Speaker 1: Welcome man, It's time for another SDH one V one.
Speaker 1: I'm Jason Longshore. Now I was part of an interview
Speaker 1: recently with myself with Madison Cruz. Caroline Hood was with
Speaker 1: us as well, and we had the chance to catch
Speaker 1: up with f Rian Morales after Atlanta United training ahead
Speaker 1: of Wednesday's match against the Chicago Fire. F Ryan has
Speaker 1: been playing consistently as of late in a center back
Speaker 1: pairing with Louisa Brahm, and we talked to f Ryan
Speaker 1: about that. We talked to him about his journey through
Speaker 1: the Atlanta United Academy and Atlanta United two to the
Speaker 1: first team. We talked about his time in the Bolivia
Speaker 1: national team as well, and Madison started the interview talking
Speaker 1: about f Ryan's current time juggling being a professional athlete
Speaker 1: and being a college student. Here is our conversation with
Speaker 1: f Ryan Morales.
Speaker 2: I mean, I think, first thing, getting the first couple
Speaker 2: of starts here in the last couple of games. You know,
Speaker 2: what does it mean to you have that confidence that
Speaker 2: Ronnie does to have and put you in those positions
Speaker 2: to get you in the starting spots.
Speaker 3: Yeah, obviously to be able to get that confidence from
Speaker 3: the coaching staff I would say it took a little while,
Speaker 3: but I'm glad I.
Speaker 4: Ultimately got it Bolivia. Playing in Bolivia makes a difference.
Speaker 3: I think I was able to kind of move forward
Speaker 3: with those games and I was able to translate a
Speaker 3: little bit.
Speaker 5: I'm hoping to be.
Speaker 4: Able to build on it with Bolivia as well.
Speaker 2: When you've got the opportunity to go play there, what
Speaker 2: are some of the biggest things that you've learned from
Speaker 2: your time playing.
Speaker 4: Over the national team?
Speaker 3: For me personally, I think it was a pressure aspect
Speaker 3: and the nerves aspect.
Speaker 4: Of the games.
Speaker 3: Obviously, those games in South America can be really nerve racking,
Speaker 3: a lot of anxiety, I mean a lot of pressure.
Speaker 3: I mean definitely. The culture in South America revolves around soccer,
Speaker 3: so it's a big deal for all the fans and
Speaker 3: for everyone that lives in Bolivia. So being able to
Speaker 3: manage that and playing the games confidently was big for me.
Speaker 2: So for Bolivia for you to be able to qualify
Speaker 2: for is.
Speaker 4: It on your your mom's or your dad's side?
Speaker 2: My dad's sound awesome, Yes it What does it mean
Speaker 2: when you've got the opportunity to play there, especially for
Speaker 2: your family as well?
Speaker 5: For my dad.
Speaker 3: I mean he, like I said, for all Bolivia's it's
Speaker 3: the biggest thing is to be able.
Speaker 4: To go and play for your national team soccer.
Speaker 3: So my dad seeing me be able to do that,
Speaker 3: he was really proud and he was really happy.
Speaker 4: And I have a bunch of family out there that
Speaker 4: are that are.
Speaker 3: Really happy for me, and I'm just hoping that I
Speaker 3: could return the gesture.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know coming back here as well, having
Speaker 2: that newfound confidence as well being I think just a
Speaker 2: young center back in a position like that where you
Speaker 2: are in those physitions where it's a lot of anxiety
Speaker 2: where you have to talk a lot in those moments,
Speaker 2: especially with World Cup qualifying with them, also here with
Speaker 2: the team too, you're one of the most vocal bizzed
Speaker 2: I hear as well. You and know a Cobb. You know,
Speaker 2: where does that come from for you as well?
Speaker 4: And how have you developed that in your game?
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's one of the biggest things that I think
Speaker 3: the coaching staff has has put on me, like they've
Speaker 3: made that my responsibility. They've been tailing me since since
Speaker 3: twelve years old in the academy. Obviously, being a center back.
Speaker 4: You need to be able to be vocal.
Speaker 3: You need to be able to be communicate, and having
Speaker 3: you know, Derek Williams, de Youngergers and all those guys
Speaker 3: kind of helping me, you know, how to be intentional
Speaker 3: with it, how to be detailed, has really helped me
Speaker 3: improve my game.
Speaker 2: How has that been to having that big core group
Speaker 2: of guys, especially defensively with Derek, Steon, Ronald and having
Speaker 2: all of you guys, and also to having Matt and
Speaker 2: Noah as well, guys you've known too.
Speaker 5: In the academy.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's so im boring, Like you said, having a
Speaker 3: balance between young guys and the older guys, because obviously
Speaker 3: you have the older guys always giving you advice, but
Speaker 3: then you have the younger guys that you can relate
Speaker 3: to and talk about, you know, the nuances and things
Speaker 3: that some of the older.
Speaker 4: Guys might not understand at the moment. So having that
Speaker 4: balance has helped me a lot.
Speaker 2: I want to ask to you It was talked about
Speaker 2: a little bit before, but I want to get into
Speaker 2: it too. You know obviously at Georgia Tech right now
Speaker 2: getting a major as well, very lucrative school as well.
Speaker 2: I mean, how is being a student kind of helped
Speaker 2: you being a professional athlete as well. How have you
Speaker 2: balance that and also like how does it help you
Speaker 2: vice versa both ways?
Speaker 4: Yeah, like you said, it could go both ways.
Speaker 3: Obviously, just the being able to focus on the task
Speaker 3: actually makes helps for sure, and that's obviously something that
Speaker 3: I have to do there at Georgia Tech.
Speaker 4: At times.
Speaker 5: It can be.
Speaker 3: Difficult at times. It's a lot of workload between soccer
Speaker 3: and school. But for me mostly there's obviously the education
Speaker 3: aspect of it, but also having the outlet in terms
Speaker 3: of just social life and that type of stuff. Being
Speaker 3: around other students my age has helped me keep mentally
Speaker 3: and mentally valves.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I know, I mean sports management major.
Speaker 2: So the only hard thing I did was sports law,
Speaker 2: but that was just lockdown.
Speaker 4: Webcam so that was fine for me. I was handled that.
Speaker 4: I was great.
Speaker 2: I can only imagine the soccer doo net Tech as well.
Speaker 2: But with that too, I mean balancing that you talk about,
Speaker 2: I think like the friendship and having people that around
Speaker 2: your age, Having that, how has that.
Speaker 4: Helped you, especially with being a professionalize having the communication,
Speaker 4: having that.
Speaker 2: Social relationship with your students there, but then having it
Speaker 2: here too. Being a lot more friendly having those conversations too.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, of course there's the aspect where with
Speaker 3: soccer there comes a lot of anxiety, there comes a
Speaker 3: lot of stress, there comes a lot of nerves, and
Speaker 3: always having those those just friends outside of soccer have
Speaker 3: helped me a lot sometimes to just be an outlet
Speaker 3: and be able to get away from soccer. And then,
Speaker 3: like you said, there's there's the social aspect of it,
Speaker 3: the communication aspect of it that has honestly translated a
Speaker 3: little bit here. I think a lot with soccer. I
Speaker 3: mean you go to training, you go home, you know,
Speaker 3: do much. But obviously being around other students and learning
Speaker 3: how to communicate and you know, pick up on even
Speaker 3: the smallest social cues that made.
Speaker 4: A difference for me.
Speaker 2: Has that been helpful, especially I think with the difficult
Speaker 2: stretch the team has been on having those outlets for
Speaker 2: you to be able to disconnect from football a little bit,
Speaker 2: to be able to have that outlet.
Speaker 4: Yeah, for sure.
Speaker 3: I mean obviously, like I said, when there's there's there's
Speaker 3: a lot of stress here at the facilities, sometimes being
Speaker 3: able to have the outlet for that.
Speaker 6: Makes makes a big difference your time with the twos
Speaker 6: as well, how did that time help you prepare coming
Speaker 6: up here, getting these minutes with the first team and
Speaker 6: getting these last couple of st arts as well.
Speaker 4: With the team. It was I mean being.
Speaker 3: Able to have consistent game time is probably the most
Speaker 3: important thing for any footballer. I mean that's I think
Speaker 3: what anyone will tell you. And so being able to
Speaker 3: deal with the twos wherever it is it helps your
Speaker 3: game a lot. And not to mention the twos is
Speaker 3: you know, we try to be competitive, but it is
Speaker 3: also in this in a sense like you can try
Speaker 3: things out, you can have a little bit more leniency,
Speaker 3: and I think that was important for me because I
Speaker 3: got to kind of adjust a few things and learn
Speaker 3: what works.
Speaker 2: And what doesn't, especially with adaptability to in games where
Speaker 2: you need to be called upon when things can change
Speaker 2: as quickly.
Speaker 4: How did how did you quickly get adjust to that?
Speaker 4: Being able to be adaptable in games.
Speaker 3: I think that's that's one of the biggest ones for
Speaker 3: a lot of the young guys, is you never know
Speaker 3: when your names would be called on, so always being prepared,
Speaker 3: I mean it's the next amount of mentality and being
Speaker 3: able to stay healthy, being able to play with the
Speaker 3: twos and just stay levelheaded because obviously there's ups and
Speaker 3: downs and just being ready is really important.
Speaker 7: How is that relationship between you and Luisa Broom developed
Speaker 7: over the last couple of games as well, because, I mean,
Speaker 7: even from watching the game against Toronto, that connection seems
Speaker 7: to have just clicked immediately between both of you guys.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I think we compliment each other in
Speaker 3: the sense we're both you know, we're both very competitive,
Speaker 3: we both want to win, but at the same time,
Speaker 3: we understand each other in the sense how we don't
Speaker 3: necessarily have to be screaming at each other.
Speaker 5: The whole game.
Speaker 3: I think we could be a little bit more intentional
Speaker 3: with our communication when it's just you know, even just
Speaker 3: talking at at a normal voice level, not necessarily screaming
Speaker 3: at each other. I think that's when we get the
Speaker 3: best out of well with each other. We understand that.
Speaker 3: So I think I've been able to we've been able
Speaker 3: to develop that.
Speaker 2: How do you guys compliment one another? What are some
Speaker 2: of the things that you bring to the table. But
Speaker 2: then Louise also brings as well.
Speaker 4: I mean, Louis is definitely the consistency, the experience.
Speaker 3: They mainly the experienced aspect of it. I think me obviously,
Speaker 3: I might bring a little bit more risk in the
Speaker 3: build out. I might do a few more things that
Speaker 3: he might not do. But like you said, there's there's
Speaker 3: the risk and the reward for it. So I think
Speaker 3: being able to have him who you know what you're
Speaker 3: gonna get out of him.
Speaker 5: You're going to complete all his he's.
Speaker 3: Gonna make all his tackles, and me on the other side,
Speaker 3: it might be a little shaky sometimes, but we'll try
Speaker 3: to do some things.
Speaker 4: I think you get the best.
Speaker 5: Both worlds with Luise. He doesn't talk a whole lot.
Speaker 5: Has that helped bring your voice out a little bit?
Speaker 4: Yeah, Like that's why I was kind of explaining her.
Speaker 3: I think it makes me more comfortable to be who
Speaker 3: I am that I can really you know, take I
Speaker 3: guess a little bit more of a lead in that
Speaker 3: situation and knowing that that it compliments him and when
Speaker 3: he speaks to me, you will speak to me personally,
Speaker 3: you know, calmly and stuff like that, And I think
Speaker 3: that's really brought up more and more of a leadership
Speaker 3: role for me in the backgun.
Speaker 5: How has it's.
Speaker 8: Been funny watching you with Leuis because I feel like
Speaker 8: your game brings out a lot of great qualities in
Speaker 8: his game.
Speaker 5: Two that complimenting one another. How have you seen like
Speaker 5: him help you be a better player?
Speaker 4: For me, the biggest one is just being just being
Speaker 4: comfortable with my mistakes.
Speaker 3: I know that, you know, if I'm a young guy,
Speaker 3: I'm gonna make mistakes, and I know having him next
Speaker 3: to me, like, he's never gonna necessarily get mad at
Speaker 3: me for I mean, unless they're something that needs to
Speaker 3: be changed, of course, but he's he's he's there, he's
Speaker 3: gonna support me regardless of the mistakes I make.
Speaker 4: And now when I do make a mistake, I necessarily
Speaker 4: have that at the back.
Speaker 3: Of my mind, like, oh God, like I'm worried about
Speaker 3: what he's gonna do whatever.
Speaker 4: So I think that's been the biggest, biggest part for me.
Speaker 8: Has that been one of the hardest things for a
Speaker 8: young player of breaking into the level that you're in
Speaker 8: now is being willing to make mistakes.
Speaker 3: I think that's one of the personally, one of the
Speaker 3: biggest changes I've made in terms of, you know, the
Speaker 3: last few years in comparison to this year, is being okay.
Speaker 4: To make mistakes.
Speaker 3: Obviously, center back is a position where you have to
Speaker 3: be really careful with the type of mistakes you make,
Speaker 3: which is another thing that I've been really trying to
Speaker 3: work on. But mistakes are generally part of the game,
Speaker 3: and even though you're a young guy and you want to.
Speaker 4: Break into the team, like, mistakes.
Speaker 5: Will happen regardless.
Speaker 8: Is that one of the reasons why like having that
Speaker 8: experience with the second team.
Speaker 5: Laying consistently, is that one of the reasons why that
Speaker 5: team is so important in the players development?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 4: Yeah, Like I think it's so important.
Speaker 3: Like like, like I told her, it's the game peticity
Speaker 3: aspect of it, but also the ability to you know,
Speaker 3: make errors and adapt. I think that's definitely I've taken
Speaker 3: that with me into the first scene.
Speaker 8: How how hard was it for you when you signed
Speaker 8: really young and had two maybe two and a half
Speaker 8: years of a lot of injuries and just not being
Speaker 8: able to get on the field consistently.
Speaker 5: How hard was that time for you?
Speaker 3: Yeah?
Speaker 4: It was.
Speaker 3: It was definitely hard mentally in the sense that because
Speaker 3: I mean, I'm sixteen years old, and I know I
Speaker 3: probably should have known that I don't know everything, but
Speaker 3: in the moment, I think, like you know, I know
Speaker 3: everything and this is bad, like it's It was definitely
Speaker 3: a lot of stress and anxiety, and I just I
Speaker 3: think looking back at it now and I try to
Speaker 3: kind of like pass that on to the young guys,
Speaker 3: like just be patient, It'll be okay, because I mean,
Speaker 3: obviously that happens to young guys and even though it sucks,
Speaker 3: like you'll get happened.
Speaker 5: Essentially, what helped you the most.
Speaker 3: During that time for me just being able to communicate back,
Speaker 3: like efficiently with a medical staff, but also just have
Speaker 3: a family, Like I said, the audlet aspect of it two,
Speaker 3: and I think the school aspect two, because I mean
Speaker 3: I was able to know that, you know, things don't
Speaker 3: happen to work out, I do have somewhere else that
Speaker 3: I could go.
Speaker 5: How cool has it been over this past run to
Speaker 5: be I.
Speaker 8: Mean, honestly, you're playing a starting All Star consideration kind
Speaker 8: of a US level.
Speaker 5: You're getting consistent games and rising to the standard.
Speaker 8: Just when you think back to those times when it
Speaker 8: was hard.
Speaker 5: How rewarding is it to have what you're having right now?
Speaker 4: Yeah?
Speaker 3: Really rewarding in the sense that because when I was,
Speaker 3: you know, fifteen, sixteen years old, For me, it was like,
Speaker 3: you know, a black hole, like it felt like I
Speaker 3: wasn't gonna get out. So obviously seeing where I am
Speaker 3: now and being able to look back at it does
Speaker 3: it does feel good. But at the same time, at
Speaker 3: the end of the day, it's like you have to
Speaker 3: stay levelheaded.
Speaker 4: It's been three games, which in the Crank scheme of
Speaker 4: things doesn't mean anything. So you know, it's just a
Speaker 4: matter of just onto the next, on to the next,
Speaker 4: on to the next.
Speaker 3: Because three good games could mean nothing with you, they
Speaker 3: played ten battles.
Speaker 1: So big thank you to everybody at Atlanta United for
Speaker 1: making this possible and most especially thank you to f
Speaker 1: Rain for taking the time to speak with us. We
Speaker 1: always love to see players as they make that journey
Speaker 1: from the Atlanta United Academy and f Raan was one
Speaker 1: of the first academy players that Atlanta United ever had,
Speaker 1: all the way through the second team and then into
Speaker 1: the first team and thriving at the MLS level and
Speaker 1: for f Rain, thriving at the international level with his
Speaker 1: beloved Bolivia. Love seeing these stories. This is why we
Speaker 1: love having a hometown club like Atlanta United. Hopefully we
Speaker 1: will see you at Mercedes Benz Stadium. This week two matches,
Speaker 1: Chicago Fire on Wednesday Charlotte FC on Saturday. Both are
Speaker 1: available on ninety two nine to the Game and the
Speaker 1: Odyssey App, as well as Apple TV's MLS Season Pass,
Speaker 1: and you can listen to our radio call there, just
Speaker 1: choose the home team radio option. Pregame coverage on radio
Speaker 1: starts at sea thirty with Abe Gordon and Madison Cruise.
Speaker 1: Kickoff will be at seven forty for both matches with
Speaker 1: myself and Mike CONTI hope to see you there, and
Speaker 1: if you can't join us in person, you can join
Speaker 1: us on the radio or on the Odyssey App.