Joey Calistri: The utility man who sells houses

Joey Calistri is a winger. He’s also a central midfielder. He’s also a right-back, at times.

Whenever a shortage appears on the field, Calistri’s name is one of the first thrown out.

“I was joking about [playing at center-back], you know,” Calistri said. “Joking about maybe being third-string goalie or something like that, but hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”

The versatility doesn’t end there. Calistri is a Swiss Army knife on the field. Off of it, he’s one of two players on Rising’s squad to hold a real estate license.

“It’s not like a set schedule for real estate which is nice, because we’ll get done with training, you know, one o’clock whenever we are,” Calistri said. “Then in the afternoon, I’ll just be at home on my laptop, doing some work, working out some properties for people and if they end up liking one, one day out of the week we’ll go on some showings.”

The urge to enter a new field came during the onset of the pandemic. As leagues shut down across the globe, the USL Championship was no exception. Despite Rising’s players mostly living in an apartment complex together, activity ground to a halt.

“When our season was shut down in 2020, we couldn’t train,” Calistri said. “We couldn’t do anything, so I was just like ‘oh, I’ll get my real estate license.’ Then, I kind of enjoyed it. It’s been nice on the side to just do it when we have some free time.”

Balancing two careers can be a challenge for a professional athlete. It didn’t take much to convince Rising coach Rick Schantz to agree, though.

“There was a conversation we had about his role and can he work in another industry while he’s still playing professional soccer,” Schantz said. “I didn’t doubt him for a second. He told me ‘Coach, my performances won’t drop.’ But he wanted to think about his future a little bit.

“Look, he’s a Northwestern grad, smart kid. He’s very motivated. He is a great, great role model for the clubhouse.”

The performances haven’t dipped. The winger has been dubbed “Clutch Calistri” by fans, teammates and coaches alike. A pair of result-changing braces against one neighboring rival have seen him alternatively named the “New Mexico Killer.”

YOU ALREADY KNEW @jcali10 WAS A NEW MEXICO KILLER!!!! @PHXRisingFC #RisingAsOne

— Carl Woszczynski (@cwoz1) August 29, 2021

“I mean, he’s Mr. Clutch,” Schantz said. “Technically very good, can play multiple positions, an unbelievable human being. He understands his role in the organization.”

That role is a complex one. Calistri mostly featured as a backup in his first year, splitting time between the wing and middle of the park.

The following season, it wasn’t just the real estate business he was learning. As Kontoh Owusu-Ansah fell out of favor at left-back, a spot opened up for Calistri on the right.

Ever since, Calistri has proven himself capable of featuring in three different spots.

“I think Rick knows that whatever situation comes up, I think I’ve proven that whether it’s right-back, center mid, winger, I’m ready to go,” Calistri said. “Whenever my name is called on, whether it’s starting or off the bench in different roles, I’m always ready to do what the team needs to get a result.”

By playing in three different positions, Calistri has made himself invaluable to the team. His coach described his versatility as “massive.”

Yet while Calistri’s name might be one of the first jotted down for the squad, it’s almost never in the starting lineup.

Thus, the curse of the utility man. Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

“I think that some of the players when they come in and they may be upset that they’re not getting an opportunity, he’s been the first one to step up and say ‘Look, if I’m not complaining you can’t complain,'” Schantz said. “I mean, he was behind Solomon Asante for what, three years? He kind of knew that he was never really going to get a fair shot, but every time he went in the game, he was spectacular.”

Now one of the club’s more tenured players, Calistri is turning that experience into a leadership role for himself in the locker room. Among those that he has helped is Ryan Flood, a local wing-back now entering his second year with Rising.

“Flood [is a] super-talented player and awesome guy,” Calistri said. “He’s a guy who always wants to be out on the field, which is a good thing. I think with guys like that and other guys in the past couple of years that I’ve been here with, it’s just reminding them that it’s a long season. It’s 34 games, and at any moment there could be an injury, there could be something that happens and you have to slot yourself in and be ready to play.

“In those situations, you want to be going into that with a positive mindset, that you’ve been doing things the right way and everything. I think it’s just keeping guys levelheaded throughout the year and making sure we’re on the same page.”

Schantz passed over Calistri for the captaincy this year, instead selecting Darnell King to wear the armband. Given his role on the team, perhaps that shouldn’t be surprising. However, that doesn’t mean that the coach doesn’t appreciate the influence that Calistri has in the locker room.

“He’s a perfect example to any young player, to any young up-and-coming future soccer player that if you just stay focused and take advantage of the minutes that you get, you’ll be rewarded in many ways,” Schantz said.

One the one hand, Calistri’s real estate career might have a role in his continued desire to play in Arizona. However, the winger says it goes beyond that, and that the club itself continues drawing him back despite his backup role.

“Honestly, I’ve played with a couple of other teams and never found a team that has a connection like we do here,” Calistri said. “For four years, it’s been great locker rooms, great players, and we’re all here because we want to win.

“We’re competitors. We want to be on the best team in the league. We want to be a team with a target on our back and I love that. It makes it so much fun going into games.”

For now, Calistri will continue in his role off the bench. He’ll do so knowing that he’s got a plan for the future, while possessing a little more gratitude for the present.

“I think that’s kind of what I was getting at when I started doing it, just to see if when I’m done playing that’s something I’d be interested in,” Calistri said. “So far, it’s been a good fit for me in terms of my personality and how I do things. I enjoy it. It’s great.

“Sometimes you just clear your head for a couple of hours from soccer and it makes you almost appreciate more how great our job is. You spend two hours going on showings, which isn’t too much, and then I’ll be like ‘Ah, now I get to go to training tomorrow.’ It’s a nice little reminder that we got it really good.”

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