#32 - Chris Nystrom

I started playing when I was 4. My neighbor was my first coach. I still occasionally play with his son. I played defense most of my life. I've always been pretty fast, but I got a lot better when I learned to control the speed and ball together. Be humble and play within your abilities. Don't try to do things that others do as you're more likely to lose the ball and put your team in a bad spot. The words I keep coming back to are pride and honor. I never thought anything like this would be possible, yet here I am. I've always wanted to make my kids proud, but wearing the US colors brings a whole different level of pride and I'm humbled and honored to be able to do so. We are no longer individuals out to play the sport we love. We are now a team that has a chance to represent a nation on a much bigger scale and the potential to be successful on a level that has not been shown in USMNT soccer. It's time to focus and train harder than ever to make our nation proud.  Go into every training session as if it's a game. Focus on what I can bring to the table, how to improve, and how I can make the team better. I must understand my role and then find ways to help bring others up so we're all on the same page and coalescing as a team. Legacy means that it's not just about me, the team this year, or the program in its current state; it's about creating a lasting program that establishes itself among the elite and we continue to support and build upon it year after year.