“Champions aren’t created in the gyms, champions are made of something that is deep inside them, the resolution, a dream and a vision”, this iconic phrase said by Muhammad Ali fits perfectly for many athletes, for athletes widely known in the world and for many athletes who are currently building a legacy and are synonyms of effort, hard-work and perseverance, one of them is Julien Simon.
Simon, born in Tacoma, has always excelled as a skillful athlete since he was a child. With his parents and older brothers as role models, Simon got the passion about sports, something that is deep inside in his genes, “Sports has always been a part of my life, it was something I grew up on with two older brothers who also participated in sports”, said Julien. Now, with 18 years old, Julien is shining more than ever as part of the USC Football Team.
“Football was something I had a big love for but I actually started with basketball as my first sport” stated Julien. Nowadays as a professional football player, he plays Linebacker, who are responsible for communicating the play call, stopping the run as well as playing the pass and it requires players to be both big and athletic. As a result, Julien has to work even harder for such a physically demanding position in the team, he has 2 training sessions a day and trains about 5 days a week for long periods of time, additionally with meetings and walkthroughs during the week, it is a full time job, but that is not enough for Julian, when he is not training at the USC, he works with his trainer back home in Washington, for speed training “I work in my speed because my strength is physicality at this point and I need to get faster so that’s mainly what I work on,” said Simon.
Simon’s team is one of the most important football teams in the US with a rich history of legendary players like Troy Polalamu, Reggie Bush, Junior Seau, etc. USC traditional rivals are UCLA and Notre Dame, all 3 teams have a plentiful tradition of winning football which makes the rivalries intriguing and interesting not only to their fans, but to neutral fans of college Football as well. As a relevant starting point, the USC football team brings Simon a good opportunity to join to the big leagues “Once I graduate, I will hope to fulfill my dreams of becoming a professional football player in the NFL,” said Simon as he told us his plans for the future and also, he thinking beyond his sportive career and has other plans to major in communication and entrepreneurship.
When we asked him for any advice for kids who want to follow his steps he responded “My advice would be actually not to follow my steps, just view my path but create your own, do what you love but the most important part is to be better on it and you will succeed in life”. For sure, such inspiring words from an athlete with a bright future ahead, we will hear more about Julien Simon.
