Inside the Pro Game : Football with RicFit

Jacob Bushue is a 27-year-old American soccer player currently playing for FC Haka in the Finnish Premier League. Jacob played his college soccer at the Indiana University for the Hoosiers. In 2015, Jacob signed for St. Louis FC in the USL. After playing there for one year, he decided that it was time to chase his dream in Europe. Jacob bought a one way flight to Scandanavia where he went on trial for two teams. Jacob thought the best set up for him was in Finland in the third tier for BK-46. After captaining the team and almost promoting to the second tier, he impressed many people. He then went on to sign for Ekenäs IF in the second tier of Finland. After another impressive season, FC Haka signed him, and he captained them as well. Through his lead, hard work ethic and clear commitment, he helped take FC Haka to the first tier of Finnish Football. As you will hear in the podcast, Jacob is a very disciplined and dedicated individual who will and has done whatever it takes to get to the next level. The three tips that he gave for anyone trying to make it to the next level in sport is: always look to do more than the people around you, find things that people aren't willing to do and do them, and be a coaches' player, a player who the coach wants to play! If you want to reach out to Jacob, you can hit him at Instagram @jbushue17. Enjoy the podcast!

Sheldon Tweedie is a 22 -year-old Center Attacking Midfielder or Winger who is from Australia currently pursuing a professional contract in England. Sheldon has been on a journey to sign his first professional contract for about 2.5 years now, and he does a great job depicting the journey through his famous YouTube channel. Within that channel, you will find a true and transparent guy who shows his day-to-day life and the true process of chasing a professional contract. As you will see and hear in this episode, he has enjoyed the many experiences that he has had traveling all over the world pursuing this dream of signing a  professional contract. He has met so many great people and learned so many things along the way. Sheldon has spent a lot of time in England, Spain and in the US and he believes his best chance to achieving his dream will be in England due to the similar language and the fact that he has a right to live and work in England. Sheldon has learned a ton about the ins and outs of the game and what truly goes on behind the scenes at a professional football club and what it really takes to make it to the next level. Sheldon gave 4 tips at the end of the episode that will help you along your journey to sign a professional football contract: 1. You have to be mentally strong through it all. 2. Be grateful for hard things because they will only make you better. 3. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the process. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. 4. Do it for you. If you are doing it for someone else, you won’t truly enjoy the journey. I really appreciate having Sheldon on, and I am confident in him that he will achieve whatever he sets his mind to. If you want to reach out, I am sure that he will be glad to help you out and answer your questions. The best place to reach out to him is @sheldontweedie on YouTube and Instagram.

Sidney Rivera is a 26-year-old Professional Footballer currently playing as a Forward for the Bangladesh Police in the Bangladesh Premier League. Sidney played college soccer at Old Dominion University. In 2015, after a successful senior season, Sidney got drafted by Orlando City of the MLS. After not being given the, he was loaned briefly to Louisville City of the USL Championship. After Louisville, in 2017, Sidney made a move to Puerto Rico FC of  NASL, where he scored 5 goals, and had a successful season. The following season, NASL was disbanded and many players were on the search for a job in the USL or the MLS. Unfortunately for US Soccer, there were a lot of players without a job come the following year. in 2018, Sidney dropped his ego and took a chance with Atlantic City FC of the NPSL, where he got housing and meals, but he had to work an additional 6-7 hour shift as a bartender to be able to live. In 2019, Sidney got a call from a message on Instagram from someone who offered him a trial in Vietnam. Sidney was a little skeptical about the opportunity, but after doing his research, he deemed it a worthwhile risk to take a trip out to Vietnam. After doing very well, he was told that he would sign. But, as we both know, in the harsh world of soccer, sometime things fall through, and that's what happened. Though, after making some noise, and impressing an agent, Sidney was invited to Bangladesh for an opportunity in the Bangladesh Premier League. Without thinking twice, Sidney took his opportunity, and is off to a very successful campaign, where he is averaging 1 goal per match. In the interview, you can hear how serious Sidney is about mastering his craft and all of the sacrifices that he has made to get to where is now and where he wants to get too. The 3 pieces of advice that Sidney wants to offer you to have the best chance to become a professional or maintain the level of being professional are: 1. Always Believe in Yourself. 2. Work Hard & Have Perseverance. 3. Be Smart in Your Work & Your Decisions and Enjoy the Process. 

Jack Blake is a 25 year old center midfielder who is currently playing for the Real Monarchs in the USL Championship (2nd Tier in the US). Jack is originally from Nottingham, England. He grew up since the age of 9 in the prestigious Nottingham Forest Academy. After having trouble breaking into the first team, he went on loan to Mansfield Town in 2013, and made his pro debut at 17 in League Two. After a couple of games, he came back to Forest. Unfortunately, he still couldn’t break into the first team. After some thinking, he thought it was best to take a different route with his football. He had parents living in Arizona, so he decided it may be time to take his football to the US. He booked a one way ticket to the US and began sending his highlights and resume to as many clubs as you could have. In 2016, he signed for Minnesota United. After enjoying some time there, he made a move to the Jacksonville Armada, followed by another move to the Tampa Bay Rowdies. In 2018, he went on loan to the Real Monarchs. After enjoying his time there, he signed a deal with them officially in 2019. 2019 proved to be his best season as a pro footballer, as he appeared in 27 games and scored 11 goals, as well as taking home a USL Championship title with his team. Jack is a top professional, and treats himself like one on and off the pitch. I am sure you will learn as much with this episode as I did, as he drops some excellent practical tips for on and off the field. Jack also has an excellent YouTube channel where he just reached 25k subscribers! If you want to reach out to him and find out more about him, go over to his Instagram @jackblake_94.

Jake Rozhanksy is a 23 year old Professional Footballer who plays as a winger for Hapoel Afula in the Liga Leumit (second tier) in Israel. Jake is originally from Germantown, Maryland. He played 1 year of college soccer at the University of Virginia before transferring to Maryland University to finish up his college career. Jake had a great career in college as a footballer, and enjoyed himself on the social and academic side. Unlike many players, Jake was grateful for his experience in college and cherished it as a footballer and as a human. After college, Jake got some interest from teams in the US, but after taking a trip to Israel the previous summer and playing in the Maccabi Games, Jake got a direct offer from Maccabi Netanya in the Israeli Premier League. Without hesitation, Jake took the offer, and so his career began in Israel. During his first season with Netanya, Jake grew a lot as a footballer and a person. He found it a combination of difficult and exciting to be out of his home country and out of his comfort zone. After spending some time at Netanya, he signed a loan deal with Hapoel Katamon Jerusalem of the Liga Leumit (second tier). After a solid season, he signed an official deal with Hapoel Afula, where he is currently playing. Jake points out many times in the interview that you need a balance of 'professionalism,' being strict and disciplined, but also being able to enjoy your life with friends and family. On his off time, Jake likes to read books (he recommends 'Think & Grow Rich' by Napoleon Hill), stretch, take walks on the beach and hang out with friends and family on his off time. If you would like to get in touch with Jake, ask him some questions and ask his opinion on things, reach out to him on Instagram or Twitter @jroz12. 

Michael Hartmann is a 25-year-old Professional Goalkeeper originally from New Jersey, who is currently playing in the Finnish 1st Tier (Veikkausliiga) for FC Haka. Mike played 4 years of college soccer at Caldwell University in the NCAA Division 2 in America. After spending 4 years, he got a chance to go out to Norway to chase his dream of being a professional. Unfortunately due to work permit issues, he couldn't sign in Norway. Instead of sitting and dwelling, he started reaching out to professional teams in Sweden via Facebook. After doing this for a couple of weeks, he landed a trial in Division 2 (4th Tier) of Swedish soccer with FC Linköping City. After a successful trial, he signed with the team. The following season, he helped the team promote to Division 1 (3rd tier) of Swedish soccer. This year, he and the team just missed out on the chance to promote to Superettan (2nd Tier) of Swedish soccer. After 3 solid years there, Mike made a move to FC Haka in the Finnish 1st Tier. Mike is one of the most disciplined individuals that I've run into on this journey. I was so happy to see him sign this contract, and can't wait to see him succeed and keep on moving up the ladder in professional football. On his off time, Mike works to learn more about the human body and optimizing performance. Give him a follow on his up and coming instagram @trifromancesportstraining. If you have questions, reach out, and I'm absolutely sure that Mike will be glad to answer!

Samuel Kroon is a 23 year old professional footballer playing as a winger who plays for Halmstads BK in the Superettan (Swedish Second Tier). Samuel is originally from Stockholm, Sweden, where he grew up playing. He was constantly looking for ways to make himself better and develop himself as a player to get to the next level. Samuel started his professional career in the lower leagues of Sweden. He played 4 years in the Division One (third tier) of Sweden before signing this year with one of the biggest clubs in Sweden. He also was a big part of helping his club Umeå FC to get promoted from the third tier to the second tier of Swedish Professional football. I have known him for about 4 years now, as he has turned into one of my best friends. He is one of the most professional and disciplined individuals who I have come across. Even when he wasn’t playing for big clubs, he was constantly looking for ways to improve himself and create a professional environment around himself. Take a listen to this episode to hear a day in the life at Halmstad, how he eats, how he trains in the gym and how he recovers his body to prepare himself for the day to day life in a professional football environment. If you have any questions, please reach out to him on Instagram @kroonnn or on Twitter @Kroon_Samuel.

Zev is a 26-year-old Center Midfielder originally from Malibu, California who is currently playing for Åtvidabergs FF. Zev played his college soccer at Valparaiso in Indiana before he signed his first pro contract with the Sacramento Republic in the USL after impressing at an open combine. Zev made a couple of moves throughout the USL before signing his first contract in Sweden in 2018 with Varberg BOIS. Zev is well known for his high work rate, work ethic, leadership skills, passing ability and vision on the field. As you will hear in the interview, his obsession with the game and becoming a better player is obvious. He will do and does whatever it takes to make him better on and off the pitch. He also runs his own podcast and Instagram @znextstep & @znextstepexperience. Check those out and make sure to send him a message if you have any questions, as he’ll be very glad to answer.