Ahead of Ladies Night, Pelayo shares his appreciation for one of the most important people in his life: his mother
Written by Hayden Goodman
Before Phoenix Rising defender Adrian Pelayo began his professional career, before the national team call-ups and long road trips across the country, he was just another little kid chasing a soccer ball around a park in Los Angeles.
One afternoon, while his mom, Susana, was pushing his younger sister on the swings, Pelayo wandered onto a nearby soccer field, right into the middle of a training session of dozens of older kids. Panicked, she went looking for him, only for a coach to stop her and ask if she had ever considered putting her son in soccer.
“He has a good foot for his age,” the coach told Susana Pelayo.
That moment sparked the beginning of a journey that brought Adrian Pelayo to Phoenix, the most recent stop in a professional career that started in Oregon, and has already seen the 19-year-old defender play in three different countries. Following that day, soccer quickly became the center of the life for the Pelayo family, anchored by Susana Pelayo.
That’s why, as Rising celebrates Ladies Night when it hosts San Antonio FC at 7:00 p.m. (PT) on May 9, the night before Mother’s Day, Adrian Pelayo knows exactly who he wants to walk out with him before the match and cheer him on from the sidelines.
“She is the reason why I am who I am today,” Adrian Pelayo said. “Without my mom, I wouldn’t be able to do what I’m doing today.”
Susana Pelayo raised her son and his younger sisters as a single parent, balancing work, school schedules and the nonstop commitment that came with helping her son chase bigger opportunities. During Adrian Pelayo’s academy years in Oregon, she drove more than an hour each way from outside Salem to the Timber’s training facility in Beaverton nearly every day for years.
“My days were 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.,” Susana Pelayo said. “Dropping him and his sister at school, myself to work, cooking a quick dinner for on-the-go because trainings were an hour away from home… There was literally no life outside of soccer and Adrian’s world.”
That support also came with plenty of tough love. Adrian Pelayo admits there were times growing up in which he wanted to quit soccer altogether. With his mom, though, those conversations never lasted long.
“My mom’s old school,” Adrian Pelayo said. “She would just get mad.”
But there was also a deeper message she constantly reminded him of: “God gives his toughest battles to his strongest soldiers.” It’s a message he calls one of the reasons he never went through with quitting. One that remains with him long after childhood and is permenently tatooed on his forearm.
For Susana Pelayo, the proudest moments have happened off the pitch. While Adrian Pelayo’s call-up to represent Mexico at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup was one of the most emotional experiences of their journey together, and marked an early-career highlight, when asked to describe her son, she can’t help but recall one of his matches with the Timbers Academy years ago.
When Adrian Pelayo found the back of the net against the LA Galaxy Academy, he didn’t first run to his teammates nor even his mom. Instead, he picked out his younger sister in the stands and ran to share the elation of scoring a goal with her.
“I’m extremely proud of his growth as a person,” Susana Pelayo said. “His mindset, his focus and humble personality, but most of all his love and respect for his sisters.”
As Rising celebrates Ladies Night, stories like that of the relationship between Adrian Pelayo and his mom, exemplifies what the night is truly about – recognizing the women whose sacrifices often happen quietly behind the scenes.
“To me it speaks a lot about the values within the organization,” Susana Pelayo said. “And definitely being acknowledged as part of our players’ careers.”
Ask Adrian Pelayo and he’ll tell you it’s impossible to separate the player he’s become from the way his mother raised him. When asked to describe her in just a few words, he paused before answering.
“She’s probably my world,” Adrian Pelayo said. “My first love.”
