Check out the whole conversation from our 1v1 with Atlanta United's central midfielder Will Reilly at the link, here's a few sections from our conversation:
Jason: What does it feel like to be back?
Will: It's really good to be back here specifically at the Training Ground. A lot of stuff, some stuff still the same, but it feels like a homecoming in many ways. Being back in the city, being back literally at home with my parents for the time being is... it's definitely a change, but it's been very pleasant.
Jason: What do you think your time at Stanford helped you with the most? Because you were right there when you left... a player that all of us were kind of thinking, maybe Homegrown now, maybe college, maybe a year in college, whatever. What did your time there playing so many games at such a high level help you with the most that you're feeling now?
Will: Definitely the competitiveness, learning how to compete, learning how to win, learning how to be a leader on the field, to communicate, to solve problems, and then obviously growing physically and thinking about the game sort of in a different way. It's exposed me to a type of soccer that I hadn't played before here necessarily.
Learning how to adapt to different styles and then also learning how to be really intentional about the process of getting better. I think that's a huge thing in the program at Stanford and something that I learned a ton about there.
Jason: Central midfield is a crowded space in this roster right now. You've got two guys who have gotten national team caps fairly recently. You've got Mateusz Klich, who's got a ton for Poland in his career. Tristan Muyamba in that group as well. How much does it help you to get pushed every single day in training by such a talented group?
Will: Massively. That's probably been my favorite part about being back, the caliber of the players, specifically the midfielders. Like you said, Klicky, Tristan, Alexey, these guys are like top, top on the ball. Watching them every day, playing against them, then going back and watching them in training, trying to learn what they're doing and how I can work towards being able to do that myself. It's been really helpful.
Listen to the whole conversation below:
📷: Sofia Cupertino