Announcing my Retirement from Professional Soccer
Today I am officially announcing my retirement from professional soccer. It is a sad day for me. I made my decision to do this about two weeks ago and have been dreading writing this blog post since. This would have been my 5th year as a professional player but my body is just not feeling the way it used too.
My hip/groin surgery in August of 2008 was successful and I feel much better but I am just not where I use to be. I did everything I could and trained as hard as I could to get ready for this preseason. I went on two tryouts and I guess it is unrealistic for me to expect to be at my sharpest having been away from the game for a year in a half. I played okay on those short tryouts but not up to my standards.
I have always said if I wasn’t good enough I would have stopped a long time ago. This year I just wasn’t good enough. I love playing soccer but the past two years or so the game hasn’t loved me back. Dealing with injuries, playing through pain everyday, constant rehab, daily ice baths, and never knowing the answer to what is wrong with you wears on you after a while.
Things might have been different for me had I been able to get surgery closer to my original date of injury, had I been in a team environment for my rehab and come back process, had I had more time to get myself back to where I was at, it might be different. The hard truth is I didn’t have those luxuries and unfortunately that is life sometimes. I have dealt with it, cried a bunch, and I am now ready to move on.
I have no regrets about playing soccer. I love this game and it has been my life for so long. It has shown me the world, taught me valuable life lessons, and I got to do some very cool things along the way because of it. The most important thing it ever did for me was bring me to my fiancé who I met at a Chicago Fire charity event when I was making a player appearance. I wasn’t the guy that was supposed to play pro soccer. I had to break down walls and fight for every slight chance I got. Looking back if I would have quit when it got tough I never would have met Emily. We are getting married in August and I couldn’t be happier. I am from Louisiana, she is from Illinois, and without soccer we never would have met!
There is a quote I have somewhere in my files about dreaming really big and you may not always reach them but you will meet somewhere in the middle and be pleasantly surprised one day at where you end up. When playing I knew the meaning of that quote but ignored it because I was going to reach my dreams. That is the mindset you have to have; you have to believe in it! I had big dreams and if anyone ever told me I couldn’t do it or didn’t take me seriously it just fueled my fire even more. Now officially being retired from the game I can look back and say I didn’t do to bad for myself. I have two championship rings, one a National Championship with Lynn University and the other a US Open Cup Championship with the Chicago Fire. I played against A.C. Milan at Soldier Field, I got an assist in an MLS game, I learned a lot and got to be around some great players and coaches like Chris Armas, Logan Pause, Colin Clark, and many more. I was a professional soccer player living the dream for a few years and when I am a Dad one day I can honestly tell my kids that if they work hard and believe in themselves their dreams can come true!
What will I do now?
Unfortunately my Roth IRA I have been contributing too over the last two years isn’t the nest egg I was hoping it to be yet so you won’t find me at the beaches in Florida at a retirement home anytime soon! I am working harder now then I was playing that’s for sure. My new dream is to give youth soccer players a better shot than I ever had. I want to give them the soccer smarts I have now that I wish I could have had at their age. I want to inspire my players to know that if they believe in it and back that up by working hard they can reach their goals in life. My platform to do this will be my Online Soccer Academy, Camps, Private Lessons, Motivational speaking, MontzTV, and my blog. When I was playing I still did these things but only part time. It is exciting to think what I can do now that I am committed full time to youth soccer. My speed and strength coach, Kurt Hester, would say that at some point at an athlete just has to know when they have reached their peak whether it be high school, college, or pro. It will be tough but if they can move on and put that same desire and work rate they had training for their sport into something else then imagine how successful they will be in their new venture. That comment always stuck with me. I have big ideas and now that I am not playing any more I have a great opportunity to make those ideas happen, and I will!
What do I worry about?
My biggest concern about retiring is how it is perceived among my players. I hope they understand that I didn’t just quit, I gave it everything and it was just time for me to move on. I believed in it and I went after my “it” for as long as I could. Now I have a new “it” and that is to coach them to become the players and people they want to be in life. I am always telling them that in life and soccer you are going to deal with circumstances that are out of your control. All you can control is how you react to those situations; are you negative and put your head down or are you positive and get back on defense and work harder? I hope they see I have acted positive to my situation by creating my Academy and camps. I didn’t just sit around and complain about it. I would do anything for my players and I hope they understand my decision and my reasons why I have retired. I sign off almost every message in my Academy with my slogan, “Believe in it” and I want them to know I mean it when I say it!
People I would like to thank!
I never won a big award or a huge honor so I never had the chance to give a speech where I thank people. So I would like to take advantage of this opportunity here to thank some people who have helped me reach my dreams. Anton McEwen my youth coach at JFC, Mr. Pate who was the source of every professional connection I had coming out of college, Daryl Shore for always having my back at the Fire and being my un paid agent, Chris Armas for giving me his support and putting his confidence in me, and Colin Clark for being the best professional coach I had and supporting me during my injury nightmare. My best friend, David Harvey, for always being there and helping me through the tough times and sharing in the good ones. Emily Niles, my fiancé, for not leaving me when I managed to crisscross the continent chasing my dreams all of 2007 and consistently never being able to tell her what will be happening in a month. My grandparents, Steve and Abbey Gorin, who paid for the majority of my college bill; without them my dream would have been dead after high school. My Dad who doesn’t know anything about soccer but always supported me and my goals and never once complained why he had to drive his son 2.5 hours each way to go to soccer practice in another state after he had been working all day. Thank you dad for just saying, “Okay”! My mom, my biggest fan, for always supporting me and my dreams. You went above and beyond the call of duty as a mom to support me and help me reach my goals and you still do and for that I will always be grateful. I can’t even imagine how much you and Dad spent financially, physically, and mentally on me and my soccer career. You and Dad made the impossible seem possible and always told me I could do anything I set my mind too, thank you!
It is a sad day, but it is also an exciting day! I don’t want to say I am starting another chapter in my life because it feels more like another book. I am excited to be writing this new book and thank you (my readers, my fans, my players, my friends, and my family) for being with me during the first one and I invite you to stick around for the second one. It will be a good one, I promise!
Believe in it!
JM
Tags: Jared Montz, Retirement Speech
March 20th, 2009 at 7:55 am
Jared,
Sorry to hear about a decision that probably was made for you as much as you made for yourself. As you noted – way it goes sometimes. But you have built the foundation of something really cool here and I hope it’s something that will flourish. It’s been awesome interacting with you online and look forward to seeing what your ideas and plans are when you implement them here!
Mike
March 20th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Mike,
Thanks for the comment about my retirement and the compliments on my website. I am glad you like the idea and I am looking forward to growing it into what I believe it can become. It has been great getting to know you too and I always look forward to reading your most recent blog posts!
March 20th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Lord knows you cant put a dollar figure on the joy or the pain of being a parent but I know yours are proud! Hopefully one day soon Emily and you can experience it. You will really understand your parents wonderful crazy ride. The Strongs are in your corner just shout if you need anything?
If all you get is a player or child blogging all mushy about you one day all the effort will be rewarded.
Sincerely
Brian ,Kim , Kory and Cam
March 20th, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Thanks Brian and the Strong Family, I appreciate your kind words and support. Love the sense of humor about your kid turning out to be a blogger one day! That is great! That term wasn’t even around when I was growing up!
March 20th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Jared,
I know that this was very hard to write! But I believe that “when one door closes, another will open…” God has given you a great gift and you are an inspiration to all those you coach and will coach. May God continue to bless everything you do and prosper you and your future! We plan to join your online academy soon! We can’t wait to see what else he has in store for you. Congrats on your upcoming marriage!
Couvillion Family
March 20th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
I wanted to let you know how proud I am of you. Your courage and honor are admirable. Making the decision to move on from your professional career should never be a thing to be ashamed of. I don’t think anyone who has ever known you could accuse you of “quitting”. You are a young man that made his dreams happen. For however short a period of time it was, you were there. You should never second guess your experiences, because, as you said, your book isn’t finished yet. When all of the chapters are done, you will be able to look back and understand why you had to take the path you did. I can’t imagine anything but positives for your future, because that’s just the guy you are. Your attitude and your business acumen will take you much further in life than just the soccer field.
Congratulations on your engagement, and good luck in your upcoming endeavors.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Lachney
March 21st, 2009 at 5:53 am
It is an exciting day. You beat the odds with determination and have proved that anything is possible. Your are a great young man with a very bright future. I have a couple of comments from the kids. Stephen says, “Come over and try out our new pool. We can also play some soccer in the back yard.” Alex says, “Would you like to come watch one of my games?”
You know the Schlottmans are big Montz fans! We look forward to attending your camps this summer, that will be five in a row, but who is counting. I also need to get some coaching advice from a pro!
Good luck and let’s stay in touch.
The Schlottmans
March 21st, 2009 at 8:08 am
[...] Russell Bishop posted a noteworthy aricle today onHere’s a small snippetI love this game and it has been my life for so long. It has shown me the world, taught me valuable life lessons, and I got to do some very cool things along the way because of it. The most important thing it ever did for me was bring me … Anton McEwen my youth coach at JFC, Mr. Pate who was the source of every professional connection I had coming out of college, Daryl Shore for always having my back at the Fire and being my un paid agent, Chris Armas for giving me his … [...]
March 22nd, 2009 at 8:45 pm
The Schlottmans,
Thanks for all your support over the years and I appreciate the comments and kind words! Tell Alex I will be sure to come watch one of his games! He just has to promise to score a goal and do a fist pump celebration speech wearing his JMS sweatband!
Tell Stephen trying out the pool sounds great!!
I am looking forward to seeing yall at camp this summer and staying in touch with everyone through the Online Soccer Academy as well!
March 22nd, 2009 at 8:48 pm
Stephanie,
Thanks for your comments and compliments about me and my career. Reading your message put my fiance and I to tears! Thank you for all your support.
March 22nd, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Couvillion Family,
Thank you for your comment, compliments, and congratulations on my upcoming marriage. I agree with you about more doors opening and I am looking forward to what the future has in store. I also look forward to seeing yall in the Online Academy soon.
Thanks again for the comment!
March 26th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Gday Jared, Thomas here from Soccer Mastermind.
Having been through this already I know exactly what your talking about. When my surgeon completed his sixth operation on my knees I could tell by the look on his face that the news was not going to be good. After battling with compartment syndrome in my shins for most of my time in England I also was crippled and always battling against the odds. The amount of injuries I’ve had over my soccer career you could easily teach an anatomy class at University. Would I do it differently? No way. Soccer is more than a sport. It becomes your life and you meet some great people on the way.
At the end of the day Jared, soccer has blessed you with the greatest gift of life, love. Your journey has just begun. When you start coaching and need a holiday in Australia, look me up, i’ll put you up in return for a few coaching clinics and a few beers. All the best while I open up another door for you.
Your mate, Thomas
April 2nd, 2009 at 12:37 am
Sorry to hear about your retirement. Something I always tell my kids (and myself) when things don’t work out like we plan them…..Sometimes we have to let go of the things that are good in our lives in order for God to give us the best He intended for us to have. That thought has helped us get through many situations in our lives.
I believe it is just the beginning……I know that you have so much to offer the next generation of players. You have been such a positive role model and an inspiration for Gavin. We look forward to following the next book of your life. Thanks for sharing.
The Chabert Family
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:35 am
The Chabert Family,
Thank you for your kind and encouraging words. I believe it is just the beginning too and I am very excited about writing my next book. Thank you for wanting to be a part of it and I am glad I can be a positive role model for Gavin.
November 15th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Jared,
Its been a while since those days @ JFC. I was looking around and found this site and I realized it was you.
We played together with Anton, but I was a year younger and guest played many times with your team. I went on to play @ Uconn after graduation. 2 years into school I created a groin injury just as you. The only difference was you had the surgery and I didn’t. I thought about it for several weeks after hearing the doctors tell me of the long road to recovery, so I decided to try and play without and of course it got the best of me. I transfered to University of Mobile with Peter Fuller and tried it out there, but my body was not having it. I decided to hang it up and it was tough to do. Peter asked me if I wanted to stay on as a coach of some sort, but I could not. I had to completely step out of the realm that I once loved and thrived in. I could not be around the game for almost a year after my decision. It killed me not to be able to play at the level I wanted to. I left Mobile and finished at Ole Miss then worked a couple years and now I am in grad school in Newcastle England. Yeah, go figure. Of course here soccer is all around me and I actually live next to St. James Park, but those playing days are over and I realize that and I enjoy watching the game again.
I didn’t make it to your level and I felt at one point I got the short end of it, but I haven’t. The game has taught me so much about life and as much as I wanted to get away from the game, its lesson are forever with me. I know how hard it is to face facts with your body and it was always mind over matter back in the day, but when your body won’t work, its a hard fact to swallow.
I’m glad to see you have taken up coaching. You can tell you have a knack for it. I wish you the best and I believe in what you are doing.
Brad Ferguson
JFC 84′
November 20th, 2009 at 9:05 am
Brad,
Thanks for a great comment and I am sorry to hear you suffered through the same injury I had. It is not easy to give up what you love and what you have put your heart and soul in for so long. But that just means you care! Glad to hear you can now appreciate it as a fan and enjoy the game! It takes a while to get there, but when you do it is a good feeling.
Hopefully you will get into coaching at the youth level at some point. Sometimes playing neutral with an older team is just what you need to get your soccer playing addiction taking care of!
I am going to shoot you an email. Talk to you soon
JM
December 30th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Jared;
I just came across your website and blog. I would like to congratulate you on your marriage and wish you good luck in all your endeavors. I always knew you have your head screwed on right, always admired your drive and perseverance. You will always be a winner in my book.
Good luck dude and remember soccer heals everything !!!!!!
George Litas