Latinx Heritage Month Spotlight: Brayan Padilla
Matt Gilpin, Maryland Athletics Staff Writer
10/12/2021
With the score tied 1-1 against rival Virginia, a pass from freshman Griffin Dillon was harmlessly moving towards Malcolm Johnston, but Brayan Padilla wasn’t content to let his team just pass it around.
Padilla approached the ball and fired a shot that soared through the Washington D.C. night sky, flying past everyone on the field and finding its place behind the Cavalier goalie. The highlight-reel goal broke the tie and ended up giving Maryland the win at Audi Field.
The goal was heralded as one of the best goals of the season regardless of level or league. Maryland alumnus Scott Van Pelt even featured the strike during his ‘Best Thing I Saw Today’ on SportsCenter, and the praise across the soccer world just kept rolling in.
"Padilla... snipe."@notthefakeSVP with the love for @brayanpadilla_ ???? pic.twitter.com/xasDYQfRnv
— Maryland Men’s Soccer ?? (@MarylandMSoccer) September 7, 2021
The highlight was what many thought could be routine once Padilla arrived at College Park in 2018, but injuries plagued the Mexican-American midfielder. Now a senior and leader on a Maryland soccer team that has championship aspirations, Padilla is as comfortable as ever and ready to perform.
“Every day, every practice, every game, I think it's still surreal to me. I'm really here on this campus,” Padilla said. “The quality of players at this college is amazing. It's like a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I try to take advantage of it every day.”
When Padilla came to the University of Maryland, he was just a few years removed from leaving his family behind to embark on his goals.
After his father got deported when Brayan was just six years old, the Ciudad Juárez, Mexico native spent the first 15 years going back and forth between his dad’s home in Mexico and his mom’s home in El Paso, Texas. He attended Colegio San Patricio in Juarez from first grade until middle school, one of the best schools in Juarez for sports and academics.
Signing onto the prestigious Dallas FC Academy, Padilla was forced to move again and live with a host family. It was a difficult transition but one made easier because of everyone’s acceptance and patience with Padilla’s adjustment.
“It was kind of hard adapting because obviously, you're not living with your parents, you have to live under the rules of another house, another family,” Padilla said. “So in terms of that, it was pretty hard. My English wasn't that good back then either. So I think that made it a little hard for me in school, but definitely having a lot of my teammates around like on the team that definitely helped.”
At the University of Maryland, student-athletes born in other countries are celebrated for their commitment to representing their country and school.
World Wide Terps is a student-athlete organization through the Maryland Made program, whose mission is to support the overall international student-athlete experience, a category that Padilla falls into.
Padilla is one of just a few students from his home of Ciudad Juárez to attend an American college, and it was soccer that provided him that opportunity.
In his freshman season in 2018, the Terps won the national championship, but Padilla was unable to contribute because of injuries that hampered him entering school. The following year was set to be his breakout campaign. However, just after a pair of standout performances, Padilla tore his ACL warming up prior to a match at Ludwig Field, ending his season.
During his recovery, Padilla learned more about himself than he ever realized he could.
“Honestly those all the injuries and all those little setbacks have really made me who I am today,” Padilla said. “It definitely made me grow. It made me see a lot of things that made me feel a lot. It made me see that it was just not all about the sport and that there's more to life than just playing [soccer].”
That mentality translated to the soccer field as Padilla returned to form with a keener outlook on the game.
The COVID shortened season was the first time Padilla returned to the pitch, but it was difficult to get into a rhythm with the season being so truncated. Padilla developed a better rapport with his teammates when the fall season came around and parlayed that into a consistent role.
The goal against Virginia was a major marker in Padilla’s road back. Flashing the skill that had made him such a highly regarded youth player felt like a burden being lifted off the senior’s shoulders, with him now just being able to focus on playing the game.
“It just brought some relief,” Padilla said. “It gave me more confidence and just reminded me that if I continue to work, I can still be the player I was and even be better than that. I hope I can reach even higher points.”
The Maryland soccer team is a melting pot of international talent, with players hailing from all over the world, including but not limited to Mexico, Germany, Canada, and Japan. The foreign players all have the shared experience of being far from home and have bonded with each other because of it.
“It's freaking amazing,” he said. I get along with everyone. The same way I get along with my roommates I get along with all the freshmen, all the sophomores, juniors… everyone. [The coaching staff] has done a really good job of recruiting people that are more than players. Because the people we've got here, they’re amazing players and amazing human beings.”
Padilla is a player who is lifted every day by his teammates, his family, and his faith, all of which play a huge role in his life. He’s a player who wears his pride on his body, with his tattoos having significant meaning for him and for what he believes in.
“The wings [tattoo] are because of my guardian angel,” Padilla said. “My dad always told me that everywhere I went, my guardian angel is always with me. “[My perspective tattoo] is about my perspective. I've always thought that it's all about how you see things in life, through injuries and everything, really hard family moments. For example, my dad not being able to be present because he got deported. It’s something you have to deal with on your own. I think for me, perspective is that I am the one who decides how I look at things.”
Padilla’s transformation from blue-chip recruit to veteran leader has been a stark one and represents all the hard work, sacrifice, and growth that he’s had to go through.
As a Mexican-American man who is proud of his roots, he is proud of where he comes from but also proud to represent a country that gave him his big break in life. For being a man of two countries, Padilla is just going to be himself and let the rest handle itself.
“Playing here at the University of Maryland, winning a national championship, just kind of made me reflect on how blessed I was with this opportunity,” Padilla said. “Coming from a city like Juárez, which can be dangerous, I just feel really grateful.”
