Women’s soccer player Ryan Gareis, a Chicago native, relies on her family for support more than ever as she balances her athletics commitments and academics.
Gareis, a sophomore and advertising major, has drawn close to her family throughout her second year at South Carolina, despite the barrier of distance.
“My parents have supported me and my brother,” Gareis said. “We've both been involved with athletics for our whole lives and they've always been our biggest supporters and showing up at every single game and even now even though I’m from Chicago and it’s a flight away, my parents still make an effort to come down here.”
From the beginning of Gareis’ journey to find the right college, her parents left the decision up to her, no matter the location. Gareis said her parents, Leslie and Patrick Gareis, have encouraged and supported her through the process of finding South Carolina.
Not being able to see her family daily has been an adjustment for Gareis, as she had to find a new support system at South Carolina through her teammates and their families.
“They’ve been super supportive through the whole thing and the transition I thought was going to be really hard since I’m so close with my family, but I kind of came into the soccer family here," Gareis said.
Even though her family cannot make it to every game, Gareis still feels their support and is reminded of their encouragement daily. Gareis called the Changs a second family to draw strength from when her family cannot physically be there.
“They actually, I think it was last Christmas or something, they gave me a card and it said 'we love our second daughter,' so that kind of shows how close that we have gotten with each others' families," Gareis said.
However, even though her family cannot make it to every game, Gareis still feels their support and is reminded of their encouragement daily.
Her mom has been picking up extra work at her job in order to fly down to Columbia to watch her daughter compete at the collegiate level.
Gareis said she's been inspired by her parents' work ethic since she began playing club soccer at 7 years old.
“Me and my brother have always loved to try different sports and that's been a huge thing with our parents because, as you know, some club sports when you're growing up, they're not cheap, so they've done everything that they can to be able to give us the opportunity to try whatever we want," said Gareis. “That's been a huge thing that my parents have showed me and my brother is their dedication to support us wherever and whenever."
Even when her parents aren’t physically at Stone Stadium or on the road with Gareis, she finds herself reaching for her cell phone in the locker room after a game and seeing text messages from her parents.
“I always get texts from my parents after the game cause ... either they're here in the stands and I see them in the stands or I know that they're watching from home," Gareis said.
She recalled the lengths her father went to to see her play in the Final Four last year. Her father was not able to attend the game because he was in Spain, but he made an effort to stay up until 4 a.m. to watch his daughter.
And Gareis said she's grateful her parents taught her to value the experiences she's had as a student-athlete.
“My brother and I also have been raised to appreciate school and much as we do sports," Gareis said. "And so we have always had the support from our parents."