Sporting Jax Pro Soccer Players - Georgia Brown and Kieran Sadlier
Brian Harbin: Hello, this is Brian Harbin. Welcome to today's episode of the Grit.org podcast. Today we're sitting down with two professional soccer players from Sporting JAX. I want to introduce you to Georgia Brown — she's from Swindon, England, playing for the women's team — and Kieran Sadlier, from London, England. Welcome, you guys, to the show.
Georgia Brown: Thank you for having us.
Kieran Sadlier: Thank you.
Brian Harbin: A little about our guests. Georgia plays defender. She played her first year at Hofstra University in New York, three years at the University of South Florida in Tampa, and is now going into her first season here at Sporting JAX. You're about 80% through your season right now. Kieran plays midfielder and wing-back and is in his 13th season as a professional. You just had your second game for Sporting JAX yesterday, with your third coming up. Before we jump into our first question, a shout-out to today's sponsor, Escrow.com. With over $7 billion in protected transactions, Escrow.com is the world's most secure online payment method — from automobiles to electronics to business sales and more. Visit Escrow.com to learn how you can achieve trust, security, and certainty with every transaction.
Brian Harbin: We like to start from the beginning — growing up in your hometown. Any early principles or people who were especially impactful in shaping who you are today?
Georgia Brown: My family, obviously, but mainly my brother — he's five years older than me. Everything he did, I wanted to do better. I copied every single thing: he played football, cricket, the clarinet, so I made sure to do all of them, just to a higher standard. That really drove me. Now I've got my own motivations, but back then it was just to beat my brother.
Brian Harbin: And you're one of two kids, always looking up to your big brother. Was football your first sport, or did you play others too?
Georgia Brown: Football was definitely my first, because my brother was in the pro academy at Swindon. He practiced every day and I'd get dragged along. He also played cricket — and honestly, I was probably better at cricket when I was younger. If you'd asked 12-year-old me, I'd have wanted to be a professional cricketer. But football was more interesting; I had too much energy to stand in the field for cricket.
Brian Harbin: How about you, Kieran — growing up in London, who was impactful for you?
Kieran Sadlier: My mum and dad, but mainly my dad, since he knew more about football. He's probably my biggest fan, but also my biggest critic. He wouldn't tell me I'd played well when I hadn't — he'd give me the truth. When I was younger I didn't appreciate that, but as you get older and start taking criticism, bad performances, bad form, you realize it was just preparing you for all that. I grew up in loads of different places — we moved a lot, partly for jobs and partly for my football. Mostly in and around London, and also Cambridge, about an hour north. That's where I grew up, and my dad is probably my most influential person.
Brian Harbin: There has to be a point where loving the sport intersects with actually being good at it. Kieran, when was that moment for you — a certain game, or a coach who said something?
Kieran Sadlier: You kind of just fall into it. I played from about six or seven — Sunday League back home, which is just for your local team, for fun. Then you play summer tournaments with scouts watching. First I went to Millwall and Charlton. When we moved to Cambridge, I joined Cambridge United until I was 11. That's when it took an upturn — the academy, or Centre of Excellence as it was called then, shut down for financial reasons, so my team, which was really good at 10 or 11, disbanded to clubs around the country. A couple of us went to West Ham, which is where my main childhood memories of playing are. I spent 10 years there in the academy, living around East London. There was never much pressure at that age. It was just: do you enjoy it? This team wants to sign you or take a look — so if you enjoy it, go for it and see where it goes. I'm 31 now and still playing.
Brian Harbin: Has it always been football, or did you do other sports in the off-season?
Kieran Sadlier: Football was always the main profession and passion. In school I was good at athletics — long-distance and cross-country — but it was never my passion; I just happened to be good at it. I grew up playing golf and tennis too, but nothing beats football for me.
Brian Harbin: I've heard a stat that a soccer player runs about eight miles in a game. Is that accurate?
Kieran Sadlier: Position-based, yeah. We measure in kilometres, but with the warm-up included it's about eight miles.
Georgia Brown: Ours is in kilometres too. With the warm-up it's about 14 km for me; in a game, 11 or 12. I'm a winger, so I'm moving a lot. That's just the way the game is now — everyone's moving a lot. That's why you have to come back fit for pre-season, because you run more than anything in a game.
Brian Harbin: And a good percentage of that is sprinting, which adds another element. Georgia, where was that intersection for you — enjoying the sport plus realizing you could play at the next level?
Georgia Brown: It's different in women's football. When I was younger there were opportunities, but not many where you could properly play, earn a good salary, and live off it. So it was always something I just enjoyed. My parents put a big focus on academics too, so at 16–18, finishing high school in England, I was pretty set on medical school. I loved football, but it wasn't the be-all and end-all. That's when I considered America — I could continue studying and see how far I could go in football. At 18 in England, it felt like you either go into the pro game or get lost, and I wasn't quite ready for that then. So I came to America to see how far I could get in college. I worked my ass off — sorry — and always had medical school in the back of my mind. Then I really kicked on in my junior and senior year, and here I am.
Brian Harbin: Where have you seen the most progression in your game — and for a serious 11- or 12-year-old, where does the best roadmap lie? Competitive leagues, good coaching, a good team?
Kieran Sadlier: Believe it or not, some professional footballers don't actually enjoy football — they do it as a job because they're good at it, the way people in any industry sometimes don't love their work. I've played with footballers like that; once they leave the training ground, they don't watch or talk about football. For me it was easier because football was my main hobby as a kid, so going home to watch it, learn about it, and take tips from other pros came naturally. On progression — there was no real pressure in the academy until about 16, when it became about playing for three points on the weekend and there was a table. Before that we just played a fixture list all year, not for points — to learn and develop. For any 11- or 12-year-old now, if you enjoy it, that's the main thing: nine times out of ten you'll play better when you enjoy it. Just learn the basics — sometimes the basic things are the most valuable things to learn.
Brian Harbin: I love that. What about you, Georgia?
Georgia Brown: I'd piggyback on that, especially watching the game — that's key. Football was always on the TV in my family, but I didn't really watch it until about 15. That's when I started analyzing what the player in my position was doing. You learn so much that way. I actually watch more men's football than women's, but the game's grown so much now that girls can grow up watching women's football too. I had one very influential coach who taught me to see the game differently — the flow of it, from a different perspective. Like Kieran says, if you enjoy what you're doing, hands down you play better. So the main thing is: enjoy yourself.
Brian Harbin: Before we move on — what was that different perspective your coach shared?
Georgia Brown: The different options you see on the ball — he opened my eyes. Maybe I was a bit behind, because I'd grown up playing grassroots football and had never been in an academy. Almost by chance I was getting spotted by national teams through county teams — like state teams here, a very different setup. Being exposed to those environments, and my coach showing me how the game can be played — that you can express yourself, that it doesn't have to be robotic — it's about what you see and how you play to your strengths. Not everyone plays the same, and that matters because different coaches look for different things.
Brian Harbin: A player who can see the game from a coach's perspective is inevitably going to get better. You've both played a long time. Has there been a point where things got really tough — where you even thought about quitting, or felt like you'd hit a wall? How did you push through?
Kieran Sadlier: I thought about quitting probably every year — not because I dislike football, and nothing to do with being good at it. Football, like any sport or job, has so many ups and downs — far more downs than ups in professional sport. It's cliché, but when you do win and succeed, it makes it all worth it. Going into the professional side, you've got to be thick-skinned, because there'll be injuries, times you're not selected when you think you should be, bad form — loads of things that affect you. As you get older, you learn to deal with them. I'd be lying if I said I'd never thought about stopping, but I never will — it's just an emotional reaction. There've been loads of times I called my dad and said, what's the point? — if I wasn't selected, or kept getting an injury that wouldn't go away, or rehab didn't go well. When I was 26 or 27, I went through a spell where I wasn't on form, wasn't playing well, wasn't being selected. I reached out to a sports psychologist — a mindset coach — who helped me look at things differently, not just in football but in life. That person's now a good friend back home in England. When you're in the emotional bubble of your job, you lose track and don't think clearly. When you step back and see things from the outside, it's completely different.
Brian Harbin: When you decide to come back, is it more logical than emotional? And do you lean on certain people?
Kieran Sadlier: Rejection is massive in football. I didn't really get rejected much until the last couple of years. When I was young I was always quite highly rated, which set me up to think, "I'll be all right." Then you get one bad injury that rules you out for a season, you're looking for a new club, and it kills you — because football moves on without you. You're one tiny player in a massive sport. Recently, before coming out here, I had a six- or seven-month spell not playing. I was planning to stay in England, speaking to clubs — not always the ones I expected. But I used those six months, knowing I was coming here, to have a rethink. Emotionally, not being involved, it was probably the best six months I could've had. Those moments happen naturally — you can go either way with them, give up or grow. For me, it helped. Those are the moments in professional sport that make or break you.
Brian Harbin: How about you, Georgia?
Georgia Brown: I'm in my first season of professional football, so I haven't had that yet in my career — but it's inevitable at some point. In college I started every game and played pretty much every minute for four years. The hardest point for me was going from 15 into women's football, playing with 30-year-olds at 16, having to fight for my position — sitting on the bench, sometimes not even making the match-day squad. That was the first time I really experienced that. But every time it happened and I came through it, it got easier the next time: "I've made it through this before, I can do it again." Like Kieran said, with experience and maturity you learn to deal with it. I'm still young in my career, but there'll definitely be highs and lows.
Brian Harbin: For players coming from England or Europe to play in the US, what are the notable changes? Any advice?
Georgia Brown: The style of play is significantly different — more physical and transitional, in college and now in the pro league. Back home it's much more possession-oriented. At Sporting JAX especially, we like to play a nice brand of football, balancing the transitional, athletic side with possession. But I've seen a couple of English girls come over and hit a wall because they weren't up to that physical standard — it's more of a physical battle than a technical one sometimes. You have to be prepared for that, though it depends on your style.
Kieran Sadlier: From the little I've played here, the heat makes a massive difference — I didn't think it would, and it's not even the hottest it'll get yet. We played pre-season games at 11 a.m. on training grounds with no cover, and the humidity and heat drain you. Both the women's and men's teams have British coaches and like to play attractive football, moving it around, but it's still different. The two teams I've played against in the league so far have been quite direct — not bothered about playing a good style. You just have to stick to your principles and what you believe will win in the end. I'm very new here, so ask me again in a year and I'll give you a better answer.
Brian Harbin: Coming from overcast England to Florida heat is a big change — and it's the same rule where if you come out of the game you can't go back in, so energy conservation and hydration matter. On physicality — you're saying it's more physical going after the ball?
Georgia Brown: Honestly, our perception in England of American soccer players, especially women, is that they're athletes. My height gives me a strong advantage and I was always quite physical anyway. It is a bit more like that here, but I've always chosen teams that like to keep the ball, so mostly you face it in opponents. There are teams in the league and in college that want to get the ball down and play, so make sure you choose a club and coaches whose principles match how you want to play.
Brian Harbin: Where have you seen the sport evolve over the last five to ten years?
Kieran Sadlier: It's become a much more tactical game, and more physical. Personally, I preferred the Premier League ten years ago — I find it quite boring to watch now. Back then teams didn't play so safe; the ball could drop anywhere. Now it's very safe — back, sideways, walk it into the net — and I'm not a big fan of that. It looks great when it comes off. When I say we play attractive football, I don't mean that — I mean intense, moving the ball sharply, still shooting from distance, not just passing for the sake of it. I prefer the players from 10–15 years ago — the ones who took more risks, rather than being bothered about stats. I'm an attacker, so I love goals and assists, but stats aren't really my thing. I'd rather entertain and do good things on the ball that create something. Football goes around in circles, though, so it'll change again.
Brian Harbin: So teams are more conservative with each pass to avoid turning it over, and as a result take fewer chances.
Kieran Sadlier: To be fair, our manager here gives us free play once we're in the attacking phase — the onus is on us to create, which is great. But at other teams back home it was like playing a bit like robots. No attacker wants to be told what to do with the ball, and if you give it away and get moaned at, you're just trying to do your job and create things.
Georgia Brown: For women's football, the last five years have brought a big improvement — more money coming in, and the quality. The girls in academies now, the coaching, their technical ability — it's much better than when I was there. I think in the next five years that standard will increase even further. The women's game is definitely growing, so hopefully that creates more opportunities for girls.
Kieran Sadlier: I agree — the women's game has got a lot bigger. My wife, who doesn't play football, watches the Women's World Cup. It's growing massively, even back in the UK.
Brian Harbin: Give us a bird's-eye view of the day before a match and match day — schedule, warm-up, cool-down.
Georgia Brown: There's a lot of travelling here, so for an away game we fly out the day before. For a home game we have the same match-day-minus-one session — not much tactical work, more free play and small-sided games to get that enjoyment and buzz. We get in around 7:30, have a team meeting around nine, are out on the field by 9:30 for about an hour, then recovery and whatever we need in the gym. We're usually home by 1 p.m. On match-day-minus-one I'm honestly just chilling. A lot of the girls live in the same apartment complex and we're a tight-knit group, so we'll have a games night or a movie night. I think that closeness shows on the field. On match day I'm a bit of a sleeper, so I don't get up early — I just space my meals out properly. I'm a big music person and I'm learning piano, which calms me down because I tend to overthink, especially with a 7 p.m. kickoff when you're in the apartment all day. We play Saturdays, so the Premier League's usually on — I'll watch a bit for inspiration. We get to the stadium about an hour and a half before kickoff, have time in the locker room, then warm up 45 minutes to an hour before.
Brian Harbin: What's the most popular team movie before a match?
Georgia Brown: Most recently, People We Meet on Vacation — it was a book first. We don't have set movies. We've been to the cinema a couple of times this week for the recent Colleen Hoover one. We love a good movie.
Brian Harbin: It creates some good inside jokes. How about you, Kieran — what's the pre-game like?
Kieran Sadlier: Pretty similar. The travelling's very different here. I've only been to one away game so far, in Rhode Island. We trained Friday morning, flew out — two flights, through Atlanta to Providence — and played Saturday afternoon. Afterwards we relaxed, got some food, had the night to ourselves, then flew back Sunday with two flights again, and had Monday off. Recovery is really important for me. As you get older it takes longer to recover — I didn't think that would happen, but it does.
Brian Harbin: Walk me through recovery.
Kieran Sadlier: You can go to extremes or just sit on the sofa. Before I got here I'd do saunas, ice baths, even oxygen chambers — but it's expensive, so you can't do it all the time. Honestly, sitting on the sofa drinking water and electrolytes is probably just as beneficial. I have a three-year-old son, so relaxing isn't easy — depending on his mood I'm getting dragged out of the house, and the weather's nice here. I take recovery seriously now; I didn't when I was younger — I'd go out with friends or play football with my mates the day after a game. Now I understand why the older guys told me to just relax at home, because it catches up with you. Massages too, and rehab stuff for old injuries. There are always new ways to recover, but for me sleep, rest, and staying hydrated are the most important.
Brian Harbin: We have three boys; our oldest two do track, so last night we did a recovery night — a zip-up sauna, the hot tub, the pool as a cold plunge, and one of those acupressure mats with the little needles.
Kieran Sadlier: We get acupuncture in training — not nice, but yeah.
Brian Harbin: Given you're running around 14 km a match — what's your take on stretching, before and after?
Georgia Brown: Before, I do more pre-activation — mini-band work to get looser — rather than stretching. Afterwards I give myself 10–15 minutes, more foam-rolling and using a lacrosse ball to get into the sore bits and keep mobility, especially around the hips. I've got long legs so the hips get tight. I like to do little and often — some mobility and foam-rolling after every session — though stretching is a lower priority than foam-rolling for me.
Kieran Sadlier: Pretty much the same. When you say I run 14 km — can you tell my wife that, please? I tell her and she still wants to drag me out, so I try to say I do a lot more than her. If my day off is Sunday or Monday, I relax as much as possible — but it's difficult with a child, and you don't want to miss out on them growing up. Same as Georgia: foam-rolling and that kind of thing across the board.
Brian Harbin: On the mental side — journaling, meditating, writing down goals — anything you've found especially helpful before or after a match?
Kieran Sadlier: I've tried it all — journaling, meditating — but I don't stick to it. For me, just feeling physically fit gives me the confidence that I'm good going into the game. Eating before a game is important — not too much, not too little; everyone's different. Music's big for me — I'm a big country music fan, so that's what I listen to in the car. I tried meditating, but sitting on the floor in the middle of the room with my son looking at me like "what are you doing?" — I can't concentrate. Everyone's different, with their own superstitions.
Brian Harbin: How about you, Georgia?
Georgia Brown: Same — I've tried a bit of everything, but each game is different. Just because journaling worked before one game doesn't mean it'll be right for the next. When I was younger I'd get really nervous — I'd throw up before games. There was one game where National Team scouts came to watch, and I knew they were in the stands, and I had an absolute shocker — so nervous I was tripping over the ball. I'm almost glad it happened, because from that moment I put it in perspective: it can't go much worse than that, so there's no point being nervous. It's still something I'm working on. I listen to country music before a game too — if I listen to something too hyped up, I'll go in ready to two-foot someone, so I need chilled music to get into my flow state.
Brian Harbin: Ninety minutes is a long time. What's the dialogue in your head during a game — when you make a great play, then the next time you don't, how do you keep yourself level and in that flow state?
Kieran Sadlier: I don't know if you can control being in a flow state — it's all the work you put in beforehand that leads to it. I've done a lot of work on confidence. As a winger on the edge, staying switched on is key, especially against a team that has a lot of the ball. We work a lot on team shape, so I know where to be when we don't have it. When we do, we take up positions but play more freely. Georgia and I play different positions — she can see the game in front of her, so her reading of it is probably better than mine, whereas I'm on the half-turn, doing a lot of tracking and checking my shoulder. It comes down to concentration — which is affected by dehydration, not being fit enough, heat, everything. If you switch off for two seconds against good players, you'll get punished — they'll get in behind and score. So it's about staying locked into the game.
Brian Harbin: Staying in the present.
Kieran Sadlier: It's easier said than done. In every game you watch, players switch off — that's how goals are scored, people making mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes; it's how you react and come back from them.
Brian Harbin: Especially now, with larger crowds and the entertainment element.
Georgia Brown: Especially when they replayed a dinosaur race at halftime on the big screen — not ideal. Honestly, when I start to get tired or lose focus, I stop talking. It was a running joke early in the season — the gaffer said I was by far the loudest off the pitch, and I needed to match that on it. The more I talk and communicate with people around me — which, as a centre-back, is what you need to do anyway — the more it helps me lock in and stay focused. I also speak to myself a lot, in my head, in the third person.
Brian Harbin: Can you give an example?
Georgia Brown: Depends what language I'm allowed to use — it's not too clean. A lot of it is "come on, get a grip." Not positive or negative, just neutral — "you've got this," simple things. There've been a couple of times this season I've made crucial mistakes that cost us games — it happens at our position. It's how you respond: a lot of players bury themselves in a hole, but I pride myself on mental resilience. You come back from it for the rest of the game, then go home and sulk for a day, and come back to practice the next day. Switch it off, focus on the task, and deal with the emotions after.
Brian Harbin: It's the same with golfers — mentally focused for all 72 shots over 18 holes. Even when you're not touching the ball, you have to be checked in, anticipating. I really admire that you do it at such a high level, day in and day out. One last question — the Grit Creed is 12 principles we try to bake into the next generation to help build mental, physical, and emotional resilience. Which one resonates most with you, and why?
Georgia Brown: For me it's controlling the controllables — accepting the things I can't change. If I'm putting in all the work and know I've put my best foot forward, I can't dictate what other people do. For example, if I feel I've done all I can performance-wise and the coach doesn't play me — I can't have done anything more; who they select is out of my control. It sucks, but I can't base my emotions on it, or I'll never be happy. That's something I've learned over the last couple of years and I'm still building on: control the controllables, focus on what you can do, be patient, and eventually your time will come.
Brian Harbin: Fantastic advice, especially for young people listening. What about you, Kieran?
Kieran Sadlier: "Cool, calm, and collected" resonates most. I'm quite relaxed, on and off the pitch — sometimes maybe a little too relaxed on it, which is a criticism I've had. But as captain the last two games, I want to lead by example. I'm not a loud person — I can be loud on the pitch, but if I'm telling a player to relax on the ball, I can't be shouting it. I'd rather talk to someone, put my arm around them, give them advice. As I've got older, that's where I see myself as a leader. My energy's not way up; I'll sit in the corner and be relaxed. Some people need to be loud, some relaxed — everyone's different. One bit of advice I got from someone I played with back in England: never get too high, never get too low — always stay in the middle. There's no point going mad after losing a game; you'll never get it back. Concentrate on the next game — the beauty of football is there's always another game to put it right. If you have a shocker and then play really well next time, everyone forgets the shocker. I wouldn't have known that until I got to my age. I'm a bit of an introvert off the pitch until I get to know people. People have told me six months later, "I thought you were an idiot when I first met you, because you didn't talk much — I thought you didn't like me." That's just my way. The manager made me captain the last couple of games, and it's bringing different things out of me. I've never been captain before, but I'm enjoying the leadership role. We have a leadership group of four older guys who organize things — fines, lateness, training times — and have a say over certain things, which I like. I'm the calm one of the four; I can see both sides of a story and talk things through. So yeah, "cool, calm, and collected" resonates most — it suits who I am.
Brian Harbin: I love that. Being captain, you represent the voice of the team. I've heard athletes describe staying at a seven — not too high, not too low, even-keel. I really appreciate you both coming on today. It's been a ton of fun getting to know you and hearing your story — coming over from England, adjusting to the American style, and the day in the life. Check out Sporting JAX — the women's season has a few weeks left, and the men's season is just getting started. Thank you both for being on. That's a wrap for today's episode of the Grit.org podcast. Thanks again, and we'll see you next time. Take care.
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