But Race is a man of ambition, and AC Gozzano wasn’t where he wanted to be. "As much as | loved playing at Gozzano, | knew | could play at a higher level. So | didn’t re-sign with them. | came home, and waited on trial opportunities. But nothing came. So | went and signed up for college, and here | am.”

Max Williams

Max made the most of his time playing at the Genova International School of Soccer. Even though he left early, the director of the camp offered him a spot at next year's camp. However, upon returning to the camp, Max was greeted with a pleasant surprise. “They offered me a spot the following year. But this time, | was 17, and they offered mea spot in an U19 squad in Asiago, Italy. We traveled and played against professional teams in Italy, like Serie A teams. | always started when we played. | started over the guys that were older than me.”

But with the upgrade in team status came an upgrade in expectation and training. “We trained hard. If you messed up, they would yell at you. It was ruthless. Making it there in the first place is hard, but once you get there, you have to stand out amongst all the people there competing to be noticed. It was a very competitive environment. If you don't play well, if you mess up, if you don't pass, a lot of players are going to hate on you. You get pushed around and bullied, and it wasn't for everyone. You had to really be strong mentally. You had to be good, and humble. If you go there thinking that you're better than everyone, and you don't make an effort to connect with people, you aren't going to last. It's a team game.”

After his spell in Italy, Max was given the chance to go to Spain, much like his brother Race. “After the Asiago tour, my agent took me to Spain. | was supposed to try out for Hercules FC, and try to make their youth team. But | ended up in a couple different teams instead.”

From there, Max's tale takes a bit of a tailspin. “Things weren't going so well, so | left. | went back to Italy, and tried out for an Italian soccer team. | killed it, and they all wanted me to sign with them, but my agent took me to Milan. He took me to Inter Milan, to play for their youth team, but the timing was off, and Inter weren't taking trials anymore. | tried out for another team, and they wanted me to sign. But there was some paperwork that needed to be done, and it took too long to get it done. | needed to head back to school, and they still weren't done processing stuff, so | just went home.”

And just like that, that was it. With his spells in Europe done, anda future looming ahead of him, Max had a few choices. He chose to go back to his roots, and followed in his brother's footsteps. Max enrolled to Douglas College, and was once again reunited with his brother.

Reflections

When looking upon their past, both Williams brothers shared a grin. One of happiness, but also maturity. | asked them to really reflect on their experience, and talk about the biggest lessons they learned over in Europe. Race was the faster of the two to answer, having given it plenty of thought already.

“The whole experience was life changing. | was away from home for 8 months, living in Italy, playing soccer for a living. | had my food paid for, | was making money, and there was always a big crowd that came out to watch us. It was crazy. But if you want to make it, it has to be your life. You can’t think about anything else. If you do that, and you’re disciplined, you'll have a good chance. You have to start off young, too. You're going to have a lot of obstacles in your way, and a lot of people trying to screw you over, but you just have to overcome that all.”

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Max took a little more time contemplating his answer before giving one that oddly echoed his brother's. (The interviews were done separately, so their answers wouldn't affect each other.) “Going over \ to Europe helped me realize how good you really need to be. It helped me understand the work ethic required, the amount of love and passion you have to have for the game. If you want to make it, you have to really want it. Playing against professional teams and players helped me realize how smart you have to be to make it.”

Both also had their fair share of fond memories. When asked to share them, they both had an interesting response. Max's was more soccer-inspired, highlighting his favourite play.

“| had a give-and-go with one of my teammates. | passed it to him, he sent it wide, and | blasted a shot from 18 yards out. It went top corner, and it made that super sick swishing sound that the pro nets make, and at the moment, | just felt like a pro.”

Race had the more interesting answer of the two. “| thought the coolest thing about all of this was that | was on transfermarkt.com. A lot of agent and scouts were using the website, and players like Messi and Ronaldo were on the same site. While | was playing with the team, | wasn’t worth anything. But after my first season with the team, | went up 10,000 euros, which was really cool to me.”

| recently check the website, out of curiosity of course, and found that Race was actually worth a lot more than he originally thought. Five times more to be precise. You can find his profile here: www.transfermarkt.com/race-williams/profil/spieler/397397.

Sacrifice

While learning about these two's dreams and amazing tales, it was easy to forget how much they gave up to make it happen. It took a conversation with their father, Brady Williams, to really bring it back into perspective.

Most parents would have a hard time letting their children go overseas to pursue their dreams. For Brady, it was something he was prepared to do since he began training them.

“| believe | had prepared them and it was their dream, so it was important that they attempt it on their own. | was, of course, worried, but | believed in them. | gave them mostly moral support, though. | wanted them to focus on leadership and more so on friendships and having fun.”

The main concern for the head of the Williams family was his sons’ mental and physical health. “Eating properly and staying focused was a big concern. Not speaking the language was also a concern but if a team wants you bad enough they will find a way to communicate.”

Like any dream, it cost the Williams family a fair sum. But according to the senior Williams, it was actually pretty cost efficient. “It really didn’t cost us that much, because they were scouted, and many of the expenses were picked up by the clubs. We usually covered flights and some food. It was actually more expensive having them play here and train in the Whitecaps program.”

Although his children have now returned home, Brady Williams remains certain that his children will find success, no matter what venture they embark in.

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