Brian Hale Gets the Call
Brittany Eads
(310) 804-7245
britteads@gmail.com
Brian Hale
Provo, Utah (May 4, 2009) — It was nearly midnight, but Brian Hale didn’t mind—he got the call he was waiting for.
The BYU freshman goalkeeper found out he’d made the team the very last night of tryouts, when the final cuts were announced late at night.
“I kept trying to think positively–that if I didn’t make the team at least I’d have school to think about. But I was anxious–I really, really wanted to get it,” Hale laughs.
Despite the late hour, the Alpine, Utah native had another call to make, to perhaps his biggest fan. After learning that he had made the cut, he immediately called his mother to tell her the good news.
“She was really excited for me,” he recalls. “We didn’t know if I was going to make it, even after attending the team’s summer training camps. I couldn’t stop saying how grateful I was they kept me.”
Hale has been playing soccer since age four, participating on club teams throughout his youth and into high school. With a dream to ultimately go pro someday, he felt there was no place better to reach his goal than BYU, which, with its membership in the Premier Development League (PDL), has a soccer team that competes with several semi-professional teams on a regular basis.
“BYU provides a good competitive level that will put me at the point where I could go farther if I want to,” he states. “I don’t doubt that if I work hard enough, it will provide a good stepping stone to going pro.”
But the soccer news was only one part of the exiting year for the teenager as he received a call of another type—to serve as a missionary for the LDS Church in Berlin, German.
Hale believes that his athletic and spiritual goals have merged perfectly at BYU.
“I am so fortunate to be able to do both soccer and the mission,” Hale exclaims. “Other coaches just say, ‘We’ll talk when you get back’ and write you off. It’s nice to be able to keep playing and improving my skills while getting ready for my mission.”
Regarding the Cougar team, he adds, “The guys here are all on the same page. We can go to work and play hard on the field, but off the field all the players know it’s just a game and have the right priorities: the gospel, being involved. It impresses me, and I’m excited to be a part of it.”
Hale looks forward to rejoining to the team after returning from Germany, and keeps his future with the sport in mind as well.
“I can see myself staying here to play professional soccer,” Hale says. “Maybe I’ll try going overseas. We’ll have to wait and see.”
