The Journey: Julian's Story Continues...

We had such an incredible response to Julian's first blog, "Perspective, Balance and Strength: Julian's Story"; and we are not surprised, we were incredibly moved and impressed by both Julian's accomplishments and his character.  Julian and his brother Zarek were both beginning new, yet very different phases of their lives. 'Smart Guy' is excited to update you on Julian's journey and his thoughts on his transition from professional athlete out in front of the crowd, to journalist behind the scenes.  Here are his thoughts and reflections on the last two months...

Last time I checked in with “Smart Guy" I was in the process of packing up and moving to Colorado to begin a new journey.  I’ve been here for a while, and I’ve been working for a month now.  It’s been a whirlwind, for sure, but my first month with the Rockies has been awesome.  I’ve finally begun to get a firm grasp of my role and responsibilities after the initial shock of learning hundreds of names and having a bunch of new information thrown at me.  I am even more confident now that I made the right decision for my professional future, and I’m glad that I had positioned myself to be able to switch to this career off the field.

There have been challenges, of course, and I anticipate that there always will be; there are challenges in everything that we do in life.  For starters, I have to wake up at 5:20 a.m., instead of 9:00.  My commute to Coors Field is 40 minutes each way, instead of the five minutes like it was in Tampa or 15 minutes in LA.  Now I work from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. or so.  The days of working for three hours and laying on the couch the rest of the day are long gone–if you can call playing a sport “work” at all.  None of these new issues are bad, necessarily; they are just major adjustments.

The toughest part of this transition has been finding time to work out and stay fit.  Being fit has been a major part of my life, but I always had a built-in source of exercise in the form of practice and team training.  Now it’s up to me create my own time to work out, so I’ve been waking up at 5:20 a.m. to get a run and lift in before work. 

I haven’t had time to miss soccer yet, but I keep up with all of the MLS and international soccer news.  I’ll always stay informed of what my brother and friends are doing, playing in the US and abroad, and my love for soccer will never change.  I’ll eventually try to find a league to start playing in, but right now I’m fine with just being a spectator.

The excitement of this new challenge has far overshadowed the difficulties, and there are so many things that make me happy to work for the Rockies in my new role.  I still get to be part of a team.  Of course this team is a lot different, a lot less banter and it’s not 30 other dudes, but I work closely with a number of other people and we all rely on each other to make the pieces fit.  When you’ve been on teams your whole life, you become accustomed to depending on other people and having them depend on you to make the team successful.  That dependence on teammates is just as important in the office setting.  My athletic background and team-first mentality has made this piece of office life one of my strong points and, I believe, created a good first impression.

One of my favorite parts of my role as a writer for Rockies Magazine is that I get to work with virtually everyone from the front office.  My responsibilities require that I interact with all departments.  I’m interviewing people from the Promotions Department for articles, collaborating with Corporate Sales on magazine advertisements, talking with Ticketing employees for a variety of reasons and learning about Community’s upcoming events so I can write a piece on it.  And getting to know some of the players is cool too; they’re a good group of guys.  I’m all over the building and I like that a lot.

I’ve always been a leader on my soccer teams, and I’m learning to lead in new ways now because I’m the new guy in a new environment.  I’ve been trying to lead by example, being the first one in the office and one of the last to leave, to demonstrate my work ethic and dedication.  Listening and learning is a key part of leadership, and I’ve been doing a lot of that as I continue to learn the ropes.  Eventually, I’ll be able to step up more when I feel more comfortable, but that will come in time.

We’re nearly finished with the April issue of Rockies Magazine, the first that I’ve been heavily involved in, and I’ve really enjoyed writing it.  Writing is what I love to do and that one of the major attractions to this position for me.  We work with excellent freelance writers who do many of the feature stories for us, but my “boss” and I write most of the magazine and plan the content each month.  I’m also one of the people in the organization who handle social media responsibilities, an exciting and ever-changing part of my job.  Each month is a new, exciting project and I’m already seeing that no two days in my job will be the same.  This is the perfect avenue for me to utilize many of the skills that I bring to the table, and I’m already feeling a lot more fulfilled in this role.

Anyways, my wife and I have been spending the weekends relaxing and house-hunting in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, a Denver suburb where we hope to settle down long-term.  Our dogs are happy.  There are exciting times ahead, for sure, and I look forward to what the future holds, both professionally and personally.

A Thoughtful Smart Guy,
Julian

Perspective, Balance & Strength: Julian's Story...



Julian & his baby sister



When presented with the accolades that his baby brother Zarek heaps on him in helping him reach his current summit as a 1st round draft pick in the MLS, Julian is quick to redirect the conversation to Zarek's accomplishments.  His pride in his brother is evident, and he seems generally surprised at the strength of his impact on Zarek's life.  Not surprising from a young man whose introspectiveness is so intense, its tangible.  Not surprising from a young man who has recently decided, after a lifetime of work to gain entrance into the elite world of professional sports that, "despite his great success, he does not have the talent to be the player he aspired to be and that his greatest gifts and talents would be better utilize in another arena."  Julian is owning that realization and packing up and moving to Colorado to start the next phase of his life; challenging himself to put his talents and skills to a new test and setting high goals and pristine standards that I have no doubt he will obtain. We at 'Smart Guy' are inspired by the story of this 'smart family' and hope that you will be too...

Part II: Julian Valentin,

 "the heart of the team"

For the most part, Zarek and I have mostly walked the same path. We both grew up playing under the same coach, and we both played on National Teams and got to travel and have great experiences abroad.  We both played at the residency program in Florida and both went away to college afterwards. Soccer has been a great vehicle for me to experience life, to provide me with experiences that have shaped me and given me a wider view of what is important in life.  

My goal growing up, even while just playing in the backyard, was to become a professional soccer player. Millions of kids in the world have that goal, but just a few get to experience it.  As I got older, even though my goal remained steadfast, I recognized that the life span of the pro soccer player is not very long. Guys like Zach Thornton, guys with such an extensive professional career, are very rare.  I realized in college that you had to have something to do after soccer, that I needed a backup plan.  

I’ve always had a good support system around me to give me perspective on what’s important.  My parents, my stepfather, my coaches, my family and more recently, my wife and agent have provided me with incredible support.  My mother has always written at the end of every card or email, “I'm your number one fan, mom xoxo’.  And although I’m not playing anymore I know that she is still going to be my number one fan and that she loves us and is proud of us no matter what we are doing.  My entire support system has added to my view on the world, on education, on athletics.  My support system helped me to learn that nothing we do is by ourselves.  They instilled in me the importance for me not to just be one dimensional, that I shouldn't want to be defined just by being an athlete. 

Growing up I was always one of the top players, a player that a lot of people depended on. My team won a National Championship when I was at Wake Forrest and I was drafted into the MLS just like I had always dreamed. Yet, in the pro ranks everyone is good and it was difficult to make the adjustment. I struggled for the last few years.  I have always held myself to a high standard and my goal, even in the backyard as a child, was to be a top of the line, marquee player in the MLS. I am proud of myself that I was mature enough and realistic enough to admit that maybe I’m never going to be the player that I always wanted to be.  But know that I’m okay with making this move away from soccer, because I’ve worked so hard.  It has defined me as a player, my work ethic.  I'm not giving up or quitting, I have reached my pinnacle of talent and I’ve realized that there are players who are simply better soccer players.  I have embraced that a large part of what has made me successful on the field are my intangible qualities.  Obviously I have some physical talent, but I've realized that hard work, tenacity, work ethic, and intelligence have all helped me on my journey to a great degree. Those were all great skills in soccer, but those skills will take me even further in the next phase of life. 

A lot of anyone's talents are innate, in you naturally.  But you can add to them and develop them to become the strongest person you can be. Leadership is one of my strongest traits. I know that I have natural leadership abilities, but I’ve also developed those skills with trainings and conferences.  If you recognize your talents you can work towards fine tuning them and using them for maximum impact.

Soccer is the only sport I ever played, but I love all sports and follow all sports.   From a young age I've wanted to be a writer, a journalist.  I was a blogger for my teams as a teenager.  This new position as the  Assistant Editor of Advertising, Marketing and Publications for the Colorodo Rockies is my dream job.  The Rockies publish a monthly magazine and most of the work is done in house by four people, one of which will now include me.  A key component of this position is being the head of social media. I will be in charge of creating ways to connect fans and the organization.  I think it’s a great job for me and encompasses a lot of my talents and skills.  I never expected to walk away from soccer at age 24.  Yet playing professional sports is a nomadic lifestyle and the opportunity for stability and a chance to put down roots called to me.  Soccer in the US is not at a point where you can financially support yourself without being at the top level and being one of the top players.  I admit, I struggled in this decision making process, but know that my decision to move on is best for me and my family long term.  Obviously becoming a family man has played a part in my decision to change careers.  Coming from such a strong family, I knew I wanted to be a family man and that the nomadic lifestyle is hard on a family.  Throughout this process of reflection and decision making my wife was always there to listen, to be my calming force.  What an awesome person she was in the process; as I was questioning if I was going to be able to achieve the goals I'd had since I was a little boy, she was the perfect balance of support and comfort but still allowing me to take ownership of my conclusions and choices. 

With my little sister I talk alot about being balanced. My mom has done a fantastic job of exposing her to so many different things, she is a well-rounded young woman.  Despite Zarek and I's professional soccer success, she knows that an even smaller percentage of woman have the opportunity for professional success in sports.  But it’s so important for her to be an athlete because of the lessons learned-- time management, organization, leadership—wheither you make it professionally or not you will have learned so much being an athlete. 

What do I think makes somebody a smart guy?  I think having a well rounded approach to life, and realizing that you need to be involved in a lot of different things. If you are only involved in one thing you become a one dimensional person. For me, being a smart guy is also about making good choices. Staying away from things that can bring you down and knock you off your track.   Everyone needs a life of balance, to stay focused, and avoiding pitfalls. Leave your comfort zone to expand yourself, even if there are naysayers. Don't worry about what other people say, there will always be people there to support you if you are doing the right thing.

A Thoughtful Smart Guy,

Julian

*Julian is relocating to Colorado and has graciously agreed to check in from time to time and blog updates about his transition!  Stay tuned for part III of the series: A Mother's Story...