“My earliest childhood memories are of me getting my first soccer ball, I’ve been playing my entire life,” Stephen Edds said.
Like many other athletes, Edds got his start in sports very young, at around age three. Growing up, Edds continued to play soccer and his passion for the sport only grew with time.
Now, Edds is captain of the Samford Men’s Club Soccer team where he gets to bring leadership into the game he loves so dearly.
“Soccer was the one that really stuck with me, I was happy to work hard at it,” Edds said.
Edds drew inspiration from different teams and professional players to help mold his style of play. However, one specific team and player left the biggest impression on him: Manchester United and Lionel Messi.
“I’ve watched so many of their games and Messi’s my favorite player. Watching guys like them and trying to emulate that on my own has been helpful to my development,” Edds said.
Aside from the soccer stars of the world, Edds also credits his skill to his teammates on the club team.
“At the end of the day, you’re your own player but having friends to push each other and build off of help us and let us have fun with it,” Edds said.
With all this love for soccer, it would seem as if Edds always knew he wanted to play in college. However, this decision came much later in life.
“It wasn’t until mid-high school that I really wanted to work my tail off and I knew I could cut it at the next level,” Edds said.
It was around the same time this realization came that Edds started getting recruited. He was looking deeper into an offer from Regent University but was also thinking about his career.
Edds is a Finance major, and this played a key role in deciding where he’d spend the next four years studying. After considering this fact more, Edds ultimately found a home in Samford.
“I had a cousin that went to Samford, so I came and toured and just fell in love with Brock (School of Business). But in my head soccer was something I worked so long and hard for, and I loved it to death. When I saw there was a club team, I thought that this was my chance to keep on playing the sport I love,” Edds said.
As a freshman, Edds joined the Men’s Club Soccer team, but it wasn’t all he thought it’d be. The first two years were a struggle when it came to team atmosphere and organization. Edds saw this unmet need and wanted to combine his leadership skills with his athletic ability.
“I knew it had the potential to be really great, but it had to have leadership that was going to put in the time and effort and really sacrifice for it,” Edds said.
That’s exactly what Edds did. He had some leadership experience with church volunteering, student government roles and sports captain positions and he used this to the best of his ability.
“It was a lot of figuring out from scratch and a lot of trial and error, but we have the most talented roster this year that I’ve ever seen. We have a really great team, and I feel really good looking at the rest of the season,” Edds said.
Being captain has come with many responsibilities. Edds has assembled a team of staff to help him handle the things he used to oversee on his own.
“I have a guy who does scheduling, I’m on uniforms and we have someone else working on a team store. They’ve really helped shoulder the weight of this role,” Edds said.
Additionally, the team has received a new coach, Divinity School Professor Josh Chatraw, to run practices and add to the structure of the team.
“He played Division 1 and really knows what he’s talking about. It’s been really beneficial for the guys,” Edds said.
Post-grad, Edds hopes to work for Nike out of Oregon, combining his major and athletic dreams.
“It brings together my love for sports and also business and finance. I want to keep playing until the body says I can’t,” Edds said.
Follow the Men’s Club Soccer team @samfordmenssoccer to keep up with game schedules for the fall and spring.
Sports Editor
