After G.I. Bill, Veteran finds purpose in soccer, community

Army Veteran Adam Boren is a program manager for LouCity & Racing Foundation, the nonprofit arm of professional soccer clubs Louisville City and Racing Louisville. Like many Veterans, Boren was seeking purpose after life in the military. After using the G.I. Bill, he found his calling and connection to his community through soccer.

Like most great journeys, Boren’s path to getting there wasn’t so simple.

At 17, Boren wasn’t ready for college. Seeking adventure, he enlisted in the Army and went on to deploy 11 times in his 24-year Army career—including nine to Iraq. After enduring years of wear and tear on his body, he retired and sought care at VA, where he “couldn’t ask for better care or service.”

On transition, he found a job rather quickly, working on instrumentation and calibration equipment for the paper and pulp industry. But after a year there, he realized it wasn’t fulfilling.

“In the military, you have this feeling like you’re working toward something bigger than yourself. You’re making a difference,” he shared, alluding to the desire to find that sense of purposeful work again. That, he said, is when he first thought seriously of taking advantage of his G.I. Bill benefits.

Boren hit the books and earned a degree in Sports Administration at the University of Louisville. After graduating, he returned to the community as an intern for LouCity & Racing Foundation. At the soccer matches, looking into the crowd as they recognized and honored the Veterans in attendance, he learned he wasn’t alone.

“It brings pride [to me] to see others in the community stand up [in recognition of their service]. It gives me pause because I’m surprised by how many are Veterans,” he said.

In his deployments all across the globe, Boren learned a sense of cultural awareness and how to interact with others through soccer. He understood the game, and more importantly, the culture.

“In every country [the military] sent me to, I could not speak the language, but everyone spoke soccer.”

And that’s when it hit him: He could use soccer to reach the youth of Louisville.

Boren’s internship led to a full-time programming position at LouCity and Racing, but in his spare time, he brings soccer to the underserved population of Louisville.

“These teams don’t exist without the community support, so this is how we give back to the community. I’m happy to be a part of that. This touches me like the military did—where I’m part of something bigger. I’m incredibly grateful to find that again.”