From Soccer โDreams to theโ Fairway: One Woman’s Unexpected Path After a Team’s Collapse
Damyang, Southโ Korea – Kim Soo-yeon, 28, never envisioned โคherself as a caddy. Once a promising โsoccerโข player with national team aspirations, her journey took an unforeseen โขturn after a series ofโ devastating setbacks โderailed herโ athletic career. Today, she earns aโฃ agreeable living guiding golfers, a pathโ she actively resisted considering even after hanging up her cleats.
“I heard a lot of talk about retirement and becoming a caddy,” Soo-yeon โฃshared in a recent interview at a โcafe in Damyang, Jeollanam-do province.โฃ “Around 90% of the โplayers I โฃknewโฃ ended up caddying. But I didn’t wantโข to do it, even if I left soccer.”
Soo-yeon’s story is aโ poignant illustration of the fragility of dreams and โthe challenging realities faced by young athletesโค when circumstances beyond their control intervene.
A Promisingโฃ Career Cut โฃShort
Her soccer journey began with promise. After excelling in middleโ and high school, Soo-yeon joined the football department โat Yeoju โuniversity inโ 2015. Theโ team, led by โขa coach she connected with, was poised for success, bolstered by a talented incoming class of freshmen.A championship run in the W. League (WK League) seemedโข within reach.
However, that potential evaporated in December โฃ2015. A sudden declaration – the director had resigned due to a conflict with โthe school administration over โbudget allocationโ – sent shockwaves through the team. Parents arrived at the dormitory, pulling theirโ children out as the program teetered on the brink.”I didn’t even know the director โhad quit untilโฃ then,” Soo-yeonโ recalled. Theโฃ fallout was swift and brutal.โค With no replacement director โคappointed,the university dismantled the women’s football department inโ early 2016,leaving many players,including Soo-yeon,scrambling for alternatives.
While Soo-yeon managed to transferโ to Widuk University, where aโข women’s soccer team stillโ existed, her โchallenges were far from over. She was โimmediately asked to switch positions from her preferred attacking role toโ central defense, a move she resisted.
“I wasโ taller, so โthey put me in โฃcentral โdefense. But I didn’t really defend,” she explained, highlighting the mismatch between โขher skills and the team’s needs. This wasn’t theโฃ first time her position had โbeen forcibly changed; a similar situation occured in middle school when โshe was pressuredโ toโ become a goalkeeper simply because ofโค her height.
Lostโ Opportunities and Mounting Disappointments
After regaining โher striker position in high school, Soo-yeon’s hopes were again dashed with the dismantling โขof the Yeoju team. The transfer to โWidukโ University also meant losing aโ crucial prospect โคto beโ drafted into the WK League. Players entering university through the Women’s โขFootball Federation areโฃ eligible โฃfor the draft after two seasons, but Soo-yeon’s previous year at Yeoju meant she โขhad only one remaining yearโฃ of eligibility.
However, her coach inexplicably delayed submitting her for the draft, claiming โshe needed another year โขof โpreparation, while allegedly favoring another player. Thisโ decision effectively eliminated โฃSoo-yeon’s chance at a โขprofessional career.
Then came โคthe final blow: a career-ending knee injury. “I โคjust heard that I was just ruined. Iโ thought I should โquit,”
