Growing up I was like the millions of other kids out there who wanted to be a professional athlete, but had no idea what it took to get there. I played baseball, basketball, and soccer in high school, and it wasn’t until my junior year that I realized my strongest passion was playing soccer (goalkeeper). I decided to focus solely on that in hopes of playing at the collegiate level, and ended up choosing a D3 school called Augustana College. At the end of my sophomore season, I found myself in a cliché “wrong place wrong time” scenario that resulted in me getting suspended for the rest of the term. This was my wakeup call, and it gave me time to reflect on what I wanted out of life. I decided to turn my childhood DREAM of becoming a professional athlete into a GOAL to be a professional soccer player.

Foot in the Door

I still didn’t know what it took to go pro, but what I did know was that I wasn’t the most physically/technically gifted so I needed to go all-in to have any chance of making it happen. While trying to devise a plan, I immediately focused on training and improving my game. One day, while I was training by myself at a local park, a tall foreign guy named Wail Zenga happened to be training a group of goalkeepers. He didn’t know much English at the time, but he agreed to let me join the session. Afterwards, he said he would like to train me again the next day. It turned out he was a former Egypt national team goalkeeper. When I showed up to the park the next day, he was there with a video camera and a translator. After the session, he said he wanted me to continue training with him at a professional development program where almost all pro or potential pro soccer players in the Chicagoland area train.

Bridges FC

The program is called Bridges FC because helps bridge the gap between the amateurs and the pros. There are incredible players from all over the world who train here, and it’s run by a phenomenal coach, Bret Hall, who was a US national team assistant coach and a professional player for 15 years. I knew this was where I needed to be training. During my suspension, I drove to and from practice for an hour each way every single day. Even though I could hardly keep up with the level, I still came early and stayed late to do extra training. While this was a brutal experience, it was awesome at the same time because I knew I was getting better. Even though their physical abilities were impressive, what made the level so difficult to keep up with was their incredible cognitive skills. These were things like their unbelievable vision and awareness, laser focus, split-second decision-making ability, and composure under pressure. When I was able to return to college, I began to carry over some of these skills that I developed at Bridges, which led me to the best two seasons of my college career. My senior year I was named team captain, MVP, defensive player of the year, 2-time conference player of the week, and set the school record for goals against average (shout out to my back line as well!).

Neuroscience

Another passion of mine that made a big impact on my soccer career, and life in general, was neuroscience. I loved not only the subject itself, but also its role in sports— especially at the highest levels. I became obsessed with figuring out how to master my mind, and I began lifechanging daily habits like meditation, visualization, journaling, and aggressively learning through reading books, listening to audio books, and listening to podcasts. I also extensively studied the role cognition plays in sports which includes things like decision making, attention, and performing under pressure. I was determined to figure out how to improve these skills because I knew first-hand how important they were for elite performance. I even conducted my own hands on research experiment in college studying the effects of visualization on performance under pressure.

All-In

In 2015, I graduated from Augustana College with a BA in Neuroscience. With the distractions of college out of the picture, I was eager to completely engulf myself in the process of trying to go pro. I gave myself 2 years to sign a contract, and if there weren’t any serious leads by that time, I would call it quits. For the first 9 months, this is what my days looked like:

• 4:30 - Wake Up

• 5:00-6:00 - Journal, Read, & Meditate

• 6:30-11:30 - Work (Park District)

• 11:30-12:30 - Drive to Training/Listen to Podcast

• 12:30-3:30 - Training

• 3:30-4:30 - Drive Back

• 4:30-5:30 - Accessory Work (strength training, reaction training, pre-hab, etc.)

• 5:30-6:00 - Ice Bath and Shower

• 6:00-7:00 - Dinner and Family Time

• 7:00-7:30 - Recovery (foam roll, stretch, etc.)

• 7:30-9:00 - Rest/Family Time

• 9:00 - Sleep

I was doing everything I thought possible to improve myself physically and mentally. I was obsessed with trying to become the best player and person I could possibly be while still being able to survive financially, and I started seeing massive improvements. After 9 months, I still had no real leads, so I knew I had to take a new approach. I started to go to open tryouts for semi-pro teams where I got signed by the Chicago Mustangs in the NPSL. After a great season, I still didn’t have any pro offers or leads so I decided I needed to make a bigger move. It was a cold Chicago winter and my girlfriend at the time landed a job in Bradenton, Florida. I decided that I’d move out there with her and figure out a way to keep moving forward.

Chivas Academy

I continued to improve my individual training routine. In my spare time, I was calling every soccer program in the area looking to see who had connections with pro teams. After a month with no real leads, I was struggling to stay motivated to go out and train by myself every day. Then, one day I went out to the field across the road to work on my diving technique. I saw a team of players around my age training on the other side of the park. This team was called Chivas Academy, which is a program that brings players from all over the world to develop them and help them find college scholarships or professional opportunities. I couldn’t believe the coincidence of running into an opportunity like this AGAIN when going to work on my game by myself. That wasn’t what I was going out there for, but I guess that is just the law of attraction. Anyways, this team was trained by some of the top coaches in the state who came from programs like IMG Academy and South Florida University to work with us. The club was ran by an English coach/agent named Rob who programed it based off of what English Premier League academies do. That meant 3-a-days and 2-a-days almost every day, using advanced training techniques and equipment to make sure that we improved all areas of our game while staying healthy. We were able to play against some great professional teams who came to the area in the off-season, like River Plate (Argentina 1st division), Estudientes de la Plata (Argentina 1st division), Millionarios (Colombia 1st division), Atlanta United (MLS), and more. After 6 months there, Rob was able to set up some professional trials for myself and some of the other guys on the team in England, so I packed up my bags and took off.

Going Abroad - England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

I wasn’t really sure what to expect the trip to be like from a living perspective and I didn’t have much money because I used most of my savings to play full-time in Florida, but I knew I would figure it out. I found out that I would be sleeping on the floor of a 4-bedroom house with 6 other guys. Luckily, I learned systems and routines that would help me stay mentally and physically sharp regardless the circumstances. After playing some of the best soccer of my life in trial matches against teams like Watford (Premier League), Derby County (Championship), and Peterborough United (League 2), none of them even gave me a second look. I quickly realized that this level was insanely high, and even my best at the time wasn’t going to cut it. I decided my best option would be to sign with a lower league team who could pay me livable wages as I worked my way up the ladder. As this month-long journey came to an end, I still couldn’t find any teams who would provide me enough money to live off of, and the rest of the guys were in the same boat. I refused to give up, so as they were packing and getting ready to head back to the states, I reached out to my old goalkeeping trainer in Florida who had connections with an agent in Germany. Next thing you know, I was on the next flight to Berlin.

Germany 🇩🇪

This was an experience like none other, being in a foreign country where most people don’t even speak English, but I was just so excited and grateful to continue this journey. I spent a month trying out for different teams throughout Berlin, and was still being told time and time again that I wasn’t good enough. Fortunately, my new agent (and now great friend), Javier, believed in me. One day, Javier and I went to train so I could stay sharp while waiting to hear back from some teams. It just so happened some coaches from a 5th league (oberliga) squad named Hertha 06 came out to the same field to set up a training session for their team. After Javier convinced them to let me join their session, I was told once again that I wasn’t good enough. I was so sure that I was capable of succeeding at this level, so I decided to keep pushing forward. The following week, I was asked to play in a preseason game for a team in the 7th league against a 5th league squad. After putting on a great performance, I got a call from Hertha 06 the next day saying that they changed their mind and would sign me on the condition that my visa extension was approved. Even though I wouldn’t be getting paid full-time, the level of soccer was really good and it was in a league that is known for developing great players. 

When I first started training with Hertha 06, it was pretty obvious that some of the other keepers were a bit better than me technically, but when I asked the coach why they wanted to sign me, it translated to something along the lines of my “professional mentality” which was one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. The thing I liked most about playing in Germany was that there was literally no way for me to talk my way onto the field, because most of the coaching staff didn’t speak English. I had to earn my spot, and after 3 months of training, the head coach called to tell me that he wanted me to be the starting keeper when my visa was approved by the government. I was so excited, but until it got approved, I couldn’t get paid to train or even get a job which made it hard for me to survive with my dwindling funds. I resorted to teaching online English courses to kids in China, filling out online surveys, and picking up plastic water bottles after practice and recycling them for money. Luckily, I have amazing parents who helped support me as well, but everything I was doing could barely pay the rent for my tiny one-bedroom apartment. At one point, I was even kicked out of my apartment because I couldn’t pay rent and didn’t want to keep asking my parents for money. I spent a month living in a garden house of one of Javier’s friends which was basically a shed with a couch and a toilet. It had been 6 months since I got to Berlin, and I was so prepared to make the most of this opportunity. I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. Then, I got a letter from the German government telling me that my visa was declined and I had to return to the states. This was arguably one of the lowest points of my life. I couldn’t believe all of the work I did to make it that far, and this is how it has to end.

Australia 🇦🇺

Then, out of nowhere, I got a call from a friend who signed a contract with a team in Australia who said that they are looking for a keeper. After a few conversations with the president of the club, I signed my first professional contract with Olympia FC. It was finally what I wanted, to be able to get paid full time to do what I love and continue to climb the ladder. I ended up having a decent season and met a lot of incredible people out there, but didn’t see it as the best place for me to continue to grow as a player. After the season ended, I decided not to re-sign and instead moved back home to try to join the new professional league that started up in the states.

Back to the States - The Spark for SwitchedOn

When I returned home, I went back to my typical individual training routine to try to stay prepared for my next opportunity. I started to find it increasingly difficult to stay motivated to train by myself, and felt that I was lacking the mental sharpness that comes with training with others. That’s when I thought back to a form of training I frequently encountered in Germany (and on many other occasions), where I was forced to react to a coaches visual or verbal cues with specific actions or movements. This provided a much more game-like experience that would train both your brain and body. I realized that all you really needed was someone to provide random cues, and if this could be done using a mobile app on your smartphone, then it would be able to:

1.     Help athletes improve the cognitive skills that are so important for elite performance

2.     Help them take control of their development by getting quality training by themselves

After some more research and validation from top coaches, players, and scientists (who also spoke about the benefits outside of sports), I knew this was something I needed to pursue. That’s when I began the creation of SwitchedOn. I initially wanted to play pro because I truly believed I could change the world by being great at my sport, but it became clear that creating SwitchedOn was the way I could really do that.

One Last Go

Right after I decided to go all-in to creating this app, I was contacted by the Richmond Kickers asking if I would come on trial with their pro team. My passion for playing was still there (and probably always will be honestly), so I went for it. I spent a month on trial here and truly loved the experience. I was able to train with amazing coaches and players, but started to find it increasingly difficult to juggle both of these ambitious goals – playing professional soccer and building an app that could change the world. I would stay up almost all night in my hotel room trying to figure out how to create this app/business, then would show up the next day to training with blood-shot eyes and running off of fumes. To be completely honest, other than a few occasions, I thought I was playing really well despite the circumstances. Unfortunately, I had a feeling it wouldn’t be sustainable. After a month, I was let go and shortly was after offered a contract in the league below with Virginia Beach United. I played the season with VBU while simultaneously training with the Kickers and creating this app, which is when I realized I wasn’t doing any of them to my full potential and that it would be better to focus all of my efforts on one thing, which is when I fully committed to SwitchedOn.

In the end, even though I didn’t make it to the level of professional soccer that I dreamed of, I am proud of everything I was able to accomplish, and am so grateful for everything this experience taught me and how it has molded me as a person. I met some amazing people, had incredible experiences, and it eventually led me to being able to start my dream business. I guess if I had one thing I’d want anyone reading to take away from this, it's that you if you have an ambitious goal or dream that you are passionate about and can never get off of your mind, go for it. You never know where life is going to take you, so you might as well spend it doing something you love.

If theres any way I can help feel free to reach out at brettjohnson@switchedontrainingapp.com. You can use the buttons below to download the SwitchedOn Training app to iOS or Android for free.