Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Speaker A: Hi, and welcome to this episode of Hustle and Pro. I'm your host, Kelly Walker, and I'm excited today to introduce you to our guest, Gracie Bryan. Hi, Gracie. Hello. Just to kind of give everybody a rundown, you are now with Dallas Trinity fc, which is. Tell me the league, the name of the league again, that.
[00:00:21] Speaker B: It's the usl.
[00:00:23] Speaker A: You guys are the first group of professional women's soccer players in the Metroplex, right?
[00:00:28] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:00:28] Speaker A: And so being in Frisco, I'm assuming you, growing up here, that you've. You've been around a lot of professional soccer with FC Dallas, you know, next door. And so if you're anything like me, you. You've seen a lot of professional men's soccer around here, but are itching for the chance to have some women. So, I mean, okay, I had to drive down the Tollway, which is fine, but I was just excited to have a team nearby. Right. That we can attach ourselves to and cheer for. So congrats on being a part of that kind of inaugural group of women players here.
[00:00:59] Speaker B: Thank you so much. Yes. I'm super, super excited to be home and playing. So.
[00:01:05] Speaker A: I bet. Okay, so randomly, this isn't about you, but I'm just curious because my third, maybe second or third episode was with a youth soccer player, and you went to. You played at Wakeland, right?
[00:01:18] Speaker B: I did, yes.
[00:01:19] Speaker A: Do you know Hannah Mandel?
[00:01:21] Speaker B: Yes, I do. Yes. We won a state championship together.
[00:01:25] Speaker A: I thought so. So I was looking you up and learning about you, and I was like, oh, my gosh, I bet you were there when Hannah was there. And so five and a half years ago, when I started this, I interviewed her. She was my first. First youth athlete. And I was. I've always said, I feel like I started off really high because she was impressive and sweet and just really blew me away with her academics and just her personality and all the things.
[00:01:53] Speaker B: Absolutely love her. I haven't seen her in so long. But, yeah, we have a lot of fun memories together, so.
[00:01:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Good, good.
So, okay, so I want to talk about your journey. You went from. Well, I don't know, the crossover with Texans and staying in Wakeland, the timing there, because you probably bounced back a little bit back and forth to be able to play high school soccer. Did you play high school all four years or just after you were done with clubs? Okay, so thinking about your time at Wakeland, like, okay, so it was only, what, a handful of years, five years ago when you were finishing up there. But so much has changed for you since then. Because you went on to play all for all four years for TCU also, right? Or five years.
[00:02:35] Speaker B: Five seasons.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: Yeah, five seasons at tcu. But thinking back to Wakeland, like, do you now look back at yourself then and now and just think of, like, do you see the growth? Do you see, like, the maturity difference in you as a high school player versus five or six years later?
[00:02:52] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh.
The biggest difference just now, you know, being a pro and just, like, the growth and the ups and downs that you go through from, you know, high school to, you know, now pro is just. It's just crazy. But the biggest thing that I think I learned is just, I hardly remember, you know, those hard moments in high school.
And so I kind of look at it and I'm like, okay, you know, in a couple years, these hard moments, you're gonna. I've already got through them, and so I kind of just try to put them, you know, in their place.
But there's a lot of, like, fun ups and downs in soccer, which is just, you know, part of being an athlete. But, yeah, just looking back at my high school career, the one thing that I remember the most was winning the state championship.
[00:03:41] Speaker A: I bet that's a unique thing. Most people can't say, right? So.
[00:03:46] Speaker B: Right. No, I. I will always brag on that forever and ever.
[00:03:49] Speaker A: So especially around here, with the level of soccer competition so high, it's such a unique thing to win. And in a big district like Frisco.
And you mentioned, like, the lows and the hardships, they probably seemed like your whole world at the time. Right. The hard facing. And now you look back and you're like, oh, that wasn't that big of a deal in hindsight. Right. That's how life is. So that's how you know when you're going through it. It feels like it's the worst roadblock that you could possibly think of. But looking back, you're like. You kind of feel accomplished, Right. That you. Like, you said that you. You push through and could get past some of those things.
[00:04:25] Speaker B: For sure. Yeah.
[00:04:26] Speaker A: That, you know, you see yourself, like, change maturity wise and just probably as a player and two. But then let's talk about, like, the coaching side of that. How do the coaching dynamics that you've personally experienced from, like, your youth club world to high school to TCU to now the pro level, like, how do you see the coaching dynamics change or the personalities and the way that they push you forward? How did that change through all those levels of soccer?
[00:04:49] Speaker B: Yeah, I think all coaches are Very different.
I have had mainly male coaches, so my dad was my very first coach. I played rec for the Little Angels, and he was always really hard on me. So I have always just kind of remembered that. That coaches are hard, even if it's your dad.
But so I played for Ryan Higginbotham for the Texans, and then we. We moved over to Sting, and he actually was my assistant coach at tcu, so he kind of, you know, shaped my career a lot, and he was always very hard on me as well. But I knew that, you know, he cared about me and believed in me, and so I was okay with him being hard on me. And then in high school, Coach Corey was one of the sweetest, best coaches ever. He was a little bit different than the rest, and, you know, he would, you know, yell at me every now and then, but he was truly such a light in my career, and playing for him in high school and just kind of having a different perspective of a coach was amazing. So absolutely loved him. And then I played for Tattoo, who was also very hard on me. So, yeah, the common, you know, theme here is that they're super hard on you, but they do believe in you. And that was always something that I carried with me, just knowing that, you know, my dad started off knowing people are going to be hard on me, you know, my whole life, and so I really appreciate them for that.
[00:06:33] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:06:33] Speaker B: But, yeah, and then as you get into college, I mean, Ryan was, you know, the same. He was hard.
And then now into the pro environment, I think you're going to see less, like, yelling and more, like, directional and constructive criticism.
[00:06:49] Speaker A: Yeah. So I guess that's because they assume that you have the foundation that you need, and they're not. Yeah, they're not there to.
I don't know. They're there to more, like you said, just instruct on.
Is it strategic? Like, tactical?
[00:07:04] Speaker B: Yeah, very tactical. And, you know, that's a good point is, like, when you're younger, they kind of have to help you grow up as a human, too.
[00:07:12] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:12] Speaker B: And here, you know, most of us are kind of established in our identity, so it's. They're able to be more constructive and, you know, keep it more tactical rather than, you know, trying to, you know, help me with maybe random boy drama when I was younger, like, just. Just the small things like that. So, yeah, it's definitely different once I've, you know, stepped into the pro environment for sure.
[00:07:33] Speaker A: Do you think Ryan was hard on you? Because he's hard on everybody. Like, like. Or tattoo Both. Both. Examples, like, are they hard on everybody as a team and that's just their coaching style, or are you the player that needs that? Because, like, that's how you started with your dad, Right? You. You need the. I don't know, the toughness to be. Response, to, respond to. Or is that how they just are with everyone?
[00:07:57] Speaker B: Yeah, I think they are hard on everybody.
[00:08:02] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:08:02] Speaker B: However, I think both of them knew, Ryan especially knew that I needed to be pushed. And when he was hard on me, you know, he would make me mad, and I would just, like, take it out on the field and, like, then go do crazy and kind of look at him like, hey, I can do it. You know, so we have. I mean, I can't say enough great things about Ryan.
He's like a second father to me. Like, he is, you know, seen me grow up, and so he was. He knew what he was doing for sure with me and knew that, how to motivate me. So.
[00:08:36] Speaker A: That's great. That's great. You're lucky that you've had that great, you know, support system. Speaking of support system, what about, like, the family dynamics? I know your dad was a coach, which helped probably, you know, plant that seed of the love of soccer with you, which is awesome.
But do you have other siblings?
[00:08:55] Speaker B: I do, yeah. I have a younger brother.
He's 20, and then I have an older sister who is 25.
[00:09:04] Speaker A: Any athletes with them?
[00:09:07] Speaker B: Yeah, so my sister played soccer as well. They actually both played soccer, but I.
My mom told me that my sister, you know, she's 20 months older than me, so she would get to go play, and I would just be on the sideline watching her because I wasn't old enough to play yet, and I would just be dying to play.
So finally, they let me play up and play with her for a little bit, so. And then we got to play high school a little bit together, and then she decided, you know, to take a different path. She went to Baylor, so she didn't, you know, play in college or anything.
[00:09:44] Speaker A: She played through high school.
[00:09:45] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:09:46] Speaker A: That's fun, though, that you got to play with her through. All through. At least through high school.
[00:09:50] Speaker B: Yes. Yes. That's.
[00:09:51] Speaker A: I know a couple Wakeland families who've gotten to do that, and that's just so special. And also, like, it's hard to make those teams with the competition around here, so it's rare that two girls this, you know, with that same age group are good enough to be on the field together, so.
[00:10:05] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:10:06] Speaker A: Yeah. You guys must have been good Then with. That sounds like. Also kind of like my family. I had a sister just a year older than me, and we played most of our sports together also in the rec world, and a little bit in high school, too. But, like, what was your sports with your family like, your sports, sports versus your life? Balance. Because when we were competitive, it was like, that's what our, like, vacation life revolved around. It was, like, tournament life and, you know, like, kind of our family life. I feel like growing up, I'm not complaining, but that's just how I remember it. Like, is that how you guys were 100%.
[00:10:40] Speaker B: I mean, we saw. We. Everything was soccer. We planned trips around just like you said. Everything was surrounded by soccer. When we weren't playing soccer, we would play soccer in the house, and my dad would be on one team, and then it would be like, me and my sister versus my brother and dad or whatever. So, like, everything we did was just soccer, soccer, soccer.
And so I'm the only one that's, you know, carried it into a pro career. But they all loved it, and they are all such super supportive of me and come to my games and, you know, it's nice for them because they all kind of understand soccer.
[00:11:13] Speaker A: Oh, yeah.
[00:11:14] Speaker B: They, like, enjoy watching it, so they get it. Yes.
[00:11:17] Speaker A: Your dad a soccer player?
[00:11:19] Speaker B: No, no.
[00:11:20] Speaker A: So he was just volunteer coaching you as a little kiddo? Yeah, he was being a good dad.
[00:11:25] Speaker B: So, yeah, that was the end of, like. That was the end of. His coaching was just. Just to coach, like, me, and he coached my brother.
[00:11:33] Speaker A: Oh, that's good.
[00:11:34] Speaker B: Yeah. So I don't know how long he played soccer. I think he played soccer, but I don't actually know how long he played, so.
[00:11:42] Speaker A: But, yeah, well, it. I guess it doesn't matter. He taught you the basics and got you into it and loving it, and then you went on and got coaches who knew what was, you know, what to teach you or to coach you on. Okay. So I'm always curious about this part. With Frisco athletes, when you leave here and go somewhere else, do you.
Do you see the diff. Do you see that? Frisco gave you, like, really high standards to live up to? Okay. You went to tcu, so that is also another high standard. I'm assuming they have great facilities, too.
[00:12:12] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, absolutely. Blessed to grow up in Frisco, you know, talking to other teammates and just sharing experiences. You can definitely tell that, like, people have, you know, grown up very differently. But, yeah, growing up in Frisco was such a blessing and I mean, I just think, yeah, it is an amazing place to raise a family and have kids in sports. So, no, I think there is definitely a difference between FISD and, you know, other people that I've talked to. So tcu. I never played in a stadium, you know, as big as Toyota that I got to play in high school. Like, I got to play in the Toyota stadium in high school for a couple games, and that's probably, you know, now I play in the Cotton bowl, but. So that's a huge stadium, but at tcu. Yeah, there probably wasn't a stadium that we played at that was, you know, as big as Toyota. Yeah.
[00:13:06] Speaker A: Yeah. Okay. So then, speaking of Cotton Bowl, I mean, how had you ever been to the Cotton bowl before?
[00:13:13] Speaker B: I had been to the fair, so I, like, knew of it, but I've never been inside when it was. When it's full.
[00:13:21] Speaker A: I mean, it's just this massive, first of all, iconic place around here. And so playing in there has to be a little surreal, especially the first time. You're probably used to it by now.
[00:13:32] Speaker B: Oh, I love it. I love it. The field's great.
I think, you know, the fans might not love. I don't know. Did you have to, like, I've heard you have to park really far to get into the stadium.
[00:13:45] Speaker A: Yeah, but I don't know. I'm just so used to that kind of stuff. I'm like, I just. I don't know. I go to Big Phinney's all the time, and I expect to walk. Like, I would have been surprised if I gotten any closer. So I read that Mallory Swanson was. Is one of your, like, somebody you look up to playing. Right. And so do you see yourself in her and some of the goal, like, how you set goals for yourself as. Even. Even after you've made it to this point, like, are you still setting goals to make some of those types of accomplishments for yourself?
[00:14:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
What I love about her is just how hard she works, and I think there's a lot of very talented players, but when you have somebody like her who does both, she's so talented, but she also works so hard. And so when I watch her play, I just get inspired. And so that's why I absolutely just love watching her.
And yeah, I think there's always. You always want to. For me, it's always. You always want to look forward and just be appreciative of where you are at the same time.
So I'm super grateful to balance.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Right, Right.
[00:15:00] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[00:15:01] Speaker A: Like, you're not done.
[00:15:02] Speaker B: No. No.
[00:15:04] Speaker A: You're happy where you are, but you're also not, you know, you're never done.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: Yeah, for sure. So I think, yeah, just kind of see where my career takes me. But, yeah, I always want to get better and, you know, score more goals or whatever, the best I can.
[00:15:19] Speaker A: So how many goals do you have this season?
[00:15:22] Speaker B: I have two.
This is my rookie season, so I was, like, super excited to get my first goal. Yeah, but, yeah, two goals on the season, so I'm super excited about that.
[00:15:34] Speaker A: I love it. That's exciting. Well, like I said, when I saw your name come across, I always try to get as many, like, Frisco athletes as I can. Whether they're here already or they're in high school or they've moved on to college or they're pro or whatever it is, or they came through here. I just love that. But I love what you said about, like, you know, being the hard. The hard worker, the hardest working person out there, like in Mallory, that you see that and that's. That's really probably the hustle that got you to this point.
[00:16:02] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:16:03] Speaker A: You know, putting in. Putting in the overtime, for sure.
[00:16:06] Speaker B: Yeah. I always just say, like, be the hardest working player on the field. You know, maybe somebody's a little bit more a better shooter than you or a better 1v1 dribbler, but something that you can control is always being the hardest working player. And so I kind of live by that. And that's kind of my thing.
[00:16:24] Speaker A: That's a good thing. That might be all you need. Right. With all the preparation. So that's perfect. I love it. Well, it's a good segue to the name of the show Hustle and Pro. So I will wrap it up there. But I love it. I loved getting to meet you and I loved getting to watch you guys on the field. It was super fun. I took some of my soccer lady friends with me, and so it was fun to see you guys out there.
I've always known Frisco puts a great female soccer product out just from living here and, you know, being aware and watching it. And when Abby Wambach got inducted into the National Soccer hall of Fame here in Frisco, I got to ask her about that and, you know, just that kind of thing. Just watching younger girls look up to her, girls like her, and just the inspiration that people your age can see in that generation. And so just you should know that the girls behind you now get to look up to you because you guys are playing professionally here in this market. And so it's now an achievable goal that little girls can see in you.
[00:17:26] Speaker B: So congrats for sure. Thank you so much. Thank you.
[00:17:30] Speaker A: Yes. Okay, we'll wrap up there. So thank you guys for watching or listening to this episode of Hustle and Pro. However you get your podcast, be sure to subscribe and we'll see you next time. Thanks. Happen.
