Sam Harder

About Me:

I am from Littleton, Colorado and have spent the last 20ish years of my life as an athlete. I played basketball, volleyball, and soccer growing up but soccer was always my true love. I started playing when I was 6. From then on nothing else mattered the same way in my world. I was hooked.

I started as most young girls do, playing for the rec. league in my town and worked my way up the ranks to competitive. Playing Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) for the Colorado Rush. I spent most of my young career developing under some of the best coaches in the country and played with and against some of the most talented players in the world.

From there I went on to play D1 soccer for the University of Denver (DU) where I was a 4 year starter and two-time team captain. My team and I won 2 conference titles and played in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament while sitting at #10 in the nation.

My college career turned into a dream come true but I knew I wasn’t done just yet. I had always dreamt of playing professionally and I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity straight out of my senior season at DU. Unfortunately, I wasn’t drafted but I was given the opportunity to join the Houston Dash of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). After a short time in Houston I moved on to Buffalo, NY and joined the WNY Flash.

After a tough go in the NWSL I took my dreams to the other side of the world. I signed with Ramat HaSharon WFC of Israel and played my most recent season with Lidköpings FK in Sweden.

I have recently decided to hang up my boots for a bit while I pursue a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling at the University of Wyoming! I am so excited to share what I’ve learned over the years and help redefine the future of women’s athletics!

Trust In Yourself

I had many ups and downs throughout my career but one that stands out was being one of two freshmen who made the varsity soccer team at my high school. While I was honored to be selected, I was about to begin one of the most trying times of my young career.

I came in feeling good about myself and feeling like I had done something great, only to realize that I still had a lot to learn and a lot of growing to do. I never had the opportunity to play my usual position because there was a senior who started over me. I struggled with not feeling like I was good enough. The confidence I once had in myself began to slip away.

During my sophomore year of high school I experienced the “sophomore slump” and was playing the worst soccer I had ever played. I wasn’t myself on the field. I was scared to mess up, I was constantly worried about what my coach was thinking and I was terrified to get yelled at. It wasn’t until the team captains talked to the coach about me. They told him to trust me and show some confidence in me. That’s when everything changed and I finally began to play like myself again.

They believed in me enough to talk to him on my behalf. My teams confidence in me helped my coach to have more confidence in me. His confidence in my ability translated into me being able to have more confidence in myself.

I will never forget that time of my career because it taught me that being confident in yourself and your abilities is the only way you will allow yourself to play free. Trust yourself and the work you put in!