SAN JOSE, Calif. - We sat down with Earthquakes Academy product Amir Bashti, now a freshman at Stanford University, to talk about his experience with the academy, his transition into college soccer, his recent stint with the United States Youth National Team, and more.
sjearthquakes.com: How has the Quakes academy prepared you for this level of competition at Stanford?
Amir Bashti: "When I first came to the Quakes, it was the summer before my freshman year [of high school] and I was playing with the 16s, so that was a couple years up. I always played a couple years up as a kid. Going into that environment, you get put with bigger kids, physically. That made me really focus on my technical ability and making sure that I kept up my speed to excel in that environment. So I thought my experience with the Quakes challenged me in that aspect, especially when I was growing through high school. It was always a fun place to go play with the guys. It was a really family-like environment, much like it is here [at Stanford].”
SJEQ: You recently traveled with the United States U-20 Men's National Team for international play in Serbia. Tell us about that experience.
AB: “I always look forward to that. I got to play against France, so that was really cool. It’s always great to represent my country and being there with the guys I knew from U-18s, but also new faces. It’s always great to be able to go into those camps and show what I have to offer, to have fun and play against great competition.”
SJEQ: What’s the biggest adjustment you’ve had to make in the transition to college outside of soccer?
AB: “In high school, I had a tough schedule as well with the academic side of it, but here, you get to customize your schedule in a way, so you have more freedom in that sense, in terms of hours you have for schoolwork and practice. It's just making time in there to study and still have time to socialize and focus on soccer when I’m at training.”
SJEQ: Do you still keep in touch with your old Quakes teammates and coaches?
AB: “I do. It's really cool, for example, when we play San Jose State at home, there’s Jonathan Partida and Zach Penner on there, who I’ve played with for the past couple years with Penner, and my whole time with the Quakes with Partida. It’s really cool to see how they’re doing & where they've ended up.”
SJEQ: What was your biggest takewaway from playing with the Quakes Academy?
AB: “I always liked our coaches’ positive vibe about taking practices seriously and making sure you’re getting meaningful work done and pushing yourself to get better everyday. I felt that going to Quakes practices wasn’t something where you see it as just work. It was a combination of hard work and fun. You learn to enjoy the game and being around the other guys.”
SJEQ: You were a part of the Quakes U-18 playoff run that continued into late July, less than a month before NCAA preseason began. Did that level of competition serve as a nice bridge into NCAA play?
AB: “I’d say so. In finals week, you’re playing against the best competition in the country. It keeps you sharp. I definitely noticed a big jump between playoffs and college just because you’re going from being an older guy back to being one of the younger guys. I love that. Being with older guys helps me push myself. I try not to think about that and just focus on my play, but [the playoff run] definitely helped a lot, especially because we were playing against meaningful competition.
SJEQ: You’ve scored two goals in the last couple weeks. Do you feel like you’re adjusting to the level of play now?
AB: “Every week I’m feeling more comfortable being around the guys. I felt that I should have had a few [goals], but we’re getting the results and that’s all that matters. It’s nice to see the hard work pay off. Hopefully there are many more to come, but on the other side, it's been great setting guys up and putting them in a good position [to score]. I’m doing what I do to help the team win and we’re getting great results. We want to keep that going and that’s the main focus.”
