The Decision to Return: Mikayla Colohan

I had a lot of goals coming into this season, but I wanted to push myself to play at the highest level before turning pro. I know what it takes to play in the NWSL and wanted to do everything I can to prepare myself for that in this last college season. My ultimate goal was to make it to the College Cup.  I wanted to come back because I felt like I had more left to prove. I knew we had a special group at BYU and wanted to see how far we could go as a team. 

I’ve had several of my own challenges throughout this season with second guessing my decision to come back to college. Especially in the beginning. As a team we’ve overcome a lot of challenges. We had a rocky start. Tied Utah, lost to Utah state, games that we should’ve won. We lost to Arkansas and Auburn at the beginning of the season too. Had me questioning my decision to return to college big time. I wished I would’ve just gone pro because of the initial struggles.

This year's team is so special because of our chemistry. We do everything as a collective group and nothing is about the individual. The team always comes first and our success as a team is more important than individual success. It’s easy to stay motivated at this point. Everything we’ve been working for is becoming realistic. We are exactly where we want to be and it’s up to us to take advantage of it. We couldn’t ask for anything more than to have the opportunity to beat Santa Clara to go to the national championship. 

My advice to athletes would be to enjoy every phase of progression. There might be some really hard challenges or difficult times, but you’ll look back and be grateful for those times. Make the most of every experience and be willing to learn every step of the way. That will help you find the most success.