June 7, 2022

I am currently on the road with the US Men’s National Soccer Team. Whenever we’re on the road it’s like a traveling circus. City to city, hotel to hotel, we establish a base camp in order to meet all of the specific needs of the players and staff. It’s quite a production.

On training days, the coaches and support staff get to the training site early to setup before the players arrive. It requires that we rent numerous minivans to get all of us, and our stuff to the site. So, in the span of 3-5 days we travel the same route each morning, roughly at the same time.

The first stop on this trip was in Cincinnati. On the first morning on the way to training, while sitting at a stoplight, we saw an unhoused older man standing on the corner, holding a sign, asking for money. To be honest, over the last year or so with the team, having played in many US cities, the one thing that has been consistent from city to city is the large number of unhoused individuals on the streets. It’s alarming.

Cincinnati was no different. So, as we waited for the light to change, our assistant coach who was driving the car shared a few kind words with the man, and then encouraged him to have a good day. Another coach in the van wondered if the man would be there the next morning, and we all agreed that he would. And if he was, we would be ready.

The next morning, at the same time, at the same light, was our new friend with his sign in hand. We pulled up, rolled down the window, and gave him a to-go container of hot breakfast from the hotel. He received it graciously, we shared a few words, and off we went. One coach, who had forgotten about our idea from the previous day, uttered to the rest of the van, “Wow, that just made my day.” Kindness has a way of doing that.

The next day was our last day of training in Cincinnati. We filled a to-go bag with more food, a couple of bottles of water, and made our final delivery. Again, he was grateful. We let him know that this was our last day, and we wished him well. We said goodbye to our new friend.

The next day, we were off to Kansas City.

I am blessed to spend a good amount of my time surrounded by and working with some of the best athletes and coaches in the world. We are a team that is focused on changing the way the world views American soccer. And, we are also committed to being good people on and off the field. 

This isn’t a PR piece for the Men’s US Soccer team. This is me, simply pointing out the simplicity and power of a simple act of kindness. If you have followed me at all, you know about my RAK Friday project and our annual Holiday Hope for the Homeless fundraiser. Those projects take a lot of work. This simple act did not. 

It’s a reminder for me that no matter where you are, regardless of what you’re doing, there is an opportunity for kindness if you look for it. So…look for it.

Travis