SPEAKER_01 0:32

Welcome to the Picturbing Podcast, where we explore the rise of Vermont soccer through the lens of community, culture, and the game itself, featuring stories from Vermont Clover FC. Join us as we talk with players, coaches, and the people shaping the future of the game in Vermont. Welcome to the Green and Pink Podcast. I am AJ Murray. And I'm Chris George. And speaking of pink, Chris, I gotta tell you, I noticed that you're wearing something a little bit different than our typical team jerseys. What what you got on there, man?

SPEAKER_02 1:21

Yeah, it's the women's jersey. It's uh I'm really putting the pink in the pink and green today. That's what I'm doing. It's a pink sort of a day. I met with some people and I just felt like like showing out loud, you know? Yeah, yeah. It's a little more fuchsia than our normal muted, dusty rose tone that the men wear.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

Okay. And uh what's the color of the shorts? Is that gonna be a little more vibrant? Oh, the same. Okay. Nah, it's the same.

SPEAKER_02 1:45

I decided to go with the dark green instead of the light green. But I'm gonna put neon, I'm gonna put neon green numbers on the back of these instead of the dark green numbers. We're going for full skittles.

SPEAKER_01 1:55

Okay. I love it. That's great. Excellent. Uh, I am excited to interview our guest today because I don't know him very well. Uh we see each other a lot at practices and games, but fairly in passing. Uh, salutations, handshake, and off we go. Uh, I'm excited today to interview assistant coach of Vermont Clover, Al Karim. Al, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_00 2:23

Doing great, AJ.

SPEAKER_01 2:25

Thanks for joining us. Um, I'd like to understand more about your role as assistant coach on uh Vermont Clover FC and you know, a little bit of your your background. Like what's what's the day job? How'd you get into coaching uh and and some stuff like that? So take it away, Al.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Yeah, for sure. Um so uh yeah, with the Clover is uh is um is assistant coach to to Brian Um Puchek. Um, you know, him and I, we we spend a lot of time talking about um our players, um our player personnel. There's you know, it's the largest squad I've ever been a part of, um, you know, a player pool of over 50 boys. Um and I I would say that's probably one of the hardest parts of the job is you know ensuring that um we're pushing them in training and also making the right selection for uh for our game day rosters. Um, you know, the the boys are in training. I mean, you you've seen it that you're you're there at uh a lot of our practice sessions and you know they're they're fighting with each other um day in and day out um in a positive way, right? Um because they're they're competing for for playing time for a roster spot. Um, you know, 50 guys and there's 20 that can be rostered with two of those being keepers. So um, you know, it's it's pretty competitive and it's it's really cool to see. Um and uh yeah, just really happy to be a part of the program, uh a part of the the Clovers.

SPEAKER_01 3:47

So what what's the what's the clover connection? I'll call it how like where did the invite for you to to be an assistant coach come from?

SPEAKER_00 3:55

Yeah, I so uh initially I'd reached out to uh just went on VermontClover.com and um you know after some uh some thought and was like, you know what, I really like like outsider looking in, I had an idea of what the clover was trying to do. And um my background as a both as a player having played at a at a pretty high level as well as a coach, um I wanted to get involved. And so I sent an email um, not knowing if I would even get a reply back, but I was like, I'm gonna throw it out there and see what happens. And uh sure enough, a couple days later, Chris uh gives me a call, and we probably had what must have been an hour-long conversation. And um and I was like, yeah, this is great. This is exactly what Vermont soccer needs is a is a platform for young Vermont players to grow and develop and you know raise Vermont soccer to the to the next level. Um and uh yeah, that that led to, hey, look, you know, we want you as a part of the program, um, you know, come to a training session and let's see where uh you know you fit in. Um, you know, part of my uh background, like playing experience wise, like not only did I play, but I also helped uh manage the behind the scenes of uh Vermont Voltage, um, you know, being a part of the club's operations, um everything from game day operations to helping um you know secure sponsorships and um you know running camps and um you know supporting uh the players and and the rest of the staff as well as you know being a being a player. Um so yeah, it was uh it was it made sense and uh like I said, uh really happy um to be a part of the club.

SPEAKER_01 5:44

Uh for for anybody not familiar, what what is or was the Vermont Voltage?

SPEAKER_00 5:50

Yeah, um so the Vermont Voltage, this actually goes back to I want to say the late 90s. Chris fact checked me on this one or AJ, uh, but they were originally called the Vermont Wanderers. And uh they were a team based out of St. Albans, Vermont. Um the they uh eventually became the Vermont Voltage um uh Bo uh Buchkov Buchkovich. Anyways, uh Bo uh from Serbia played at Franklin Pierce, uh one of their all-time leading goalscorers. Uh he uh played for them and acquired the team. And um, yeah, the voltage were, you know, they were around in Vermont soccer for a really long time. Like they were the the pinnacle of Vermont soccer for um for a number of years. Um and I got involved. Uh this goes back to uh college. Uh one of my best friends, Travis Carey. Um he you know, he kind of took me under his wing. Uh he was a couple years older than me. Um, somebody I looked up to, um, really good football player. Um he uh he himself pursued a path after college of wanting to see how far he could progress his soccer career. Um so he played for Cape Cod Crusaders and Albany Admirals in the PDL. Um he did uh moved out west to Colorado and played uh professional uh indoor soccer there. Um but he, you know, as as I was graduating, he said, Hey, you know, you should give the PDL thing a try. Um so they're you know, Vermont, pretty close to home where I grew up in upstate New York. And uh yeah, I uh reached out to the team and said, Hey, I'd like to come and try out. And uh so I made the team and you know, first day of training um showing up, and you know, we've got guys like Johans Marshall, who's a transfer from LA Galaxy, um, in our training session, and uh played for his national team and uh Jonathan Glenn. Um he was a Division II top scorer at St. Leo University down in Florida. Um also played for his national team. In fact, I saw him on a uh one night I turned ESPN on and it was Mexico versus uh I forget what team he what national team he played for, uh, but I watched him score a goal against Mexico on a CONCAF qualifier. So like the level of players that we had coming to a small town in Vermont was was incredible. It's like who would have thought, you know, and uh I I wouldn't believe that I would have been sharing the field with those guys. Like it was a really cool experience.

SPEAKER_02 8:19

Yeah, the the PDL was a real occupied a really cool space at a really cool time when everything else was kind of going away from a professional soccer perspective and MLS was kind of on the rise, like PDL came in. It stands for professional development league, but clearly like some of the teams were a little more professional and some of those were a little more development, but there were some real players in that league, man, and you alluded to that. And the voltage, they were pretty ubiquitous in Vermont, they were well known because they ran tons of summer camps, so every kid of a certain age, you know, not like younger than me, but they would all have like their Vermont voltage shirt on because they did the Vermont Voltage Camp. Because every week in a couple of different towns, you could find voltage doing a camp. And that's yeah, it's it's kind of too bad voltage went away. And for the for the listeners who don't know the history quite as well, the PDL contracted a little bit and then aligned with USL with with uh United Soccer Leagues, and it is USL 2. So the PDL became USL2 now, so it's kind of it's been like a really very consistent like fourth rung of the pyramid for a long time. I mean the 90s for sure. I think the nineties was when it first started, was the early to mid-90s. I think that's when it was. Again, you'd have somebody have to fact check the answer, but that sounds right. And I imagine they started as the wanderers, like when PDL got going, because they were they were known as a historic team, which is pretty cool too. What are you gonna do? Um I uh you guys, the two of you, are at practice all the time and you see each other in the same space, but you don't often have a lot of interactions, which is pretty cool. I the question I have really for you, Al, is the other coaching stuff that you're doing, how does what we're doing at Clover compare to the stuff that you're doing, you know, not at Clover? Because you're well, actually let me preface that by saying I'm a little rambly. We don't just bring whomever in. There's a a person's gotta have a very like a fairly specific kind of resume and experience set to be able to, you know, even have that conversation that we want to think of them in, you know, leadership kind of position, like Brian has it, you have it. There aren't that many people around that have coached and or played at the level that you have experience at, but you're not doing that now, at least until Clover. So what is the other coaching you're doing now and how does that compare to Clover?

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Yeah, um so I'm an assistant coach at Far Post right now, um, with our U16 boys, and then I've also uh been the head assistant at um uh for BHS Girls Varsity Soccer now for I think this is gonna be my 13th season, which is also insane to think about. Um yeah, I mean the the level is is just it it's different. Um you know, the U16 Club Boys, the you know, what we're working on is more fundamentals foundation um uh type work. Um, you know, so that way those players are able to compete and you know, maybe get a JV spot or maybe you know fight for a varsity spot. Um and a lot of those players, um, or not a lot of those players, but you know, some of those players that they also that they're just playing because they want to be there with their friends and they enjoy playing soccer, but they might not want to, you know, reach the the upper echelon, right? Um you know, BHS girls varsity soccer, uh for at least for now, that is the you know, high school soccer is like the top for a lot of a lot of those athletes. Some will leave and they go and you know, they they travel to Boston to go play or whatnot. Um, but high school soccer is what what I enjoy about that over club is you know, you have a defined start and a defined end. And so you're working towards something. Club soccer, I've always viewed it as like and the the players don't always see it. Uh some of them do, some of them are more bought in. Um, it really depends on on who and then you know who you have as a part of your team. But club is is you know more about just every day coming in and trying to improve your skills as a player. Um with high school soccer, right? You're I mean, it's a sprint out of the gate from day one until uh the last day of playoffs. Like there is no letting off the gas because if you do, it's really hard to make up ground. Um, you know, when I look at Clover, these are some of the top guys in the state, right? Um, that are coming in that they're again, they're competing with one another to see how far they can push themselves. Um and you know, your your point on leadership, like it's it's interesting to to see the boys in training and the feedback that they're giving one another. Um, you know, almost to the point to where uh Brian and I, you know, are more hands-off and the boys just kind of kind of do their thing. But you know, that there are times where uh we do come in and we impose ourselves and and give that guidance to them when they're faced with adverse situations or they're not sure how to deal with it. Um, you know, a couple games that we've had recently, um, you know, you could see the guys like getting a little frustrated, you know, putting up they've been put under some intense pressure, right? Like there's a target on our back being, you know, uh the like one of the two top teams in in uh in our division. And uh and you know, taking on that pressure is is it's it's a lot. Um, you know, so having that experience and being able to relate that and give that feedback to the boys to help them get through that those difficult situations. Um, it's you know, for me that that's really rewarding.

SPEAKER_02 13:49

Yeah, coaching a player that has experience beyond the stuff and is competing day to day for their jobs, like they're doing at college is completely different. I love high school soccer. I think it's one of the and not just high school soccer, but high school sports in general. It's like one of the most pure expressions of like sport, I think, that exists, because you generally have a mix of ability. You have kids that have known each other, you know, generally their entire lives, and they represent their community. Like they're wearing Burlington on their shirt, right? In a way that club is just not like that, right? And yeah, and other sports not. It's it's just so cool. And and it's maybe it's different in Burlington, but down here in Middlebury, like we love high school sports. Like people show up for football games, like people show up for soccer games because there isn't, I mean, it's everybody's kids and their neighbors and their friends, and it's a really it's a really cool community vibe. It's one of the things that I really want to bring to Clover, even though we represent a lot of communities. I want us to be like for lack of a better term, Vermont's high school, right? Where it's like everybody feels that they're like equally owners in this process because we try to represent everybody from Vermont. It's a it's a back-end goal of mine, I think.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Yeah, it's it's interesting you bring that up. Uh, there was a kid uh I played with um on a men's league team uh from Germany. Uh it was a we had a capital men's league team a few years ago, and uh he got stuck in with us for the summer. Uh, I forget what high school he went to, um, but I was just curious, was having a conversation with him about you know what soccer was like back home, and he said, it's nothing like this. I go, what do you mean? And I was like, is it like the level of play? Or he's like, no, no, no, no, no. He said, going to high school games is another level. You don't have people that come out like that for like our our version of like a school game. He said to see people come out on a you know, Friday night, a Wednesday night, you know, to support is like it was just what a cool experience. Um, and yeah, you you're spot on. You don't really get that at the club level at all, but high school you do, and that just makes it way like so enjoyable.

SPEAKER_02 15:56

Oh, and those high school playoff games are like and the best part, so there was a team that I coached at Queen City, and the team was basically half Colchester and half South Burlington girls, and and you know, girls can be certain ways sometimes, and they were like they're they were like the best of friends, right? And then they would play each other and they hated each other for like an hour and a half, and then they would always take like after the game, all the players that played on that team would get together and take a picture in their uniforms and they'd send it to me after you know this happened a dozen times over the course of their high school careers, and and every time it's just like, yep, another game, not about who won, not about who lost. It's just like people kind of like, can you put aside the fact that you're friends for a minute and then become friends again? I was it's cool. I think that that's the cool relationship between like the club and the high school thing, right? Um yeah, that's yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:17

I I I love it. I'll I'll see I'll see our girls like you know, we go to battle against Colchester, and when that whistle blows, it's just you know, gloves off, like they're just going at it, and then end of the game, you know, they're giving each other hugs because they they played club ball together. Um it's it's really cool to see.

SPEAKER_01 17:35

At uh at one of the previous practices, I I um I got a shot of you standing in the huddle, and in post when I was editing the photos, I noticed the seahorse logo on the jacket. And I graduated from BHS. Uh so it's really cool for me to go back there. Uh, but I I made sure to like highlight it and make that sucker pop a little bit because I was I was pretty proud to see that. So that that's very cool. It's nice to understand what the what the connection is now. Um I I want to ask, when did you kind of know that that soccer was was something that you wanted to do, you know, face basically for life, right? Like where did that like kind of addiction come from?

SPEAKER_00 18:16

Um I have an answer to that, uh, but it's funny. Uh so I have a five-year-old daughter now, and uh she she's doing like uh this soccer program uh right now just through Parkson Rack not really pushing her to part, you know, to like hey, like I want you to play soccer because your dad loves soccer, right? Like, no, no, no. Like that, I don't I don't want to do that to her. Um but she I I wasn't at practice uh this this past Monday. I forget why. Um oh uh because I was at coaching uh far posts and my wife said uh she pretty much refused to go uh to go to practice. Like she she would like stand there or would like run back to my wife like sitting you know on the grass with our two-year-old. And uh and I remember like in the as a kid, my parents like they remind me all the time, like, yeah, like you wanted nothing to do with soccer, you would like sit there, like you know, crouch down, like picking grass because you did like didn't want to play. Um I I think like every kid probably has a story like that, you know. Um but for me, it was actually in uh in high school. So um uh so like I said, my you know, my dad was a career marine, uh moved up to upstate New York. Um, and growing up on military bases, you don't like we had access to some of that stuff, but it was like rec soccer or whatever. We didn't really have access to like the club programs or anything like that, so I never really got exposure to it. Um and uh we moved up to we moved to upstate New York uh to a hot bed of soccer. Had no idea, my parents had no idea. Um eighth grade year, uh I didn't play, but I did play club soccer. And then my ninth grade year, I you know, I like I love soccer. Like I went out for the uh for the uh the freshman team and I made it. Um and again, uh I'm wasn't the most talented kid. I always had to work twice as hard as everybody else. Um in particular, like I just I didn't grow up with the coaching that those that those you know players had, um, but I didn't let that stop me. And so um the you know, equal play wasn't a thing. Like Shen, um, for anybody that knows Shenandoah High School, it is one of the most competitive programs in New York State, one of the most winningest programs in New York State. And uh, you know, as the the season, I forget exactly where we were in the season, but uh I'll never forget the moment because um the varsity coach was there and uh they had put me in as a right back. Um uh I get megged, we get scored on, and I get pulled like immediately, which as a coach now, like you know, I might have done the same thing, but my parents um went over and uh had it out with Mike Campese. And uh, for anybody that knows Mike Campese, uh you you do not engage with him in the way that my parents did. Um and so they like I don't know exactly what was said, uh, but what I was told was that uh he told my parents they didn't know anything about teamwork, and my parents said to him, uh, we were on the greatest team in the world, United States Marine Corps, and basically, you know, that was it. So uh finished the season, um you know, it was fine, whatever, still got some minutes. Uh come out to my sophomore and junior years. I did not I didn't make I didn't even make the team and that like lit a fire in me, like it just burned and like made me want to say, you know what, uh like I'm not gonna let whatever happened dictate uh what I want to do. Um and so I played for not Clifton Park, but I played for the team across town because I because Shen was the top and I wanted to play against the best players. So I went to a different team. I went to uh Shentaha Soccer Club because they played against those players. And um to become my senior year, uh, I was, you know, again, worked really hard. Um Come to tryouts today, like the day of cuts. Um, he calls me over and he's like, Hey Karam, um here's the deal. I'm gonna take you on the team, but I need you to understand that if your parents come over and have a conversation with me, like that's it. He said, Um, the only time you're gonna play is if we're up two or three nil. And I feel that if you know I put you in, you can help us hold the lead. You don't need to say anything. If you show up tomorrow, I'll know your decision. If you don't, I'll know your decision. So I was like, love it. Made the team, uh, get through preseason. We're two games into the season, and uh we're playing Nisky Una, um, another top program in the capital region. And uh we're down 2-0. One of the goals that was scored uh was against Ryan O'Shea. Ryan refused to listen to anything Camppezi said. He was one of the most talented players I've ever played with. Guy could do anything with the ball, but he refused to listen. Uh so Camppezi pulls him. I go in inside of five minutes, I get two goals, um, and then I assisted. So we're up 3-2, and then uh unfortunately Nisky Una came back and tied it. But from then on out, um, I either played and started uh in every match for the rest of the season, and um it was very simple because I just wanted it more than anybody else. And I'll never forget what Cam PZ said, and this is why, like as a coach, I look for certain um uh certain characteristics in a player uh was he said, I would rather have 10 owls on the field than any of you premier players because nobody's gonna outwork him, and he listens. And I want that over everything else. Um and that's like stuck with me ever since, and was like, you know, people people ask, well, don't you hate him? And I'm like, no, but I respect the hell out of him. Um, and again, you know, this is a guy who has sent players to the Olympic team, who sent players to the MLS, um, you know, out of his high school program. So um, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 25:15

That's for everybody listening who doesn't know, I think that if there's anything that's common between all of the people that are in Favre and Clover, it's stuff like that where we've been underestimated. And it's like, yeah, go ahead and tell me I can't, right? And then I'm gonna show you, right? And it and you mentioned about the Vermont player a little bit earlier, and I'm wondering, coming from Albany, which is pretty well known as a soccer area, but what do you see that you like about Vermont players? Is it something different or like are we just wired a different way? Or how's the what's the difference between Vermont players and players in other places that you've seen?

SPEAKER_00 25:49

Yeah, Vermont players, especially those that that you know are competing, that that have that drive, that that want to get to the next level, they're relentless in their pursuit. Like they they don't give up. Um, and and like I said, that that's what I appreciate in players. Like when I'm thinking about like the teams that I coach in the game day roster, like do I want talented players for sure. But when I look at uh a player, if you know they they lose the ball on a dribble in a 1v1 and they kind of throw their hands out and they do it consistently and they don't do the hard work of tracking back or you know, supporting their team, um that that just it upsets me as a coach, you know. I like I and Vermont players, uh especially like I said, the the ones that are that are really pushing themselves, like that's like that's a Vermont soccer player. You know, it might not always be the most talented, but they're gonna be the scrappiest, hardest to beat, um, because that they just they they don't give up and and and I love that.

SPEAKER_02 26:52

Yeah, that's I I say this to my players all the time. If you lose it, you better be the one who gets it back. Right. Like you better that just meet it, just must be like whatever it is, even if it's a pass you made 30 yards away. Like if you're not the one shown the most effort to get that back, then you're letting everybody else down. Like, don't be that guy. Right? It's not about not losing it, it's about taking a chance, but make sure you're working hard. I do you see that as a thing that having now coached, I don't know how many UPSL games, six or seven, have you is that a thing that you see kind of sets us apart from some of the teams that we play?

SPEAKER_00 27:24

Uh absolutely the the fight in our boys, um you know, even when even when games aren't going our way, whether you whether calls are being missed or you know, our our guys are being put under under a lot of pressure, um that they're they're in it, they're doubling down, um, you know, they're they're tracking back, they're they're not giving up, they're relentless. Um, and and you can see it at in fact I've I've kind of like I've looked at our games where we come out like, I mean, foot to the floor, and then there's usually like a little bit of drop-off, and then all of a sudden they find that next gear and it's like let's go. Um, and they're just pushing through players, and it's it's it's pretty pretty electric.

SPEAKER_02 28:07

Yeah, it's fun to watch when we're actually when we're actually going. What did you so when we lost this past weekend, and this is us putting a little time on it, but against the Emeralds, what did you see that was the most challenging game for us, I think, physically, but what is it? Were there certain things that you saw that you guys were talking about in practice versus some other games?

SPEAKER_00 28:29

Yeah, uh, that was the first team to really like come at us like that. Um, the the game the week before, I think it was against the U Nation, uh, they did come at us pretty hard. Um, but we weathered the storm, got a goal back, and that you know, that that kind of changed uh changed the out like how or changed their approach to that match. Um and we obviously we ended up uh um up on top there. Uh the game against Emeralds uh it was it was interesting. Uh we Buchek called uh the all the boys in and uh we you know he he wanted to get their opinion on you know how they how they thought the game went. You know, what were some things that that we could have done differently? Um one of the guys said, oh well, you know, they they were a better team, and we were like, no, they weren't. Um there were some talks, you know, about some nerves and you know again that being the first team to really put us under for a full 90, um, just a complete match, start uh first whistle to last. Um there were some things that you know we we we could have done done better, um, winning a lot of the 1v1 battles, um, you know, that for some reason we just didn't get stuck in the way that we normally do. Um, you know, making a couple changes uh tactically, like, you know, movement of our midfield players to get on the ball a little bit more and try to try to uh play through, break those lines of pressure. Um, you know, even uh we talked as well about um taking more risk. We didn't take the risk that we had in past games. And again, I think that was because of the pressure that uh Emeralds had put us under. So um, you know, looking to uh to hit them on the counter, uh playing, you know, diagonal balls uh to the weak side as an example, or um even working to anticipate um uh when we're out of possession, um, not letting them build and taking risks getting body, get getting players forward um so they can't play out. Um so you know the the boys were the ones saying all of this, not Brian and I. We we had talked about it beforehand uh with Lou and Gabe, and they all pretty much said exactly what we said as coaches. So uh again, it was really cool to hear the boys talking about the things that the coaches talked about before the session started and before we had uh had that conversation with them. So they're aware um, and now you know they know uh what we need to do to um to get it done for the next game.

SPEAKER_02 31:07

Yeah, I I think that that's one of the things that working with good players is like they know and and you know they're a little bit younger. So maybe in the moment they don't necessarily realize it and have a solution for that. So I I've always think I've always thought, and I think you and Brian do a really good job of this, and not just you guys, but the rest of the staff as well, of recognizing, hey, if I can just say this one little word or this one little thing, it's gonna get you to the solution. Versus when you're when you're working with younger players, they need to be shown the solution a little bit more, right? Or told the solution a little more because they don't have the scope of experience, game, or life or whatever to be able to come to those solutions on their own. I think that's a really cool, a really cool thing that you guys have that you guys are are bringing out of them. In the coaching courses, they always say, Oh, ask a lot of questions, and and you have to, but there are some ages or some groups of kids that like the questions aren't ever gonna get you there.

SPEAKER_00 31:57

Yeah, and that that's how I've always viewed soccer is it's a problem to solve, right? And and as a coach, by the time like I I you know, for people that are at the game, you know, we give some feedback to the players, but um, you know, we let the players kind of do their thing. You know, we we might make a few adjustments mid-game, but you know, the 90 minutes that the boys are on the field, like it's it's about them, it's not about us. Um and you know, we want to make sure that we're equipping them in training with the information that they need to be successful in the match. Um, and that that's whether it's Clover or, you know, when I'm coaching my U 16 boys or coaching the BHS girls, um, it's it's the I follow that that same principle throughout. Um, you know, ask questions because you need players to think to be able to solve those problems as they occur in real time uh on the field.

SPEAKER_02 32:52

Yeah. What's um what's something that you've learned so far that is an unexpected thing, maybe.

SPEAKER_00 33:00

Uh I really appreciate Brian's man management. I think he does a really good job of trying to connect with the players. Um, I've always taken the approach, and maybe this is just because of the environments that I grew up playing in, of trying to create a separation between the players and the coach. Um but he's the opposite. He brings them in, he loves them, he embraces them, uh, you know, he he wants them to know that, hey, I'm here for you, um, but also holds firm in some instances where you ask player to do something, they don't do it. It's you know, now it's okay, now we're gonna have a conversation about that. Um, but those conversations are are few and far between uh in part because you know our guys are just they're they're amazing human beings, uh, apart from being amazing soccer players.

SPEAKER_01 33:59

Nice. Uh well as we uh wrap up the conversation here, uh Al, I'm a big proponent of mental health. What what do you do to help you know keep everything stable outside of soccer?

SPEAKER_00 34:12

Uh love that question. Um my wife is amazing, first off. Uh she's taking on a lot. Uh, you know, as I'm working, uh, you know, coaching with Clover, uh, I'm still playing myself on top of all the other things that that I'm trying to do. But um, you know, I do uh I do I try to do a really good job of uh creating that separation. So being present, um, meaning like when I'm at home with my kids and my wife, like I'm there with them. I'm not, you know, on a phone or distracted by something else. Um and then, you know, it's I I find it important to take care of myself. So like I said, I do I still do play um because I love to play, I love to compete. Um and then you know, I get out mountain biking and go for runs and stuff like that too. So you gotta I need that for my mental sanity.

SPEAKER_01 35:08

Yeah, I love it. Um, I want to take a minute to remind our listeners if they want to support Vermont Clover FC, you can do so by buying tickets at VermontClover.com. Don't forget to check out our swag shop and give us a follow on Instagram. We are VermontClover FC. Um Al, thank you so much for joining us. This has been really fun for me to get to know you. Um any parting words before we wrap it up?

SPEAKER_00 35:36

Uh only thing I gotta say was uh Boston City Emerald was a fluke, and we're gonna win this thing.

SPEAKER_02 35:43

I love it. I love it. Yeah, it's gonna be satisfying to go into their place with and beat them in front of their 10 fans and then go celebrate in their pub. That's what Brian and I have a plan. We are going to take the team to their pub after we beat them in the final. That's that's right.

SPEAKER_00 35:58

That's gonna be great.

SPEAKER_02 35:59

Yeah, so everybody is on notice that you know that's how it's gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 36:05

That's that's awesome. All right, well, this has been a wonderful show. Join us next time. I'm AJ. And I'm Chris. We'll see you next time on the Pink and Green Podcast. That's gonna do it for today's episode of the Pink and Green Podcast. A huge thank you to our guests for joining us and sharing their story. If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcast and leave us a review. It helps more people discover the growing soccer community here in Vermont. You can follow Vermont Clover FC and the Pink and Green Podcast on social media for updates, match coverage, and behind-the-scenes content throughout the season. Thanks for listening and we'll see you next time. Until then, keep supporting local soccer and keep the game growing.