In sports, stories of unlikely heroes overcoming the odds are appreciated and respected because the dream of becoming a professional athlete is hard enough, let alone one that has certain obstacles in the way. Giving up on that dream is a likely scenario simply based on the odds.
For Justin Braun, the odds never seemed to dictate his situation.
The four year veteran of MLS has established himself as a scoring threat in recent years, accumulating 17 goals in his last two seasons as a regular in the Chivas USA line-up.
But despite his recent success as a pro soccer player, the road he took to get there was an unconventional one.
“Coming out of high school, I had no offer from any Universities, so I decided to stay in Salt Lake, where I’m from,” said the Utah native. “I went to community college, played some soccer there, and then went to the University of Utah where there was no soccer team.”
His career path at this point sidetracked, playing solely for an amateur team called Olympique Montreux in a men’s Saturday league. It seemed his dreams of being a professional soccer player were starting to fade away.
“It was really hard. Not getting drafted definitely put a dent in my plans. Already, Salt Lake City is not really known for recognizing soccer players. It was really tough,” said Braun.
Despite not being offered a scholarship or playing at any University level, Braun chose to never give up.
“When I was a young player, a coach once told me to play hard every minute I was on the pitch because you never know who was watching,” said the 6’3” striker. “I never gave up and worked hard every time I played, no matter what level.”
That hard work was recognized in 2008 as Braun was invited to take part in the George F. Donnelly Cup, an amateur tournament pitting state teams against one another, as a member of the Utah Select Team.
It just so happened that in attendance at the tournament, which was held at the Home Depot Center in January 2008, was the then head coach of Chivas USA, Predrag “Preki” Radosavljević.
“After seeing me play, Preki invited me to take part in preseason workouts with Chivas and two weeks later, I was offered a development contract, signing in March 2008. I’ve been living the dream of playing pro-soccer ever since. It just goes to show you that if you work hard and never give up, good things will come.”
And for Braun, a new city, a new team and a new set of supporters anticipate that his hard work will continue to bring good things next season.
