many different years of experience over seas. He has travelled to 5 different countries in order to sign last year. We also talk about how persistant and driven he was in order to achieve his goals. His career was highly influenced by the people he surrounded himself with and God. It was great having Anthony as our guest on the podcast and here’s where you can find him. Instagram: legendre28, twitter: tony_legendre, YouTube: Anthony Legendrey, Tiktok: legendre28.

On the podcast we discussed the soccer journey of Sean Totsch as a soccer player from the earliest days when he first touched a ball all the way to his current professional team. Sean had a unique route to get where he’s at today. Sean wasn’t drafted nor was he recruited out of college, he made it through his mentally and workrate on a daily basis. Once as a Pro Sean Totsch won a 3 USL championships and were we discuss some of the challenges, and obstacles he faced along the way. Off the field sean is an avid golfer and cryptocurrency enthusiast. Also not the best singer as youll hear me attempt aint no mountain high enough. Find Sean Totsch on social media @tophcity

Welcome to the soccer journey of Renato Punyed. On this podcast we talk about the absolute unique soccer journey of Nicaragua National team player Renato Punyed and how he got to where he his today; And what are his plans for the future. We see an insight of his personal experience in the GoldCup 2019 and friendlies against teams like Argentina and playing against top players like Messi. Here we discuss it all, his advises to young players, his downfalls, his personal experiences and more. This is a player who throughout his career keeps defining perseverance and mental toughness. Who doesn’t take no for an answer and/or uses it to his personal benefit and to this day keeps pushing to being better everyday. We also talk about poverty in countries like Nicaragua and his experiences with that. A lot of fun stuff about Renato Punyed that many people don’t know about him. Find Renato on social media: Instagram: @renatopunyed Twitter: @RPunyed

In today’s podcast, we talked to Mario Sequeira Quesada, goalkeeper for the Virginia Commonwealth University’s soccer program in the NCAA Division 1. Mario discusses his journey through soccer, starting from watching his dad playing with coworkers, to his experience in a national team. He talks about dealing with the pressure of being a goalkeeper and how he deals with mistakes. We talked about working on mental health and how Mario learned to address it with family and loved ones. Mario shared a little bit of Costa Rica’s culture and food and joined us in some karaoke time.

Check out the story of Nick Ballenger; baseball player turned soccer lover. Follow him through his journey of perseverance in his continued pursuit of a professional playing career. Take a couple pieces of life advice away, learn a little about his business aspirations, and finally listen to his killer karaoke skills! You won’t want to miss this edition of DEF PDX! Be sure to let us know what your key takeaways from his journey were!

Chardonnay Curran, a current player at the University Of Oregon, talks about how she became the player she is now. She takes us back to Hawai’i where it all started in a league known as AYSO. She talks about her transition into a much more competitive league known as HYSA with the Real Soccer Club. During this transition she talks about something she encountered that change the way she viewed the game. That moment made her better and it helped her become the player she is today. Fast forward a few years, she mentions her experiences in high school and the struggles she faced as she transitioned into an Oregon Duck. Not to mention, she talks about her experiences with the U.S. youth national teams. During her journey she overcame struggles which we talked about in this podcast. Chardonnay shared some advice as well as her religious background. She mentions her relationship with God and how he has had an impact. She also shares mentions domestic violence and what we can do to help those experiencing domestic violence.

Steven is a USL league 2 player and his excited to share his soccer journey. He started soccer late, but his the definition of taking no for an answer and hard work ethic. Stay tuned and listen to his soccer journey, his ready to encourage you. We talked his soccer journey, players advice, world issues, faith, karaoke battle 1v1, the spot to eat supporting our local business, and get to know him segment. His ready to inspire you with his soccer journey because his not done yet. So stay tuned.

On this episode covers the journey of Emily Kaestner. She is a D1 women’s soccer player who played four years at the University of Oregon in the PAC-12 conference and is currently playing for the Campbell University in the Big-South conference. Emily talks about the recruiting process, her advice to young females players, her struggles with heath and injury and how her faith is a big motivator. Emily also covers the issue of food insecurity and how her passion for nutrition encouraged her to start a food Instagram (@the _full_life_).

Robert has an impressive background playing at Nomads SC, Xolos Tijuana Academy, signed his first pro contract with liga MX power house “Atlas FC”, then robert returned back to the states and played for the LA Galaxy. Now Robert Castellanos is the captain at RGVFC Toros in the USL champion under and MLS affiliated Houston Dynamo. Click and listen to his soccer journey and his ready to inspire you with the obstacles, struggles he faced along his soccer journey. Oh, just wait until he tells his ghost story, it gave me the chill until this day.

Danny Trejo is a top MLS prospect for the 2021 MLS draft. We talked about his soccer journey to current, obstacles and struggles he faced along the way. We talked about his soccer journey, give our Audience advice, world news, conspiracies, faith, karaoke 1v1 sing off, talked about the spot to eat in. Small summary of Daniel: CSUN men’s Soccer, Portland Timbers U23’s, Fc golden state force and find out what’s next for next years top prospect. So stay tuned.

Lamar shares his soccer journey and obstacles, and struggles he faced along the way. He gives players advice to the next generation, We talked about corona virus, karaoke to Chris brown ft. T. pain- best love song, The spot supporting local business and getting to know him to the personal level. He played at UCSB, Portland Timbers 2, Portland Timbers, LAFC, and Current will play at North Texas SC (FC Dallas) affiliated team.

Pro soccer journey of Christian Enriquez, he talks Club, National team, pro soccer experience and struggles and obstacles he faced along the way. We talked worlds news, conspiracy theories, faith, karaoke to Ozuna- se preparo karaoke version, The spot supporting loca business, and Get to know Chris. We hope his story motivates you.

We covered everything from soccer dreams and life advice to advocating for people with disabilities. It’s an overall uplifting episode so listen up!

Here’s a super quick story of Timur and his journey, what helped him to get to where he’s at and going from not making rec teams to getting pro contracts. Hoping to reach someone with a similar journey and motivate the younger generation.

In this podcast we discuss the journey that Anthony has had as a goalkeeper, obstacles he overcame, and advice that he has for younger goalkeepers trying to improve their game.

This episode is about David and his obstacles, faith and what he has overcome.

In this episode I talk with Terrance (TJ) about his soccer journey, and the struggles he went through along the way. Hear what he has to say and the advice he has for younger up and coming players

Podcast introduction about the show.