Bryson Pope – Overcoming an Inconvenient Beginning
Brittany Eads
(310) 804-7245
britteads@gmail.com
Bryson Pope
Provo, Utah (April 28, 2009) — It’s hard to play competitive soccer well when your shorts are down around your knees.
Such was the unfortunate debut of Bryson Pope as he suited up for his first varsity game for Springville (Utah) High.
“It was my first high school game and I was extremely anxious to do well,” the current BYU freshman recalls. “On one of the very first plays of the game this kid on the other team reached over and pantsed me. It was so embarrassing.”
Fortunately, things have picked up for Pope, who would go on to be the leading scorer and assister at Springville and serve as captain on several Utah Triple AAA advanced league teams.
Wardrobe malfunctions aside, it wasn’t all fun and games for the Utah native, who broke his collar bone three times within a three month span last year.
“It was the worst thing that could have happened at the time,” Pope laments. “It was when things were really starting to pick up for me.”
Luckily for the Cougars, Pope fully healed and was one of the few freshman players to make the team solely based upon his performance at tryouts.
He vividly remembers the moment when he heard the news he’d be wearing Cougar colors.
“The night I found out I’d made the team I was absolutely overjoyed,” he exclaims. “Everyone knows that we are privileged to be here so we play twice as hard. The guys on the team are here to play – it’s been a pleasant surprise.”
What wasn’t a surprise was that Pope picked the Cougars, primarily because of the opportunity to serve a two-year church mission.
“I knew that a mission would not kill my chances of being on the team,” Pope notes. “As a senior in high school you always pretend like you’re considering other schools and keeping options open, but for this reason I had pretty much decided on BYU.”
Today, he’s achieved the dream of playing for BYU, and in May will realize another, when he sets off as a missionary in Hong Kong.
“Making it to this level is every player’s dream,” the athlete explains. “Very few players are fortunate enough to experience this, and—while I’m here and when I get back—I’m certainly not taking it for granted.”
