By TORI ADDISON
Contributing Writer
“At my first Christmas I got a soccer ball for a present so I started young.” St. Rose senior Paxton Ballard has had a more than exceptional athletic career. Beginning at age ten he started to play competitive club soccer and has been playing ever since. Over the summer Ballard experienced an opportunity of a lifetime by playing for a semi-professional league.
The league is called the Professional Development League or PDL for short. Basically, it grants college-age players a chance to sustain an “amateur” status therefore they can continue to play in college, but at a very aggressive level. When asked how he gained access to the league Ballard responded, “Before my spring season started last semester I went to my assistant coach and told him I wanted to play PDL this summer for a quality side so come preseason I’d be at the top of my game.” After looking into various clubs, he found the perfect fit in the Real Boston Rams. The players on the team consisted of mostly athletes from NCAA Division I schools and a handful from Europe and Major League Soccer. “Playing at the semi-pro level was a great experience for me”, said Ballard, “What was great about the Real Boston Rams was that it was affiliated with the MLS team, The New England Revolution. This meant that the affiliation agreement allows college-aged Revolution Academy youth team products the opportunity to play with our team. The level that professional athletes brought to the table increased everyone’s expectations and quality of play.” But of course, new opportunities bring about new challenges. The transition from college level into semi-pro was shocking for Ballard, but he adjusted within a few games. “The pace (and) cleverness of players is much higher at the semi-pro level,” he said. Ballard believes that the most important quality to playing at a higher level is to ensure mental toughness. “Of course being physically fit and technically sound is essential to playing well, but constantly as a player you need to know what your next move with the ball is before you even receive it. That separates the top players from the rest.”
As for the future, Ballard is currently focused on his goals and working hard as ever to reach them. “At this moment in time I would like to keep my future endeavors with soccer to myself. However, I did make a lot of contacts this summer and turned some heads.” As for advice for younger players, Ballard has a thing or two to say: “If I could give any advice to younger players about reaching their athletic dreams it would be to never let a doubter bring you down. Throughout my career I’ve come across plenty of people supporting me but there are always the select few that don’t want to see you succeed. Set your goal and go for it full-heartedly. Not a day goes by without me somehow bettering myself in hopes of achieving my goal. It is a very scary leap trying to become professional and the chances are slim but that’s what drives me every day,” he says, “I love this game and I’ll do anything possible to make it. That’s probably my best advice; you must live and breathe this game.”
