Sporting’s Besler: Out of concussion recovery comes a book

U.S. national team defender Matt Besler began journaling last year at the advice of his doctors to speed up his recovery from a concussion.

Besler took the suggestion seriously, dutifully keeping a daily diary.

OK, really seriously.

The result of the exercise has become a book, "No Other Home: Living, Leading, and Learning What Matters Most."

Its pending release comes at a particularly busy time for Besler. He's not only in the midst of World Cup qualifying with the national team, but Sporting Kansas City is set to host the New York Red Bulls in the U.S. Open Cup final next week before making the final push for postseason positioning in MLS play.

Besler is clear: This is not a traditional sports biography and he never intended it to be.

"It's basically a journal of mine," he said. "It's a collection of entries and blog posts and ideas and quotes and pictures. Just a bunch of my thoughts, I guess."

Known as one of soccer's genuinely nice guys, Besler was on the U.S. team that played in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Now the Americans are attempting to play for soccer's most prestigious prize again. The United States is coming off a 1-1 draw in qualifying against Honduras.

There are two games remaining for the United States in its qualifying group. The Americans currently sit in fourth place on the table, with the top three earning the trip to Russia next summer.

Besler started writing the book in March 2016 when he sustained a head injury during a national team training camp.

"They (the doctors) recommended it would help keep my brain active and help get me back on the field quicker," Besler said. "That's when I first really started writing. And I found out that I enjoyed it, and it did help me on and off the field."

It took Besler some 18 months to complete and it's scheduled for release in early November. He didn't force it, preferring to just write when the feeling prompted him. He tried to write when things were going well—and when things weren't.

"I never wanted it to be a distraction. I wanted to keep my focus on the field," he said. "So I ended up writing it on airplanes, during road trips, in hotel rooms. Even at home, after I drove home from practice, I'd think of stuff in the car and I'd go home and write it down."