BE COMFORTABLE WITH THE UNCOMFORTABLE

Kenna White is a graduate student at Mississippi State where she plays Forward for the Women’s Soccer Team. She was the 2022 MAC Offensive Player of the Year at Bowling Green State University.

You're never gonna grow when you're just comfortable in a certain place. Obviously, you want to be comfortable and confident, but you also want to be able to push yourself and grow as much as you can because a lot of the time you can do way more than you think.

Like most kids, I started playing soccer because my older sister did and at the age of five, I wanted to be just like her. When she started playing club, I joined a club. It was simple.  

I played other sports, I played for my high school, and I loved soccer but there were points where I thought about quitting. However, I had an incredible local club in Michigan that kept me pushing to play. Oftentimes, everyone focuses on the big club or the big name, and while I may not have gotten as much exposure through my club, having the support from teammates and coaches made me a better player.  

Playing for my high school team has a very similar sentiment. It helped me keep my love for soccer because I never felt like there was too much pressure on me. From a young age, there are so many expectations from outside that it can be almost overwhelming, enough to cause burnout, but high school allowed me to be free. Sure, we didn’t play the best teams, but I got to have fun, and score goals, and ultimately it helped me to realize I did want to keep soccer in my life.  

Between club and high school, I was getting better and better every year, which in turn allowed me to end up at Bowling Green. 

When I finally decided I wanted to play in college I was a bit late to the process. I had to immediately begin emailing coaches, sending them my tournament schedules, and basically do all the things to get my name out there.  I would not have been able to make it through that time without my dad taking videos and sitting down with me to email.  

It can be really scary to sit down and email these coaches who have no idea who you are. But that uncomfortableness that comes with it needs to be sat in.  

Had I not gotten outside of that comfortable space of emailing places I knew I could get in easily, I would have never met the Bowling Green coach.  

Had I not been uncomfortable, I may have limited my ability to reach for the stars.  

At the end of the day, it was all about putting my name out there in a sea of hundreds of other girls, even if it was out of my comfort zone.

I remember going into Bowling Green nervous about a whole list of things. Playing, traveling, classes, the pace, and managing my time to name just a few. College is so much faster in every sense but after getting acclimated I found that, while it was challenging, it felt just right.  

When it came to college soccer, it was faster, and it was something I realized right away. I had to be open to a lot more criticism than I was used to before. I had to adapt to a new style and environment. I had to learn to be more dynamic.  

It was just a whole different world.  

Once I got used to being there, it was an incredible four years. I grew as an individual and as a player. When senior year came around, I realized I was not done.  

I had the opportunity to take my fifth year because of COVID, and while I loved my time at BG, it was too comfortable. I had spent four years playing the same teams, knowing how those teams work, going against the same people, it was exciting, but I was ready to move on.  

That was when I started to look into the transfer process. For anyone reading this, the transfer portal sounds daunting, I know. But trust me, it all works out.   

In all honesty, I didn't know until probably around Thanksgiving time that I really wanted to transfer and explore something else. After thinking it over, I entered the transfer portal.  

When I did that, it was right before the dead period which meant that there was basically radio silence for a week which can be really unsettling. But, after the holidays, things picked up. That's when I really started visiting schools and talking to coaches.  

I went into the transfer process very similar to Bowling Green. I knew I wanted a larger school but still relatively small. I knew I was capable of playing in a tougher conference. I wanted to find what felt like a home. And I did almost immediately.  

Mississippi State was my first visit that I went to and off the bat it just felt homey, even with it being 12 hours from my actual home. I made sure to keep my options open, but ultimately, I kept coming back to it. It felt like a challenge that would shake my comfort.     

Although I have only been in Mississippi since July, it has all been fast and exciting. My time has really flown by, but I have been able to learn so much. My experience has honestly grown my game IQ immensely.  

I have had to break old habits. Learn new ones. Adapt to a new place. All of these are not the most comfortable, but they have been so good for my growth as a person and player. 

My advice to anyone reading this is to shoot for the stars and try to go as far as you can. But I would also sit down and evaluate where you're at as a player and where you think you'll make an impact. 

I know a lot of players want to go to the big schools, but what is your impact there? You might not play as much as a freshman or even a sophomore.  Is that what you’re looking for? Those were questions I asked myself as I was looking at schools both times. 

I think it's important to be honest with yourself with where you think you can go and where you think you can make a really big impact. Be open with the coaches as well. Ask them what they think your role would be like. Ask them what they think of you as a player. 

At the end of the day, ask yourself, are you going to be comfortable or are you going to be challenged? 

I definitely want to keep playing.  

I don't want to just be done.  

I want to see what else is out there.  

Whether I end up in the states or overseas, I know I will be challenged. I know I will need to keep learning.  

I know I will need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.