Griffin Gustafson grew up playing soccer, from the minute he touched the field he dreamt of going pro. As he grew he began to play more competitively and develop a true love for the sport. Griffin’s journey recently reached another point as he committed to play soccer at the University of California, Berkeley (Cal).
Gustafson’s skill on the field is advanced, but he believes there is always room for improvement. He can always be found practicing on his own, working to develop his skills. This hard work pays off as he continuously impresses viewers with his advanced skill set.
“He might be the most technical player in the league,” Tam soccer coach Shane Kennedy said.
Griffin really values being a good teammate. If a team doesn’t play together then they can’t win. He’s continuously working to find ways to bring the team together and make players feel as comfortable as possible. “I just think he’s a really good leader, he leads by example and works extremely hard,” said coach Shane Kennedy.
When Gustafson entered high school, his focus shifted from setting himself up to go pro, to finding a way to play soccer in college. He needed to find ways to get his name into college coaches’ minds. There are a few ways to do this but it’s hard to do them all so he focused on one. “Starting freshman year I sent out probably 30 to 40 emails to coaches of schools I was interested in just to get me in their system,” Gustafson said.
As the recruiting process continued, his list of potential schools narrowed. Different college coaches asked to see him play and wanted him to come to camps at their schools. Gustafson attended many camps, especially at Cal, where he will be attending.
“After the camps and playing well, their coach talked to me and said ‘We like you and want to see you play a little more with your club,” Gustafson said.
After Cal’s coach came to watch him play, he got the opportunity he had been dreaming of.
“I just got called randomly on a Friday, the coach asked me how I was and then offered me a spot on the team, which was pretty crazy,” Gustafson said with a smile.
Cal has been a part of Gustafson’s family for generations and he wanted to continue that.
“When I got asked to play I went upstairs and told my dad I could go to Cal if I want to and he just started crying, which was sick,” Gustafson said with joy as he reminisced on the memorable moment.
Gustafson has one more season to go at Tam before moving on to college where he will be a student athlete at Cal. He hopes to not only have a successful athletic career at Cal, but also excel academically so he has opportunities in the future. If everything goes right, he just might get the opportunity to fulfill his original dream of playing professional soccer.