Angel City FC reigned victorious in a 3-2 showdown against Racing Louisville FC during last night’s NWSL regular season game and the club’s Juneteenth celebration. Angel City featured many younger players on the field like rookies Kennedy Fuller, who scored her first professional goal, and Madison Curry, along with sisters Alyssa and Giselle Thompson. Angel City’s win over Louisville put them in the playoff running, capping off an extremely important win for the young, fiery team.
After the game, we talked with Ali Riley, one of the league’s vets, and Alyssa Thompson, one of the younger players with Angel City, to hear their advice for staying grounded through the highs and lows of their season, and how to develop our identity outside of sport.
Ali Riley: Advice for Young Players
Riley is a seasoned defender from New Zealand, playing in the NWSL for 16 years. She also played collegiately at Stanford University where she led her team to two NCAA semifinals and one championship. On January 27th 2022, Riley was traded to Angel City, giving her the opportunity to play in her hometown for the first time in her career.
Mentorship has always mattered to Riley. When we asked her who her biggest mentors have been from high school to now, Riley stresses how integral her parents have been throughout her soccer career. “What has helped me the most is having that unconditional love,” Riley says. “Being a professional athlete can be really stressful, and it’s hard not to take your value from people’s opinions of you. My family is behind me, and they love me no matter what. That helps me focus on just doing my best and not so much on results or mistakes.” Riley highlights the importance of having a strong support system to help us remember that despite how we perform on a certain day, we are still loved and we are more than our sport.
Riley also mentions the importance of young athletes fueling their bodies properly to reach peak performance. “We are putting our bodies through so much,” Riley says, through the power we exert, the strength we aim to build, and completing injury prevention. Her passion for fueling pushed Riley to release a vegan cookbook last October with her best friends, with the biggest message being that fueling is so important, especially as young women and girl athletes.
Riley’s Hobbies Outside of Sports
We also learned about Riley’s favorite thing to do outside of soccer that helps her compete at a high level despite the challenges that arise during the season. “I love making videos, I love filming my journey with my best friends, who are my teammates,” she says. “It helps me stay balanced and bring a lightness to every single day.”
Along with her content creation talents, Riley continues to spread the importance of fueling for young women athletes. “Health is a journey,” she says. “You have to figure out what works for you. A lot of the cookbook was about feeling good, friendship, joy, and how fuel is extremely important for young women athletes.” Having hobbies beyond our sports is an underrated tool we can use to improve as athletes because it helps us develop our identity as people, which is too often pushed aside. Whether it’s cooking, content creation, or anything in between, Riley reminds us that even at the highest level, our identity is greater than just being an athlete.
“Being a professional athlete can be really stressful, and it’s hard not to take your value from people’s opinions of you. My family is behind me, and they love me no matter what. That helps me focus on just doing my best and not so much on results or mistakes.”
Alyssa Thompson: Advice from a Young Player
Thompson is a second-year player in the NWSL. She was previously committed to play collegiately for Stanford University, but decommitted to enter the NWSL draft. On January 12th 2023, Thompson was drafted as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft. She broke Alex Morgan’s record of being “the most expensive player” in NWSL draft history, and she continues to make strides and improve as a professional in the NWSL.
We spoke with Thompson about who her mentors have been through her soccer career, and she speaks to the mentorship of her older teammate, Ali Riley. “She helped me through last year and this year, and has helped me understand what it means to be a pro,” Thompson says. “She has a lot of experience playing in this league and professionally and she has helped me a lot.”
Being such a young player in the NWSL, Thompson also describes her transition into the league. She highlights the physical, fast-paced nature of the game and how she has had to adjust to that. “The transition was hard. The soccer piece is one thing, but the social/mental piece is another. It is hard having to be turned on everytime you walk on the field, but it is super fun,” she says.
Thompson's Go-To Hobby
Similar to Riley, Thompson also has techniques to stay grounded through the season and find a soccer-life balance. “I really like going to the beach to relax or lay out. Relaxing is something I don’t get to do often, so whenever I get the chance I love hanging out with friends at the beach or painting and drawing,” Thompson says. Staying in the right headspace can be a challenge, so finding things beyond our sport, like going to the beach, is the necessary break we need to perform at our best.
Finding Balance and Staying Grounded
We learned from seasoned players like Riley and younger stars like Thompson about the importance of building an identity outside our sport and having outlets such as content creation or relaxing on the beach. Finding a sport-life balance and staying joyful through our athletic endeavors is no easy feat. By following Riley’s and Thompson’s advice, we can stay motivated to be the best athletes we can be and bring a “lightness” to our days just like these two professional athletes.
