Profile: Max Edwards

Soccer player Max Edwards playing at the IMG Cup Boys Invitational in Bradenton FL.

By Kyler Wang


Soccer player Max Edwards has been playing soccer almost all his life. The sport has become his way of connecting with people and is a big part of his identity.

Edwards has moved a lot in his life. He was born in England, but moved to Germany when he was five years old. When he was ten, he moved from Germany to Holland, finally moving to Portland when he was twelve.

“It’s [soccer] kind of a culture in those [countries]. Everyone know it, everyone plays it. It’s what people do there.”

He first began playing when he was five, in Germany.

“It was serious but fun,” he says. “You didn’t really care back then -- you played because it was fun.”

His friends all played, and he began playing as well to avoid being left out. While the age for most clubs in the United States begins at age eight or nine, clubs in Germany began at a much earlier age.

“When I was younger I only really played because it was fun and my friends did it. As I got older and better, I started to take it more seriously. I started to want to become professional, and started thinking, ‘I can make myself a future out of this.’ It started to become a passion, then the main focus of my life.”

Edwards credits his family with fueling his passion for soccer. After watching his cousin, a professional soccer player, he felt inspired to play harder as well.

“I wanted to be like him someday, and if he could do it, I could do it.”

His parents have also been always been there for him. They know what his limits are and push him to that limit when helping him train.

Edwards says that his performance on the field affects his schoolwork as well.

“When I do well [in soccer] I do better at school because I’m happy and feel like I can do anything,” he explains.

Soccer has also shaped the way that Edwards connects with people.

“When you meet people who love the same sport as you, it’s great because you have something in common. With most people who I have become friends with, it started out from talking about or playing [soccer],” he says.

For Edwards, soccer is not just a game, it’s a lifestyle.

“When I’m playing I feel happy, and it feels right, what I’m doing. I don’t worry about anything else. I forget about everything and get motivated to work even harder,” he says. “It feels right, like I have to play. Like it’s a deed I have to take.”