Real Salt Lake (RSL) soccer players teamed up with Granite School District kindergarten students from Olene Walker Elementary and the Cottonwood High School soccer team for an afternoon focused on strengthening skills in reading, leadership and personal growth.

The Tony Finau Literacy Center, in partnership with the Granite Education Foundation, provided an experience connecting students with professional athletes. RSL players shared their favorite picture books during a kindergarten read-aloud to promote the importance of reading. A question and answer session with the Cottonwood High School soccer team provided students with the opportunity to learn about teamwork, discipline and what it takes to succeed at the next level. 

According to Paulina Kahn, a literacy specialist at the Tony Finau Literacy Center, the Granite School District has 17 literacy centers and has opened one in partnership with the Tony Finau Foundation. Through this foundation, Finau connects professional athletes with the Tony Finau Literacy Center at Olene Walker Elementary School to promote literacy through positive role models. He also funds a portion of the books used in literacy centers across the District and provides professional development opportunities for teachers. The literacy center also provides after-school, pre-K, and family literacy programming, supporting 75-100 children daily, in addition to adult English Language Learner classes.

“Tony Finau grew up in Utah’s Rose Park area,” Kahn said. “After becoming a professional golfer, he established a foundation to give back to his community. I was hired as the literacy specialist at the center, where my responsibilities include developing curriculum to help parents support their children’s reading. The center also distributes free books to children and offers English classes for adults, which is particularly beneficial because most parents at the school are English language learners.”

RSL defenders Justen Glad and Phillip Quinton kicked off the afternoon event by inviting two kindergarten classes onto the carpet in the literacy classroom. They shared the picture book “Dino-Soccer” by Lisa Wheeler and Barry Gott, a fast-paced rhyming story with bold illustrations. The dramatic reading placed students right in the center of the soccer game action.

“It's super sweet to see all the kids gathered on the carpet and how excited they are to see all of us,” goalkeeper Max Kerkvliet said. “It’s great to be here, helping out and giving back to the community. It’s important to have these connections because these kids are super young, and it is important to help show them how happy and fun reading can be. Hopefully, they see that soccer is more than just playing on the field and that a sense of community is really essential as well.”

RSL Community Relations Director Kyle Schroeder opened up a question and answer session by having the players introduce themselves. 

Glad is the longest tenured RSL player returning for his 13th season with the club. Kerkvliet, originally from Texas, is entering his second professional season after being selected by RSL with the 21st overall pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft. Quinton is entering his third season with RSL. The Ohio native played college soccer at Notre Dame between 2018-21 and midfielder Aria Nagai plays for the Utah Royals. She played three seasons at Princeton from 2021 to 2023.

The most engaging moments of the event were the personal ones—how the players felt during their first pro moments of playing soccer, or the advice they would give their 16-year-old selves now that they have made it to the pros. They talked about their own challenges, especially learning to handle the mental component of the sport.

“There is a huge mental side to this game. You have to learn not to beat yourself up and to stay positive,” Kerkvliet said. “My first game was rainy and cold, and it was played in the big Portland stadium. In the first five minutes of the game the other team took a free kick and banged it top corner. The rest of the game I was so focused on that I didn’t have a good game. When I play now, I’m more relaxed and excited to just play soccer.”

“Sometimes games just don’t go your way. You have to learn to accept that.” Quinton said.

One student asked, "What is the most important skill to practice?" In response, Glad said, "Spending time improving your weaknesses, but leading off with your strengths to give you confidence is important as well."

“Maybe you can share with our players why it is important to play on club teams as well as a high school team,” Dan Fergusson, the head coach for the Cottonwood High School boys soccer team, said.

“Anytime you can play on multiple teams, you are asked to play different roles on each of these teams,” Schroeder said. “On your high school team, you might be the superstar and asked to score goals all of the time; on your club team, you might be having to play center back. Playing in different positions makes a player more versatile. Maybe on one team you’re looked at as a superstar, but maybe on another team you’re going to learn what it’s like to grind and fight your way to success. I think these two different mentalities are important to have.”  

Schroeder continued, “Most importantly, whatever team you’re on, whether it's at work, for example, in business, or on the soccer field, ask yourself these questions: Can you do the job? Are you reliable? Are you giving good effort?”