Written By: Erik Sampson

Lionel Messi once said, ''You can overcome anything, if, and only if, you love something enough." Twenty-one year-old Special Olympics soccer phenom Radley Theolien exemplifies this quote every day. How did Radley Theolien become a soccer phoenam? His road to stardom started at the age of six, when he was taught by his grandfather. In order to get better at the sport, he also learned how to play by attending a soccer camp and watching videos on YouTube of his favorite players and teams.

The best part of playing soccer for Radley is his ability to play the sport he loves. What does he consider to be his biggest accomplishment thus far? Scoring his first goal of his career while playing in a game. He also enjoys getting to know different people on and off the field. He was even able to attend the Major League Soccer (MLS) All Star Game in Minnesota last summer. While at the game, he had the chance to meet and interview some of the players.

When Radley is done playing soccer, he would like to become a sports broadcaster. Jalen Rose of ESPN is someone who inspired him to become a sports broadcaster. "If he can do it, I can too," said Radley.

The most important thing Radley would like his athletes and players to get out of playing for him as a coach is, ''Building a bond and comradery with their teammates." This is an important concept in the game. Radley has a bright future ahead of him on and off the soccer field.

‍The mission of Special Olympics MA Athlete Leadership is to empower athletes to develop communication skills and utilize their voices to assume meaningful leadership roles. As members of the Content Squad, athlete leaders were tasked with writing feature stories on each other. They were able to generate interview questions, sit down with their partner, add or alter their questions, and then put together a short form feature story.

‍If you are interested in learning more about athlete leadership, click here.