Former Aliso Niguel soccer standout Madelyn Desiano didn’t imagine she would become an author. A political science major at UCLA, she spent plenty of time writing essays, but it was her passion for soccer that unlocked her narrative self.
In June, Madelyn’s book Bend Never Break: The inside story of UCLA Women’s Soccer and their inspiring National Championship journey was released on Amazon. The story, which she self-published, chronicles the National Championship run of the 2022 UCLA women’s soccer team. As a key member of the squad, Madelyn was the perfect person to share the story with the world.
“I knew pretty immediately after we won that I was going to write our story,” Madelyn said on her motivation to write the book. “I started compiling journals, pictures, news articles and notes into a master Google Doc. I interviewed teammates and coaches, compiling their memories and reflections. I wanted to include their goals and challenges from the season to give the entire team’s perspective.”
Madelyn was still at UCLA, completing her master’s degree in transformative coaching and leadership. She worked through the beginning of 2023, until she was drafted by the Houston Dynamo in the National Women’s Soccer League. She finished the season with the Dynamo and then transferred to Odense Boldklub Q in Kvinde-DM Liga in Denmark. As her professional career was taking shape, she took some time off from writing, but was able to complete the book in 2025.
Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden is a key figure in the master’s program, and Madelyn modeled the book around his Pyramid of Success. She found that the narrative of the season corresponded with each block of his famous framework of successful behavior.
Throughout her soccer career, Madelyn had to overcome challenges to succeed. As outlined in a 2022 CUSD Insider story, she worked her way back from three knee surgeries to keep her career at UCLA going to the championship. She knew that the lens of perseverance and hard work would be compelling for the book.
She thanks her mother, Aliso Niguel dance coach Ann-Marie Desiano, and English teacher, Dr. Dawn Lewis, with helping inspire her to pursue writing. A constant support during her soccer career, they helped edit and provide encouragement along the way. She hopes this accomplishment can help inspire other young writers.
“My biggest piece of advice for young writers is when you are feeling really dedicated and inspired, that is when you should write about the hard stuff,” said Madelyn. “Use those moments to dive into the things you have been putting off.”