Inside the Pro Game : Football with RicFit

George is a 27 year old center midfielder who is currently playing for Hapoel Hadera in the Israeli Premier League. George played college soccer at Uconn before getting drafted to the Portland Timbers in the 2014 MLS Superdraft. George featured with the Timbers and Sacramento Republic during his time in the United States (2014-2015). In 2016, got some interest from a club in Denmark while playing in the US. He took this opportunity with a vengeance and 3 great seasons in the Danish Premier League with Viborg FF. In 2019, he made a move to his club in Israel where he is currently at. One thing that really stood out to be in this great conversation with George is the fact that he talked about how important it is to integrate and "gel" with your club right away, and not to act like you are some "superstar," even if you were signed to be that 'big time guy'. We talked about how important it is in Europe to play as a cohesive unit, and not play as a "bunch of individuals." George also pointed out that you have to get your mind off of football sometimes, and not every waking and thinking moment has to be football. He specifically said "when it's time to train, you train and take care of the business. When it's time to take off, you really need to unplug and live your life." Give this episode a listen for some excellent insights, and if you want to connect with George on Instagram, his handle is: @ivan_fochive & his Twitter is: @ivan_george6. Enjoy this one!

This years’ 1st round, 14th draft pick Akeem Ward comes on the Pod to discuss how he lives his day to day life with DC United, a team that he grew up supporting and working as the ball boy. Akeem played one year at the JUCO level for Hastings before transferring to Creighton and playing 3 years there. These 3 years at Creighton were a wake up call for him. He realized he had to step his game up and get rid of the fear he had to make it to the next level. His spring season with Creighton was rough, but from there, everything was “uphill.” This slight setback at Creighton prepared him for where he is currently at in the professional game. Listen to this podcast to hear how dialed in Akeem is with everything on and off the field and how he prepares to continue to improve and take his game to the next level.

Leo Folla is a 23 year old Centerback originally from New York who is currently playing for the Chattanooga Red Wolves in the newly formed USL League One. He has had quite the journey up until his first professional contract with the Red Wolves. Leo grew up playing his youth soccer in New York. After getting rejected from University at Albany after high school, he took it in the chin and tried his luck with a “JUCO” school in Iowa. He realized it wasn’t for him and decided to go back to NY to prepare for his next opportunity. Little did he know, the U Albany coach wanted him the next year. After seeing the “college experience” of tons of parties and not much football, he decided to finish his last 3 years of school at Saint Francis in NY. Listen to the rest of this conversation to see how dialed in and discipline Leo is. You can hear that he would and will sacrifice anything for the game and is willing to do anything to make it to the next level. Super grateful to have another great dude like this in the pod. I know that you guys and girls will LEARN A LOT from this episode!

Was great having Jason Johnson on the Podcast. He is a 28 year old winger from Happy News, Jamaica who is currently playing for Phoenix Rising FC in the USL. Jason played for 3 years at VCU before being drafted to the Houston Dynamo. After that, he went on to play for the Chicago Fire, San Antonio FC and now the Phoenix Rising. Surprisingly enough, Jason started playing the game at the age of 14. In the podcast, he shares what he thinks got him to the level where he’s at now. A lot of that includes his mindset, how he approaches the game, and all that he’s learned from players that he has played with including Didier Drogba. Enjoy this one & don’t be afraid to leave a review!

Kevin Politz is a 23 year old defender from New Jersey who is currently playing for the Greenville Triumph in South Carolina. He spent 4 years studying and playing at Wake Forest. After graduating he signed his first professional contract with the New York Red Bulls. In this episode, he shares some very very interesting insights into how the Red Bulls train and how they look at training, and the differences between how his current team trains and how Red Bulls trains.

Had a great time chatting with Lucas Stauffer in this episode. Lucas is a 23 year old outside back/winger who is currently playing in the 4th league in Germany. He played 4 years of college soccer at Creighton University before getting drafted by the Vancouver Whitecaps. Unfortunately, he was released after a couple of weeks. Though, he ended up finding a good solution when he signed with the Red Bull’s II. After a solid season with the Red Bull’s, he had a couple of offers in the USL, but he wanted to test himself, so he bought a one way ticket to Europe. After spending time in Denmark, Finland & Germany- he found his best opportunity in Germany, and that’s where he’s at currently. Lucas likes to keep his training, nutrition and recovery simple, but he makes sure he is consistent. Y’all know; that’s what gets results!

Was a blessing having Nico Olsak on the podcast. Nico was born in Argentina, but ended up moving to the US at a young age to “chase the American Dream!” He played 4 years of college soccer at Belmont University (a small Division 1 school in Tennessee). He always had the dream of playing professional soccer, so he took his chances at an open combine. He had a good chance at Rochester Rhinos that fell through. This was one of the first obstacles you ran into during his career, and he used it to fuel him. At 22, he made a jump to Israel through a family friend connection, and the rest was history! He started in the third tier, and within two years, he was playing in the first tier for Maccabi Netanya. He just reached a great milestone of 100 appearances for the team, and he has been blessed to wear the captains’ band. You will definitely definitely enjoy this one. Definitely many golden nuggets from this one.

Was great having Taylor on the Podcast. A truly inspiring footballer with a great attitude on football and on life. Taylor is a 24 year old striker from Jensen Beach, Florida currently playing in Sweden for Lidköpings FK. She played College Soccer at UCF for two years before transferring to FAU for her last 2 years. The beginning of her journey was in Peru for 4 months, which she described as “interesting,” and definitely a great experience. She then had a trial with a Champions League team in Romania that ended up falling through due to her needing hip surgery, which caused her to be off the pitch for 9 months. During this time, she realized how much she really loved the game and what it meant to her. Though it gave her some much needed family time and time to learn about herself as a footballer and a person. After her surgery, she came back stronger and just recently resigned for another year with her team in Sweden, where her and her team hope to get promoted to the highest. Guy or girl; you will learn a lot from this podcast. If you wan to contact Taylor, her Instagram is: @taytown17 and Facebook is: Taylor Townsend. She would love if you reached out if you had any specific questions for her.

Day in the Life of Kyle Knotek Ep. 21. Kyle Knotek is a 31 year old midfielder going into his 10th year as a professional, and currently playing for FC ŠTK Šamorín in the 2nd league in Slovakia. He started his journey to becoming a pro by playing college soccer at NIU for 4 years. This is when he ran into one of his first obstacles to becoming a pro, and what has led to his determination and drive. The coach had him playing left back because he didn’t think he was good enough to play center midfielder. He actually was coming off the bench as the captain of the team. After that year, he went to a USL combine, and after not getting picked up, a Japanese GM invited him to play in the second league in Japan. That was quite an experience for him as no one spoke English and he actually had to leave due to the Tsunami. After his stint there; he signed in the USL with the Dayton Dutch Lions. After that season he spent one year in Finland. After his year in Finland, he spent 3 years in Sweden and helped his team get promoted. After 3 good seasons in Sweden, he caught the eye of a team in Slovakia, and that’s where he is now. I really encourage you guys to sit down and really listen to this episode here. I truly learned a lot, and he is one of the best dudes I have met so far in the game. If you would like to contact him, reach him on Instagram & Twitter @Kyle_Knotek, as well as on Facebook @Kyle_Knotek. Enjoy & happy listening!

Dion Acoff is a 27 year old winger originally from Fontana, California. He is currently playing for SJK in the Veijkausliiga (first tier) Finland. He signed his first professional contract with Thróttur Reykjavík in the third tier in Iceland when he was 23 years old. After two successful seasons with them, he was signed by Valur Reykjavík; where he played in the Europa League and Champions League Qualifiers. Believe it or not, Dion actually quit playing soccer for 1 year after graduating from UCSB. He went into personal training, but was really missing the game. This is when he ended up getting a call from a friend, and his agent, who sent him to Iceland. The rest is history!