by JAKE NUTTING

One year ago, almost to the date, Sebastián Velásquez was at the precipice of what seemed like an incredible career opportunity.

The midfielder was one of the lucky few cherry picked from Real Salt Lake by then-New York City FC head coach Jason Kreis to be a part of the inaugural roster of one of the most high-profile expansion clubs in the history of MLS.

Despite a difficult campaign, last season did end up being important for the development of Velásquez — though for reasons that had little to do with his on field skills.

A promising start to the season was quickly followed by a drop down the depth charts. While penciled in as a starter to begin the year, he only saw the field for 49 minutes after his last start for the club on June 7th. Injury issues and the arrival of Premier League star Frank Lampard offered plausible explanations for Velásquez falling out favor.

However, there was something much more serious at the root of the issue — one that would force Velasquez to take a deeper look at his life.

“I have never doubted my talent,” Velásquez tells EoS. “I have never doubted myself in football before. I’ve always just doubted myself in what my life would be like and what I was doing and where I was going.”

In September, before the MLS season had concluded, things finally came to a head for Velásquez and he made the decision to stop silently suffering and enter the league’s substance abuse program to seek help with his dependence on alcohol. Nearly two months after that announcement, Velásquez shed light on the issue in a social media message and revealed that he entered rehab after years of struggling with the trauma of being sexually abused by a family member when he was 5-years-old.

“It was something that I needed to do for me,” Velásquez said of the decision. “I needed to come to peace with all my demons from my past. I had a rough childhood. I had a tough past and for me it was kinda… no, not kinda, it was the one thing that was affecting me not just in my soccer life, but throughout my whole life.”

Evidence of Velásquez’s substance abuse problem cropped up in 2014 when he was arrested and charged with DUI in Salt Lake City. He fully concedes now that the problem has been plaguing him for years, but he finally faced the issue head on in an emotional meeting with Kreis and former NYCFC assistant, Miles Joseph.

“Eventually I spoke to Jason and Miles, who are two people who have known me since they brought me into MLS,” recalled Velásquez. “One of the last decisions I made when I went to rehab was I went to them. They really knew I wasn’t okay and needed to find help.

“I told them with tears in my eyes, ‘listen I need help and I can’t do this by myself anymore.’ I’ve tried so hard in my life to take care of all my problems myself and they just kept getting worse. I was using a substance to cope and I’m just thankful to have overcome it. I’ve been sober ever since and my life has been so much clearer and everything’s so much better that I feel so blessed. ”

Acknowledging he needed to reach out to others after years of internalizing his struggle was a major turning point for Velásquez, and it likely prepared him for the humbling and unknown experience of a rehab program.

“When I entered rehab, I honestly didn’t know what rehab was about,” said Velásquez. “I didn’t really know what it was until I finally got there. But I’m really grateful that I went because since then, everything has kinda fallen into place. The opportunities and the doors have been opening slowly… I think I just wanted to clear my demons and prepare myself for a great future in football and in life.”

Velásquez believes his alcohol abuse has had a definite negative impact on his career — for years. He’s now hopeful that the newfound balance in his life off the field can set him back on an upward track in his career again.

“A lot of time I’ve had the tools there and the opportunity, but I’ve never had the mentality to take advantage,” he admitted. “People don’t always understand. Football is about your life on the field, but it’s also about your life off the field. And that’s where I was having problems. Once you gave me a ball in a game, I”m always comfortable. But once I stepped off the field, I ran into serious problems.”

After fighting such a personal battle, Velásquez placed high importance on the type of environment he chose as his next stop. While acknowledging the tremendous outpouring of support he received from supporters in New York, he feels like the relatively smaller pond of Oklahoma City is the perfect situation at this moment in his life.

“I think Oklahoma City is the place for me to be able to rebuild myself,” he said “It’s a smaller community. I feel like it’s a place where I can get really close to the community and be able to be what this club wants to be about. We’re building the culture of the club right now and I think it’s important for the team and the players to be a big part of this city.”

The confidence of Rayo OKC’s head coach Alen Marcina also played a big factor in the midfielder joining up with the NASL startup. Velásquez was brought into the fold fairly quickly and was announced as one of the first signings in the history of the club.

“Alen has a big belief in my talent and what I can bring to the club,” Velásquez said of his new boss. “He wanted me to be one of his players and he provided the options of what style we’d play like and what role he wanted me to play. And it sounded perfect to me, so it’s a great opportunity. I just have to take advantage of it.”

As one of the first players to ever put pen to paper for the NASL newcomer, Velásquez has a unique opportunity — a do-over on an expansion team only one year after his experience with another.

“It’s really exciting. Everyone’s excited to finally be on the pitch,” Velásquez said a few weeks into camp. “A lot of new faces, it’s a brand new team. The guys right now are just focused on getting to know each other learning from the coaches where you fit in. We’re trying to all get onto the same path. That’ll be the key to success, coming together.”