Why I wrote Beyond the Game
Sport has given me more than I could ever give back.
It gave me lifelong friendships, unforgettable experiences, incredible mentors, and lessons that have shaped every chapter of my life. The discipline to keep showing up. The courage to lead. The resilience to overcome setbacks. The confidence to use my voice. The understanding that the best teams are built on trust, accountability, and people willing to put something bigger than themselves first.
Growing up, I wish I had a resource like Beyond the Game.
I had amazing coaches and teammates, but I didn't always have someone intentionally teaching me how to become the kind of leader every team needs. How to navigate conflict. How to build confidence. How to communicate. How to recognize my strengths and use them to serve others.
So I wrote the book I wish I had.
I didn't write it to create better soccer players.
I wrote it to help young women become the kind of people others want on their team, in soccer and in life.
Because the habits they build today will follow them far beyond the final whistle.
The way they show up for practice is often the way they'll show up in friendships.
The way they respond to adversity is often the way they'll respond in their careers.
The way they encourage a teammate is often the way they'll love their families one day.
Sports give us an incredible opportunity to shape lives, and I don't want to waste that opportunity.
MEET ALEXIS
I grew up in Columbia, Missouri, where I started my soccer journey playing on a boys' team before joining my hometown's first all-girls soccer club. By high school, I was making the four-hour round trip to St. Louis several times a week to train at a higher level. None of it would have been possible without my family. Their countless miles, unwavering encouragement, and belief in me made every opportunity possible.
That journey led me to the University of Tulsa, where I played Division I soccer and had the privilege of serving as team captain.
Today, I coach girls because I want every player to know she belongs, that her teammates are her people, and that she has something valuable to contribute. Because greatness isn't found in talent alone. It's found in showing up, doing the work, and choosing to become a little better every single day.
If Beyond the Game helps one young woman find her confidence, discover her voice, become a stronger leader, or believe in herself just a little more, then every page was worth writing.
The goal isn't to raise great soccer players. It's to help raise remarkable women.
“I realized everything I learned on the soccer field translated directly to life. I wanted to give that back, to the game, and to the girls still in it.”
-Alexis Hecht
WHY THIS BOOK
The game teaches you more than soccer.
Beyond the Game was written for the competitive girl who is becoming something remarkable and needs someone in her corner who tells her the truth.
It will push you to own your development, use your voice, and hold yourself to a standard that has nothing to do with anyone else. It will ask you hard questions about who you are, how you lead, and what kind of teammate you choose to be. And it will remind you plainly: you don't magically get better. Growth doesn't happen to you. You make it happen.
It will also give you permission you might not know you needed.
Somewhere along the way, girls in competitive sports get a confusing message: be driven, but not too driven. Chase your goals, but make sure everyone still feels good about it. Want more, just not so much that it makes someone uncomfortable.
This book disagrees.
Be driven. Unapologetically.
Want more. Then go get it.
The work you put in is yours, wear it with pride, never an apology.
“The girl you're becoming, that's yours. No one can build her for you, and no one can take her away. Use this book as a guide, a collection of lessons learned over years of playing, competing, and coaching. Take what resonates. Build on it. Make it your own journey. Own your development.”
-Coach Alexis
