LONG BEACH, NEW YORK

Jessica Malone

     I grew up in Long Beach, New York. It was your typical beach town that tourists flocked to every summer. I was lucky enough to grow up on the beach and experience it. It allowed me try certain things, like surfing.

     I began my soccer career at just age three and to be honest, it was love at first sight.  I played all four years of high school soccer on my varsity team at Holy Trinity High School in Hicksville. I was lucky enough to be able to play four years of a varsity sport when, at times, I was the youngest player. I was ranked in county and state each year of my high school career.

     I changed my travel teams around like I changed my soccer socks-too often. Long Beach did not have a steady or competitive soccer league, so I was off to find the perfect one. It took a long time to find a team that accepted me and allowed me to show my full potential. When I did find the right team, it wasn't until my junior year of high school.  We played in the most competitive tournaments all over the country and even played at ESPN Wide World of Sports in Disney World.

College Life

MOLLOY COLLEGE

     I was recruited to play at Molloy College located in Rockville Centre, New York. I decided to stay home and commute to school. This posed some challenges when it came to practices and games. However, I only lived about 25 minutes away and to be able to sleep in my own bed for four years was definitely worth it. I was recruited based off of my coach’s brother who was my high school coach at Trinity High School. He would attend some of our high school games and knew I wanted to play for Molloy while studying nursing.

     When it came to my schedule, balancing soccer and nursing was one of the most difficult things for me. Playing college soccer means that you are out of state or at least two hours away from school at least two times a week. You're also practicing at least five times a week. Many of the road trips my team and I took were spent doing homework, making review sheets or catching up on sleep.

     When soccer ended, a huge chapter of my life was over. I didn't know what to do with the time I had. Ending my career also meant I had to finally get my hip surgery done that I had put off since sophomore year. It was really emotional for me. My body was physically and mentally ready to retire.