|
Author: Emily Bunnell  All I have ever wanted to do since I was four years old was play soccer. When adults would ask me “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I responded, like many other young kids, “I want to play professional soccer!” Well, play soccer and drive an ice cream truck around my small town. Since August 1, 2023 I can officially say one of my dreams came true; I am a professional soccer player! My name is Emily Bunnell, I am 25 years old playing professional soccer in Portugal. I signed a one-year contract with Clube de Albergaria in first division Portugal. Born and raised in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, I grew up playing for Bangu Tsunami which would eventually turn into Minnesota Thunder Academy. I also attended and played for East Ridge High School. I committed to play DI soccer at Baylor University in my sophomore year, before I even had my driver’s license, and ended up playing there for two seasons. The next season I played at University of Minnesota, and then three more seasons at Seattle University (yes, I played six collegiate seasons but that story is for another day). In July 2023, I flew to Portugal for a two-week trial with Clube de Albergaria. After my trial period, I was asked to sign for the 2023-24 season. I was elated, I could finally call myself a professional soccer player!  This season, like any other, has had its fair share of highs and lows, but I am so grateful to have had my rookie season here with Clube de Albergaria in Portugal. My teammates here are awesome, and I have a community of friends playing professional sports all over the world to help me navigate it all. Before arriving in Portugal, I had an idea of what life was like for a female professional soccer player, but as usual, there was no way I could be prepared for all I would experience. You may wonder, “What life is like for a young soccer player playing professionally overseas?” There is some routine, but always a surprise or two in my daily life. Liga BPI season runs from September through May consisting of 22 match days along with several Cup games throughout the season. The most consistent parts of my week are my training and gym sessions. Today, Wednesday March 27, I had a pretty structured day. So a day in the life of a professional female soccer player can look like this: 8:30am- Wake up and begin my day with coffee and water before leaving for the gym 9:00am- Begin weight session, today I did a bike workout and upper body focused lift 11:00am- Leave the gym and head home for breakfast. I decided to stop on the way home at the local farmers market to restock on fruits and vegetables for the week. 2:00pm- Ate lunch and met up with a teammate to go volunteer at a local elementary school. The club has done a campaign around gender equality in sport. We have been going to various schools with information on gender equality in sport and then get to play with them for the afternoon.  4:30pm- Returned home from the school. I had a meeting with the club’s treasurer to take care of some tax documents, probably the most normal (and boring) part of my day. 5:00pm- Took some time for myself at the local cafe. I had my normal coffee order, an abatanado, which is similar to an americano. Here I work on my Portuguese, read, journal, and started writing this blog post! 7:30pm- Meet at the club center, called the Sede, to take the vans to training. Typically I will get to the Sede early to bike and do other activation exercises. Today, I will be with the athletic trainer during training due to a nagging case of tendonitis. We do not play this upcoming weekend, so it is a good week to get in some extra recovery!  Training is from 8pm-10pm 11:00pm- Arrive home from training. I will shower, eat, and try to be in bed as quickly as possible. I take my sleep recovery very seriously, so most nights I will be asleep by midnight. And that is a day in the life of a professional female soccer player! Not everyday looks the same, like with any job. Some days I am able to make a day trip to the beach while other days I am so tired I need a nap before training. And trust me, being a female soccer player is not always glamorous. There have been hardships in my first year, but I get to play the game I love. My teammates have been a light in this journey, they make the hard day easier and the good days filled with memories I’ll cherish forever.
2 Comments
|