While the New Year always evokes feelings of a clean slate and “New Year, New Me” mottos, I want to use the first few days of January to remind myself to stay true to the values that matter to me most.
What Soccer Taught Us In 2015
It is what it is…until someone changes the status quo.
The year 2015 taught us that we don’t have to accept the negative aspects of the otherwise beautiful game. The major news story of the year in world football was the charges and arrests of top FIFA executives. This will forever be known as the year of the crackdown on the culture of bribery and corruption within the game. It is unclear how it will affect the next two World Cup tournaments in Russia and Qatar, but the investigation, led by U.S. authorities, is a strong statement that the world of football will simply not accept criminal behavior at its helm.
20 Years of a Dream
Twenty years ago this holiday season, I sat on a couch in New Jersey as my grandfather asked me questions about my favorite subjects in school and other random topics. I wasn’t completely engaged in what even to my young self seemed a silly interview, and so I was slow to answer. I watched the video again and again this past Thanksgiving, the first time I had seen it since it was made, replaying the part when my grandfather asks, “If it were 20 years from now, what do you think you’d be doing? What would be your work or your life like?” I answered: “Playing soccer.”
What Makes Up A Championship Team?
On the Road With F.C. Kansas City
People have no idea. They hear professional athlete and think private jets, million-dollar salaries, five-star hotels and the kind of glamour that is simply not the reality for most of us. While we would love one day to attain these fancy perks as a part of our job in the National Women’s Soccer League, for the moment we are firmly rooted in what we do have.
Spreading the Roots of Women's Soccer
As we witness the sold-out-in-an-hour Victory Tour games of the U.S.W.N.T., it is an opportunity to consider how we spread the roots of women’s soccer.
Shortly after the U.S. team’s emphatic World Cup win, I walked down the path at the Berkshire Soccer Academy for Girls. It felt as if I was entering a scene from The Parent Trap, with a twist. Girls were saying goodbyes to their parents, excitedly greeting friends from last summer, and laughing while kicking soccer balls around.
3 Points to Take Away From the Women's World Cup
As Americans, we are obsessed with winners, heroes, and domination. The 2015 Women's World Cup provided all of that, to the max. The U.S. Women’s National Team did not simply win the World Cup; it was emphatically victorious. Besides creating a fairytale-esque ending to the tournament, the win has strong implications in the larger scope of women's soccer development. In an analysis of the tournament, here are three aspects of the outcome that must not be ignored.
Recognizing Art in the Other Side of the Beautiful Game
Parting for Women's World Cup, but Hopefully Not for Good
A Tribute to Them, to Us.
This piece is in honor of a particular type of player. I have names and faces in mind, but more generally, it is a group defined by a certain professionalism that I believe is nearly unparalleled in any other work environment. This is my tribute to a group of women who have dedicated years of passionate work and pride to their trade, often in a world that is unable to fully reward them.
Pursuit 1v1 Soccer Tournament
Embracing Change as a Way of Life
I’ve become experienced in change. I definitely don’t like it. Scratch that — I dread it. But I’ve gotten a lot of practice and have learned a thing or two. The part I dislike most are the lasts. The last time playing pickup in the off-season; the last dinner with friends; the last night sleeping in my own bed.
Pushing Through the Off-Season With One Question: Why?
Holding Soccer Drive and Devotion to a Certain Standard
It’s encouraging to witness first-hand how soccer is taking off in the United States. According to a recent survey, youth soccer participation rates increased roughly 300 percent from 1974 to 2014. During my current off-season, I have conducted a number of clinics for some of these youth players. Typically, a club will invite me in for a day, and I work with boys and (mostly) girls on and off the field. Ages and ability levels vary greatly, but I am always astounded and moved by the level of enthusiasm and eagerness I see in the players.
The Art of Pickup
We call it pickup, but for any of us who play regular small-sided games with a group, let’s be honest–we all know it’s much more serious than that. Good pickup soccer is an art. The proper balance must be met in order for everyone involved to enjoy themselves, get better, and want to come back. Just like in a movie, there are some typical characters in any pickup group. Some are integral to a great game, and some we could all do without. Let’s examine the cast of a typical pickup game…
The Art of Off-Season Training
Roughly 150 players from the nine National Women’s Soccer League teams currently find themselves in the off-season. Some have headed overseas on loan deals to clubs in Europe, Japan or Australia, but the vast majority stay rooted to a home base for the six months between N.W.S.L. seasons.
Barcelona at Field Level: A Pro's-Eye View
When you can smell the freshly cut and watered grass, you know you are close. When I sat down with my father in the first row at the Camp Nou last week before Barcelona played Paris St.-Germain in the Champions League, the sprinklers were still on, making the glorious green field slick and fast to suit the style of the home team.
The Many Cultural Faces of Soccer, Football, Sakkā (サッカー), and Futebol
In Japan, as a Guest of Arsenal
It’s tough for me, as a 5-foot-10-inch woman, to fit in here. Literally. Everything is tiny, from the doorways to the spaces to sit to the plates and bowls. But I’ve come to really appreciate a lot of what I’ve learned about Japanese culture during my first visit here, as a guest player for Arsenal Ladies in the leadup to the International Women’s Club Championship.