Austin Football Club’s starting keeper, Brad Stuver, came to speak to the McCallum girls soccer program after school on Tuesday after the creator of the Austin FC logo and girls soccer parent Marty Butler reached out to him. 

“Brad is an amazing keeper but more, he is an amazing role model and leader,” Butler said.

Stuver came to speak about the different soccer experiences that led him to where he is today. His soccer career started when he was just 4 years old and continued throughout elementary and middle school. Stuver then attended Twinsburg High School, which is in the same district as Willoughby High School, where the varsity head coach, Jason Rich, attended. 

Rich made sure to mention this fact when introducing Stuver. 

“Just being an Austin FC fan and reading [Stuver’s] bio, it was funny because we talked a little bit, and we had some connections from the Ohio soccer scene,” Rich said. “We played for the same club at one point, so we had a lot of the same coaches. I did my post-bachelorette teacher certification at Cleveland State too, and so we both also went to the same college for a little bit.”

After hearing his introduction, Stuver made sure to point out that his high school, Twinsburg, beat Willoughby pretty badly whenever he was there. 

Stuver then went to Cleveland State where he became the starting keeper at the end of his freshman year and remained the starting keeper for the rest of the three years. Coming out of college, he was selected by the Montreal Impact, but after attending their preseason, he wasn’t asked back. He was then selected by Columbus Crew but didn’t get much playing time and instead went to play in the USL pro league with the Dayton Dutch Lions and Wilmington Hammerheads FC. Beginning at the start of the 2015 season, he was promoted back to the top team as the backup keeper. 

Stuver spent a total of 10 years as a backup keeper for whatever club he was traded to or sent on loan. This resilience that he showed at this point in his career is one of Rich’s favorite parts of his speech.

“His story of being a reserve player for 10 years in the league for Columbus Crew and then for Montreal and just being a journeyman and not ever knowing if you’re going to get your chance is something special,” Rich said. 

On Dec 28, 2020, Austin FC acquired Stuver as the starting keeper for its first inaugural season. After performing well that first season, Stuver was cemented as head coach Josh Wolff’s top choice for goalkeeper. 

“I honestly think he is one of the best goalkeepers in the MLS,” Rich said. “His shot-stopping is outstanding, and he’s really good with his feet, which I think comes from his days of playing as a midfielder.”

After giving his brief background of his soccer career, Stuver opened the floor to questions. Some questions included how he handles the work, life and soccer balance, whether he has any superstitions before the game, what he is looking forward to this season, what he eats before a game, and others. 

“I really respected that he stood there as long as he did and answered everyone’s questions until the questions ran out, and the fact that he didn’t have a time limit on it,” Rich said. “He put a lot of thought into his answers.”

Freshman JVA soccer player Ava Bruns thought it was really nice that the teams were able to ask questions because they had so many different things to ask. 

“It was really relaxed, and it felt super friendly and welcoming no matter what level of soccer you’re on,” Burns said. “Overall a great opportunity and experience.”

Burns’ favorite piece of advice from Stuver was that if something isn’t working out for you, you have the best knowledge of what is good for you, and you have to trust yourself.

“This could translate to so many things and really touched our group because we are all in very different situations and it’s hard to be the one to advocate for yourself,” she said. “He really showed us how many different paths people can take and still end up at the same destination.”

Varsity captain junior Sienna Gunning also thought that having Stuver come and speak was very beneficial to her and the whole team. 

“I think it was a very cool and fun thing that a professional soccer player came to our school, got to talk to our team and answer our questions,” Gunning said. “He was very thoughtful with his answers to our questions and gave us good and helpful answers back. I believe many people can listen to and use his soccer and life advice.”

Freshman varsity player Shiloh Hendrickse was impressed by Stuver’s approachability and the story of his life and career.

“His struggle in the pursuit of his dreams reminded me that progress isn’t linear, and his perseverance caused me to reflect on my own goals,” Hendrickse said. “His persistence reminded me that success doesn’t come overnight and that any goal that I may have in soccer or other field of interest aren’t unattainable.” 

Junior varsity coach Catherine O’Neal asked Stuver what’s one thing that people assumed about him being a professional soccer player, and Stuver replied by saying that he’s rich and famous, which he immediately dismissed. Hendrickse noticed how it’s easy to look at pro footballers or any accomplished person and view them as an instant success when in reality, that’s not the case. 

“[Stuver] took 10 years to become an ‘overnight success’ and his realness really encouraged me to keep after my goals,” Hendrickse said.

Hendrickse was able to take some of Stuver’s advice and apply it not only to the soccer aspect of her life but also all the other parts.

“My favorite piece of general advice he gave was to gain as much knowledge as possible so people can’t manipulate you,” she said. “And specific to soccer, I really liked what he said about dealing with coaches that have a different playing style. He said to always know your worth and understand that if your skills and style don’t match the coach’s, it doesn’t change your worth in any capacity nor does it mean you’re a bad player.”

Stuver’s speech didn’t only stick out to the players but also to the coaches as well. Rich found many parts interesting such as him talking about how he puts on his left sock on his right foot and vice versa, his eating habits of having a sausage and cheese burrito the morning of game days followed by a smoothie from JuiceLand and his big meal consisting of carbs three to four hours before the game and how he balances soccer and his daily life.

“I really liked that people asked him about his eating habits and being like oh that’s a normal thing,” Rich said. “He’s a professional athlete, and he still needs to fuel himself and eat carbs. I think it was important to hear those everyday things because all players are different, but it’s important to stress those commonalities.”

Both Rich and Butler worked together to make Stuver’s meeting possible, and they were very pleased with how everything turned out.

“Everyone needs to meet people who are excellent at what they do,” Butler said. “Brad  is an amazing keeper but more, he is an amazing model and leader.” 

Butler made sure to highlight all the charity and nonprofit work that Stuver and his wife Ashley have done. The Stuvers started their own nonprofit called The Brad & Ashley Stuver Foundation which focuses on social equity, voting rights advocacy, reproductive rights, animal rights and welfare among other things. All of his charitable work is why Stuver was nominated for the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award in 2022 and recognized as a Legend of the Year by the 4ATX Foundation. 

“He uses his notoriety to give back and lift up those who need help,” Butler said. “He walks the walk.”

Along with working within his foundation, Stuver also feels a responsibility to give back to the community in more ways than one because it will impact the community not only immediately but also future generations. 

“I think Austin FC being the first professional soccer team in the city, we have a responsibility to be out in the community, meeting everyone there and growing the game of soccer here,” Stuver said. “I think that it’s good for all athletes to connect with the local community just by being accessible and being role models whether we know it or not, pro athletes are people in a community.”

Reflecting on his speech, Stuver hopes that people realize that you don’t have to go through life alone.

“It’s really important to build up your support system and who you choose to be around you in your circle is also really important,” he said. “It’s OK to not have everything sorted out.”

By having people like Stuver speak to the girls soccer program, Rich hopes to motivate the team in the upcoming season and show the importance of putting in the hard work.

“We just want people to see what’s possible through sports and playing,” Rich said. “A message that he gave us was to always try our best and always work our hardest. Those are all things we hope that we can internalize and use while playing. When it’s a tough game we can bounce back or when things go our way, it’s because we put in the work.”