Growing up in a Filipino family, CT United FC captain Alex Monis was surrounded by classic cultural staples.
Memories of Christmas parties came to mind as some of his first touchpoints.
He set the scene, recalling pancit and lumpia crafted by his chef uncle, and gathering with the family to do karaoke as some of the Filipino traditions that led to the love of his family's background.
Soccer, more specifically, call-ups to the Philippines national team provided Monis with his first trip to his ancestral homeland, which broadened his view on what it means to represent the country his family comes from.
"Once you're actually there, around the people, around the food, the language, you really start to understand what being a Filipino is," Monis told MLSNEXTPro.com in celebration of AAPI Heritage Month. "I'm grateful for experiences, and it's something that I try and do every year, visit the Philippines, and those people are the best.
"They're so loving and kind, and always so supportive. So I enjoy my time there."
A connection that had been years in the making. Monis grew up in Chicago playing all sports available to him, but by age 11, he started focusing on soccer, which paved the way for him to break into the United States youth national team camps by age 14.
But it wasn't the United States that he eventually identified with for international soccer when it was time to think long-term.
The decision to represent the Philippines paid off. Monis earned his first senior cap in June of 2024, in the Asian Football Confederation's qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
"It was an incredible feeling to finally put the jersey on," he remembered. "A lot of honor to represent the country.
"I got emotional about it, hearing the national anthem, being around the guys, and I know it meant a lot to my family as well, knowing that somebody in the family was representing the Philippines on that level, so definitely a special moment."
Monis, now 23, has 16 Filipino caps to his name and has competed across various competitions.
Representation matters
Now wearing the armband for CT United, there's a selflessness that goes into being a good captain. He's a symbol to those looking up to him.
"I think I just want kids to feel inspired that they can make it, they can achieve their dreams, and make it at this level," explained Monis. "We can always do a better job on putting the spotlight on Asian Americans and Filipinos who are in professional sports, or doing other things in the arts, whatever it is.
"I think it's just about inspiring the next generation that they're able to get to this level and they can do it."
Carrying it forward
As one of the faces of expansion side CT United, Monis is drawing from every chapter of his journey to help lead the Coywolves through their MLS NEXT Pro maiden voyage.
"We don't just want to be participants in the league," he said. "We want to make statements. We want to make it to the playoffs, we want to be fighting for a championship at the end of the year."
Squaring team goals with individual ones, success won't exclusively be measured by results when Monis defines how he'd like to be remembered beyond his contributions to the game.
"The biggest thing is being a good person before anything," Monis said. "Put aside all the individual accolades, the soccer-specific stuff.
"I think just being a good person, more than anything else."
