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Author: Emily Bunnell  (Me, front right, and Abby J next to me, in the unlucky position of receiving bunny ears) How I found my way onto summer teams goes back to Baylor University. In the fall of 2018, I was one of the first women’s soccer players to enter the new transfer portal. I remember the week the portal was supposed to go live, just itching to leave. I had to get out of Texas, out of the south. When I finally started my (first) transfer process, I took four official visits and a couple of weeks to figure out what was next. When I decided, I sat in my parents room crying. I had just got off the phone with Seattle University head coach Julie Woodward, telling her I had decided to go to Minnesota. I sent a text to Chris Wells, the assistant coach, thanking him for the visit as well. I would start my next journey at the University of Minnesota the following semester. During the spring, the Minnesota soccer team had a meeting about playing summer ball. When I was at Baylor, we were given strength and conditioning packets (and extremely tough ones) but there wasn’t a discussion around playing summer ball. Of course I was interested, any chance to get on a field and play is a chance I typically take. One opportunity came up in the meeting – a team called the Seattle Stars was looking for players. Players would be housed by host families and spend May-July training three days a week with games on the weekends. This sounded so cool to me. I have never lived in the Pacific Northwest or played for a summer team. This could be fun, and it might be healthy for me to take another crack at getting out of my comfort zone in Minnesota. I talked to my head coach at the time, and she shared with me more information on how to get in contact with the coach of the Stars, Chris Wells. When I heard that Chris was the head coach – already having an idea of the type of coach and person he was – instantly I was sold. I talked to my dad and he was all for it. Details were finalized and the day after my finals were completed, my dad and I began our 26 hour road trip to Seattle, WA. This summer, 2019, is one of my all time favorites – and it came at a time when I was struggling. I had just transferred to the Gophers for a spring season and was still recovering mentally and emotionally from what Baylor was. Getting away for the summer, I was able to focus on my mission, to get in peak shape physically, technically, and mentally for my first fall season as a Gopher. And I did just that. In terms of the soccer, I got exactly what I expected from playing with the Stars. I got fitter, my technical skills improved, and I was playing with confidence. What I didn’t expect was all the other benefits that the Stars provided me. The relationships I built that summer with teammates and my host family have stayed with me to this day. I went to Seattle not knowing anyone, and I left with new friends and some great mentors. I fell in love with a city I had never thought I would. And most importantly, I fell in love with soccer again. I didn’t realize how much fun I *wasn’t having* playing soccer until I started having fun again. Leaving Seattle, I was glowing from the inside out. As I left the city with my dad to go back home, it took just 20 minutes for him to turn to me and say “You know, it’s not too late to change your mind. We can figure out a way to make it work. You haven’t technically used any eligibility at Minnesota.” “No, I made a commitment. I have to go back.” To keep it simple, I did not enjoy my fall season with the Gophers. Going 3-12-4 wasn’t fun. Playing 89 minutes on the season was not fun. Watching two teammates tear their ACL was not fun. I was ready to be done with Minnesota. I didn’t fit in. But I knew I didn’t want to quit soccer. I kept my spark alive by remembering how much fun I can have playing – my time with the Stars in the forefront of my mind. On my 21st birthday, I had a meeting with the staff. I asked to enter the transfer portal, again. The next day I submitted all my paperwork to the NCAA and called Chris Wells. I knew exactly where I wanted to go. One problem. With NCAA regulations, I did have to graduate that spring, a year early, to be eligible to play at a third university. This meant I had to take 26 credits that spring and study abroad in Bali over J term (I couldn’t fit all the credits into a schedule, real bummer). I also had to get permission from the dean of my college to take that many classes by convincing him that I had a plan in place to succeed in the classroom. Where there is a will, there is a way! Then, of course, the Covid-19 lockdown hit halfway through the semester. Suddenly, school became a much different (and to be honest, easier) situation to handle. I did it, I got my bachelors in three years (with a 3.97 GPA). I was ready to get out to Seattle. Unfortunately summer ball was canceled that year, but I was just so excited to start my next chapter in soccer. The following summer, 2021, I could not play for Chris Wells. Due to NCAA rules I could not play for my college coach over the summer. I still wanted to stay in Seattle, because I was enjoying my time immensely in Washington, so I found the next best option for me in the Pacific Northwest (where opportunities and competition during summer ball was much stronger than I’d observed back home). With guidance from my coaches and teammates at Seattle U, I found myself playing for the PacNW WPSL soccer team. Again, I had so much fun. I began to develop a sense of belonging and connection within the soccer community in Seattle and ended up playing for PacNW the following summer as well. After graduating with my masters from Seattle U, I began looking to play professionally just as I had always dreamed. In the winter window, I struggled to connect with the right agent and then ultimately had to delay my process due to a minor injury. So, it was looking like it was time to find a summer team again! Of course I reached out to Chris Wells with his recommendations, especially now that I was allowed to play for his summer team again. In their first season in the USL-W, Chris Wells would be head coach of Oly Town FC. After getting cleared for contact by my physiotherapist April 28th, I was back on the field for summer ball with Oly Town in my first scrimmage May 9th. Again, I was looking forward to another great summer playing soccer in Seattle. This time, my intentions were to get game fit and to stay prepared for my number to be called for a professional team. Not only did I succeed in terms of that top line goal (getting THE call that a team in Portugal wanted me in June) but I was once again surrounded by amazing girls that I got to connect with and learn from. Many were still in college, but there were a handful that already had professional stints in the US and abroad. I found myself, and many other girls that had aspirations to play professionally, learning as much as we would from the veteran players. The good, the bad, the ugly of women’s professional soccer. I actually now get to play against one of my Oly Town teammates, Abby J of Torreense in Liga BPI! Summer ball has been a huge part of my soccer career. I feel incredibly lucky to have loved every team I have been a part of. It’s been a great opportunity to play with players you may never have played with before, play for different coaches and gain different perspectives into your game, and meet some pretty awesome people. It is less stressful than a collegiate season, so it is a great chance to gain confidence, try new things and grow both as a player and person. Summer ball can also be a unique way to live in a new part of the country. Most importantly, you go into a fall season game fit and ready to play which is one of the most important measures in preventing injury. I look back to that meeting in the spring of 2019 and cannot help but feel grateful I took a chance on moving across the country for a summer team. Want to support our work? You can start for as little as $2/month on Patreon!
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