Alexi Dragotto comes to Connect Sports with a near-perfect pedigree. A standout midfielder and wing from San Clemente, Calif., Dragotto was on her way to a college soccer scholarship at Chapman University before suffering an ACL injury in her final high school game. The injury didn’t break her love of sports—but changed her path.

In lieu of starring on the soccer field at the D-III school, Dragotto has excelled within the University of Utah’s sports department, first assisting the football team’s recruiting efforts and now as an intern in the marketing department. Her journey continues as a hosted buyer experience manager at Connect Sports.

The experience on and off the field makes her the perfect candidate to work with NGB representatives, tournament directors, and sports planners to push sports tourism forward, according to Connect Senior Vice President Patrick Higgins.

Said Higgins: “We’re thrilled to welcome Alexi to the team! Her background as an athlete, when combined with her experience while working in the University of Utah’s athletic department, gives her a big advantage while setting up sporting event organizers for success at Connect Sports events because she can instantly relate to them.”

Get to know more about Dragotto in our Q&A below.

What was your soccer experience like?

Being in club soccer my whole life was time-consuming. I loved it because it gave me something to do for me and I just love to do it. So, I had a lot of tournaments. Our big one was a circuit in Oceanside, California. I would usually go with my mom and one of my teammates and her mom, so it was more fun.

Was it all fun and games?

I think a big part of keeping sports fun was being around my teammates. Coaches can be tough and annoying at times. So bonding with teammates really, really helped me, especially in club and high school. Everyone was experiencing burnout, so we were everyone's kind of trauma bonding together. I think that really helped me stay on it. And I also always had a dream of playing in college and so that kind of kept me going. I ended up loving it in the end.

How did you take your injury?

Soccer and sports have been a big part of my life since I was little. When I tore my ACL it just kind of stopped and I did not like that gap between being involved in sports and not. In my sophomore year, I wanted to get more involved. I was originally a finance major. But then I switched to marketing. I think that will help me stay in the industry. 

While you didn’t get the college career you wanted, what did you learn from soccer?

I think the big two big things are work ethic and time management because dealing with high school soccer and club soccer, school, AP classes, and college applications was a lot to handle. But it helped me learn how to manage my time better to do homework, to practice, eat, and sleep. With work ethic, you had to put 100% in or what's the point of being there? Work ethic was a large part of it, especially with extra stuff like strength and agility training, going to the field on your own, and running.

As a former player, what do you wish is improved in the tournament experience?

I think more team bonding could happen during the tournament. Traveling together as a group is really fun, but we never really got time to have fun. I would set aside time for team bonding team activities that would really help the dynamic of the teams.

What are some fun facts we should know?

I love fashion. That's something that really sparks my interest. I’ve been water skiing and snow skiing since I was three. My family goes on a camping trip every summer.