Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / 197. Ali Krieger, Pro Soccer Player

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197. Ali Krieger, Pro Soccer Player · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

0:00
Speaker 1: If it's between you and me, I'm going to be winning.
0:02
Speaker 1: It's that fight, it's that mentality, it's that drive to
0:04
Speaker 1: want to be successful and compete constantly. It's somewhat easy
0:09
Speaker 1: to get to this level and you think you've made it,
0:13
Speaker 1: but what actually keeps you here is having that mentality
0:16
Speaker 1: and that drive to want to be the best every
0:19
Speaker 1: single day, and that's how you can stay here. You
0:22
Speaker 1: made it, but now the work, the hard work, really begins,
0:25
Speaker 1: and you have to continue to have that growth mindset
0:28
Speaker 1: and wanting to get better and be the best every day.
0:31
Speaker 1: And if you have that mentality, you will stay and
0:33
Speaker 1: have a long career. But if you don't have that
0:36
Speaker 1: willingness and that drive, it's going to be a tough road.
0:54
Speaker 2: Season nine. When did this happen?
1:00
Speaker 3: Emily A body here coming to you from the Age Studio.
1:04
Speaker 3: You are listening to episode one ninety seven of Hurdle,
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Speaker 3: a wellness focused podcast where I connect with everyone from
1:13
Speaker 3: your favorite athletes to top experts and industry CEOs about
1:16
Speaker 3: their highest highs, toughest moments, and everything in between. We
1:21
Speaker 3: all go through hurdles in life, and my goal through
1:23
Speaker 3: these discussions is to empower you to better navigate yours
1:27
Speaker 3: and move with intention so that you can stride towards
1:30
Speaker 3: your own big potential and of course have some fun
1:34
Speaker 3: along the way.
1:36
Speaker 1: Wow.
1:38
Speaker 3: That is like the word that I will use to
1:40
Speaker 3: summarize exactly how I feel in this moment.
1:43
Speaker 2: I'm excited, I'm amped.
1:44
Speaker 3: I'm looking forward to all of the great content that
1:48
Speaker 3: is coming down the pipe for the ninth season of
1:52
Speaker 3: the show. Jeez, every time when I say something like that,
1:55
Speaker 3: I come back to this idea that I had no
1:57
Speaker 3: clue what I was getting into from the get go,
2:00
Speaker 3: and I never expected to have thousands and thousands and
2:04
Speaker 3: thousands of people listening to this on the regular. But
2:07
Speaker 3: here we are, and I could not be more proud
2:12
Speaker 3: of everything that this community has become. I am so
2:16
Speaker 3: electrified today because for episode one ninety seven, this season
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Speaker 3: nine premiere, I am chatting with pro soccer great Ali Creeker.
2:27
Speaker 3: We are talking about all of her unreal accomplishments from
2:31
Speaker 3: her sixteen year career thus far, including the top hurdles
2:36
Speaker 3: along the way, involving injury and essentially being fired from
2:40
Speaker 3: the US women's national team for about two years.
2:44
Speaker 2: She also shares the.
2:45
Speaker 3: Joy that she felt returning to the team in twenty
2:47
Speaker 3: nineteen and the elation that came with getting her one
2:51
Speaker 3: hundredth cap, which in soccer lingo is how many international
2:55
Speaker 3: matches a player.
2:56
Speaker 2: As we're taken in, we also.
2:58
Speaker 3: Talk about her being a huge advocate for the lgbtq
3:01
Speaker 3: A community at something that she's super passionate about, alongside
3:04
Speaker 3: her now wife and teammate Ashlyn Harris.
3:08
Speaker 2: And speaking of Ashland, she gives.
3:10
Speaker 3: Some insight as to what it was like for the
3:12
Speaker 3: couple when they came out to their teammates their coaches,
3:17
Speaker 3: being honest about a little bit of hesitancy at first,
3:20
Speaker 3: Plus she shares her best advice for anyone who may
3:23
Speaker 3: be feeling some kind of way about coming out as well.
3:27
Speaker 3: I am amped that Ali is now based in the
3:30
Speaker 3: New York area playing with Gotham FC. I am looking
3:34
Speaker 3: forward to personally finally being able to go watch her
3:37
Speaker 3: play IRL And I'm really really grateful for her time
3:41
Speaker 3: and her energy and for giving me an opportunity to
3:44
Speaker 3: chat with her for the show. I am also I
3:48
Speaker 3: feel like I've said the word excited in this intro
3:50
Speaker 3: like a handful of times already, but this is the
3:52
Speaker 3: energy that I am coming into season nine with I
3:55
Speaker 3: am am for the Hurdler event in DC next week.
3:59
Speaker 2: If you were listening to this in real.
4:00
Speaker 3: Time, I'm going to be giving a talk at Hotel
4:02
Speaker 3: Zena on Wednesday at March sixteenth. I would love to
4:05
Speaker 3: see you there. We just opened up some more spots.
4:07
Speaker 3: I will link the event right in the show notes.
4:10
Speaker 3: Also really looking forward to the Hurdle Huddle at the
4:13
Speaker 3: end of the month here in New York. That event
4:15
Speaker 3: is sold out, but I promise that it will not
4:18
Speaker 3: be a.
4:18
Speaker 1: One and done.
4:19
Speaker 3: This is something that I'm looking forward to bringing it
4:22
Speaker 3: to many cities fingers crossed in the months going forward,
4:27
Speaker 3: including another round in New York. So stay tuned for
4:29
Speaker 3: more invite on upcoming hurdle events. By making sure you're
4:33
Speaker 3: following along with the Hurdle Instagram that's over at Hurdle Podcasts,
4:37
Speaker 3: and subscribe to the weekly Hurdle newsletter. It comes out
4:40
Speaker 3: every Friday morning. It brings you a lot of the
4:42
Speaker 3: same things that you love about the show, motivation, inspiration,
4:46
Speaker 3: a little insight into what's going on in my world
4:48
Speaker 3: every single Friday morning, directly to your inbox. The link
4:52
Speaker 3: to subscribe to that is also in the show notes.
4:55
Speaker 2: And last little bit.
4:56
Speaker 3: Of housekeeping, I said, make sure you're following along with
4:58
Speaker 3: the Hurdle Instagram over at Hurdle Podcast. If you are
5:02
Speaker 3: following there, tomorrow you're going to see a really exciting
5:05
Speaker 3: giveaway with some of my great partners to celebrate the
5:09
Speaker 3: launch of season nine. So make sure you're following to
5:13
Speaker 3: stay in the loop. Trust me, you're not gonna want
5:16
Speaker 3: to miss this.
5:18
Speaker 2: I'm over on.
5:18
Speaker 3: Instagram as well at Emily a Body. And with that,
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Speaker 3: let's kick things off. Let's get to hurdling.
5:37
Speaker 2: Today.
5:37
Speaker 3: I am sitting down with Ali Kreeger. She is a
5:40
Speaker 3: pro soccer player an Olympian. How you doing today, Al.
5:44
Speaker 1: I'm great. Thanks so much for inviting me. This is
5:47
Speaker 1: such a dream to be here.
5:48
Speaker 2: Oh man, a dream.
5:51
Speaker 3: Lush A spoiler alert. I'm kicking off the new season
5:55
Speaker 3: of the show with you. Oh wow, no pun intended
5:58
Speaker 3: with the words kicking off.
6:00
Speaker 1: Well, you're welcome, welcome.
6:02
Speaker 2: I'm so amped.
6:03
Speaker 3: I'm so amped to have you here and I want
6:05
Speaker 3: to be the zillionth person to welcome you up to
6:09
Speaker 3: my neck of the woods. You and I are both
6:10
Speaker 3: in the New York area. Now, congrats on your new
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Speaker 3: chapter with the Gotham.
6:14
Speaker 1: Thank you so much. It's been such a great adjustment
6:19
Speaker 1: for us and such a change. I still haven't gotten
6:21
Speaker 1: warm yet, so I don't know if that's ever going
6:25
Speaker 1: to change. But I am just cold all the time.
6:30
Speaker 2: I don't know if it changes.
6:31
Speaker 3: But I mean, were you and I were chatting on
6:32
Speaker 3: an absolutely beautiful day in New York.
6:34
Speaker 2: But I feel like it is like a ultimate tease. Lately.
6:37
Speaker 3: We get these like hints of sixty and then it's like, JK,
6:40
Speaker 3: back to twenty two.
6:43
Speaker 1: I mean, it's just like I can barely feel my
6:45
Speaker 1: fingers and toes all the time, and we're like out
6:47
Speaker 1: of the training field, and I'm just like, oh my gosh,
6:49
Speaker 1: I can't wait till like end of March or maybe
6:52
Speaker 1: even you know, end of April early May, getting the
6:56
Speaker 1: season going in the hot weather.
6:57
Speaker 3: Well, you have nothing going on lately, I mean, aside
7:00
Speaker 3: from the fact that your daughter just turned one years old,
7:04
Speaker 3: you had this move.
7:05
Speaker 2: You guys are just like, I feel like, all over
7:08
Speaker 2: the place.
7:08
Speaker 3: How are you feeling with trying to keep up with
7:11
Speaker 3: absolutely everything that's going on?
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Speaker 1: We really are, I mean, we've we're kind of comfortable
7:17
Speaker 1: in that chaos. I mean, I feel like we were
7:19
Speaker 1: so open to this move because we just wanted a change,
7:23
Speaker 1: and I think it was time for a change, and
7:25
Speaker 1: so I feel like it was definitely positive for us
7:28
Speaker 1: to get out of the environment that we were in
7:30
Speaker 1: and into this refreshing environment with a new team, a
7:34
Speaker 1: new culture, a new city to explore, and business wise,
7:39
Speaker 1: outside of soccer, this is like a perfect city for
7:41
Speaker 1: us to be in to you know, get involved not
7:45
Speaker 1: only in the community with the team, but also as
7:48
Speaker 1: individuals and you know, get ourselves out there into the
7:51
Speaker 1: city and you know, go see other games and you know,
7:55
Speaker 1: interact with other athletes and sports and also just on
7:59
Speaker 1: the business side. And yeah, so it's been a great
8:02
Speaker 1: experience so far. The move was definitely hectic, but all
8:05
Speaker 1: in all, we're super happy.
8:07
Speaker 3: What other sorts of business endeavors are you trying to
8:09
Speaker 3: take on at the moment.
8:11
Speaker 1: I mean there's actually a lot. Well, you know, we
8:14
Speaker 1: obviously want to advocate for our LGBTQ community and fight
8:19
Speaker 1: for issues that we believe in, and I think that's
8:21
Speaker 1: also important. We're not only defined just by playing football,
8:24
Speaker 1: so we need to make sure that we get out
8:26
Speaker 1: in the community, and we use our platform for good,
8:29
Speaker 1: and we use our platform to speak up for those
8:31
Speaker 1: who who can't one for themselves and maybe who don't
8:35
Speaker 1: have a similar platform that we do. So we obviously
8:38
Speaker 1: want to get involved with the community here and be
8:42
Speaker 1: challenged in a way because that's the only way that
8:44
Speaker 1: I feel like we can grow. And so it's been
8:47
Speaker 1: really exciting to kind of have these new experiences.
8:50
Speaker 3: So for those of that are maybe listening that aren't
8:52
Speaker 3: caught up to speed. Your partner, Ashlynn, you married in
8:56
Speaker 3: December twenty nineteen, talk to us a little bit about
9:00
Speaker 3: I guess kind of coming into your own as a couple.
9:03
Speaker 3: Obviously a lot of challenges that go hand in hand
9:06
Speaker 3: with not just playing together but then kind of coming
9:08
Speaker 3: out in that really big way.
9:10
Speaker 2: So shed some light on that for us.
9:13
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean it was definitely new for us to
9:16
Speaker 1: announce our engagement. I feel like, you know, within our workspace,
9:22
Speaker 1: you know, we felt like we needed to be professional
9:25
Speaker 1: and you know, kind of just focus on our job.
9:28
Speaker 1: We had this feeling that maybe we wouldn't be as
9:31
Speaker 1: accepted during that time, and so once we kind of
9:36
Speaker 1: said basically, f it, We're going to be who we are,
9:38
Speaker 1: and we're going to live our lives authentically, like let's
9:42
Speaker 1: you know, just go for it. And I at that
9:46
Speaker 1: moment wasn't or in that time, I wasn't on the
9:49
Speaker 1: national team anymore. So I felt like it was, you know,
9:53
Speaker 1: a good time for us to be more open with
9:56
Speaker 1: our fans. Of course, I mean our family and friends
10:00
Speaker 1: for a long time, but you know, just like to
10:03
Speaker 1: say it out loud and to say it publicly that
10:05
Speaker 1: we were together, that we were engaged in getting married
10:08
Speaker 1: the following year. I think that was really important for
10:10
Speaker 1: us and also important for our fans and supporters to
10:12
Speaker 1: see that you know, being with you know, a partner
10:15
Speaker 1: of the same sex as you know, normal and that's okay,
10:19
Speaker 1: and that we can still be professional and be on
10:21
Speaker 1: the same you know, in the same workspace. So I
10:24
Speaker 1: think that was really a good moment for us because
10:28
Speaker 1: then from that moment on, we could give everyone everything
10:32
Speaker 1: we had. I think up until then it was kind
10:34
Speaker 1: of like how we're giving pieces of ourselves, but this
10:37
Speaker 1: isn't really all of us. And I think we were
10:41
Speaker 1: able to give our friends, our family, our teammates, our organization,
10:45
Speaker 1: and our club everything we had without feeling that we
10:49
Speaker 1: were hiding anything that we were weren't being our full selves,
10:53
Speaker 1: and so I think after that moment, it was like
10:55
Speaker 1: a weight lifted off of both of us and we
10:57
Speaker 1: just kind of kept on living our life and the
11:00
Speaker 1: support from everyone, even our sponsorships, was incredible. We even
11:05
Speaker 1: like we got more sponsorships and attention than I think
11:09
Speaker 1: we ever thought of. You know, we weren't sure which
11:12
Speaker 1: way people were going to go and if they were
11:16
Speaker 1: going to accept us, and so that was definitely a
11:19
Speaker 1: really healthy experience individually but as a couple. And then
11:24
Speaker 1: moving on to the wedding, that was probably the last
11:26
Speaker 1: party that everyone went through before COVID, and so we
11:29
Speaker 1: were like so pumped to celebrate with all of our
11:31
Speaker 1: loved ones and it was so much fun. And I
11:35
Speaker 1: think putting that out into the world really then saved
11:39
Speaker 1: a lot of people's lives and maybe helped them along
11:42
Speaker 1: their journey of you know, living their true, authentic lives.
11:46
Speaker 1: And so that was really inspiring for us, and we
11:49
Speaker 1: wanted to do that not only for us and our
11:50
Speaker 1: family and friends, but for the world to see that,
11:54
Speaker 1: you know, this is normal and the life that we
11:57
Speaker 1: live is a choice, and it's something that we thrive
12:01
Speaker 1: in and something that you know, we want to share
12:03
Speaker 1: with everyone. And yeah, it was a great, a great
12:07
Speaker 1: year for us.
12:08
Speaker 2: So interesting. There's so many things to double click on here.
12:10
Speaker 3: The first thing being that I'm sure in that like
12:13
Speaker 3: kind of build up to getting to the place where
12:15
Speaker 3: you felt ready to share this part of your life
12:19
Speaker 3: with everyone, it's not like just sharing it with twenty people.
12:23
Speaker 2: It's sharing it with millions of people.
12:26
Speaker 3: So there were probably stories you were telling yourself of
12:29
Speaker 3: how it could go or what could happen. So that
12:32
Speaker 3: sense of relief, like I cannot even imagine.
12:36
Speaker 1: You know, when you like struggle for a little bit
12:39
Speaker 1: trying to find yourself in your twenties and your identity,
12:41
Speaker 1: I'm sure a lot of us can relate. And you're,
12:44
Speaker 1: you know, finding yourself through your sexuality, and I don't
12:48
Speaker 1: think you have to. You know, everyone has their own
12:51
Speaker 1: journey and it doesn't have to be one way or
12:52
Speaker 1: the other. And I think that that part of our
12:56
Speaker 1: life was when we were working together on the national team,
13:01
Speaker 1: and I think we both were kind of going through
13:03
Speaker 1: our own challenges in life and both individually and as
13:07
Speaker 1: a couple, and kind of trying to navigate through all
13:09
Speaker 1: of that, so I know it's really difficult for a
13:11
Speaker 1: lot of us to really you know, find your identity
13:14
Speaker 1: and you know, figure out your sexuality. And so that
13:18
Speaker 1: whole experience kind of came to ahead when we were
13:23
Speaker 1: going to announce that we were engaged, and I felt
13:25
Speaker 1: really comfortable and confident in us but also in myself
13:30
Speaker 1: that I was ready for this moment and that we
13:33
Speaker 1: can share now with the world and really be true
13:35
Speaker 1: to ourselves.
13:36
Speaker 3: And you know, there's a phrase that I feel like
13:38
Speaker 3: I keep hearing pop up because of the pandemic.
13:41
Speaker 2: It's called empathy fatigue.
13:43
Speaker 3: And it's like you have so much going on your
13:45
Speaker 3: own life and you're like trying to show up for
13:48
Speaker 3: other people, and it can be truly exhausting. I would
13:51
Speaker 3: imagine as beautiful and wonderful and so fulfilling it is
13:56
Speaker 3: to be someone that is helpful and insightful and there
14:00
Speaker 3: to an extent for other people.
14:02
Speaker 2: Does it ever feel a.
14:04
Speaker 3: Little overwhelming or perhaps a little frustrating that maybe you
14:07
Speaker 3: can't be there in the capacity that you wish that
14:10
Speaker 3: you could for so many.
14:12
Speaker 1: That's such a great question. Yes and no, I feel like, yes,
14:17
Speaker 1: I want to help anyone who needs it. I'm such
14:20
Speaker 1: a people pleaser and I'm just you know, I worry
14:22
Speaker 1: about everyone else's feelings more than my own, and so
14:26
Speaker 1: I feel like I want to continue to help everyone
14:31
Speaker 1: I can. But also you have to think about you know,
14:34
Speaker 1: you can only control what you can control. And I
14:37
Speaker 1: think that if all of us can take a little
14:40
Speaker 1: puzzle piece in our life and really focus on how
14:44
Speaker 1: we can help those within that space, I think then
14:48
Speaker 1: all of us together are actually working in the bigger pictures.
14:52
Speaker 1: So I feel like if all of us just kind
14:54
Speaker 1: of take care of our little puzzle piece in our
14:56
Speaker 1: little space, then actually, you know, everyone else us is
15:01
Speaker 1: growing in a positive direction together. Not you know, maybe
15:06
Speaker 1: it's unknowingly, but you know, we can't control everyone and everything,
15:10
Speaker 1: And of course I want to give more, but at
15:13
Speaker 1: the end of the day, I need some for myself
15:15
Speaker 1: as well.
15:15
Speaker 2: As another proud giver.
15:17
Speaker 3: I think that realization is something that can be hard
15:20
Speaker 3: to get to, but once you get there, it's like
15:23
Speaker 3: the most valuable moment to be like, I can only
15:25
Speaker 3: give so much to other people before I take the
15:29
Speaker 3: picture of water and pour some into my own cup.
15:32
Speaker 1: Right, absolutely, I totally agree one hundred percent, and it
15:36
Speaker 1: might take you long time to realize that. It's taken
15:39
Speaker 1: me a long time to try and like separate myself
15:43
Speaker 1: and be like, Okay, I've done what I can and
15:46
Speaker 1: I continue to do that, but I also can't forget
15:48
Speaker 1: about myself and make myself a priority sometimes because then
15:51
Speaker 1: you're right, you can't give, give, give, and receive nothing
15:55
Speaker 1: in return. So and at the end of the day,
15:58
Speaker 1: you're then empty and you're like, Okay, well, how am
16:00
Speaker 1: I going to fill my cup in order to continue
16:03
Speaker 1: to give? So I agree completely.
16:05
Speaker 3: You also mentioned earlier being left off of the roster
16:10
Speaker 3: in twenty seventeen. Let's talk a little bit perhaps before that,
16:14
Speaker 3: talking about just, you know, your journey with soccer.
16:17
Speaker 2: I know that you've been playing for one hell of
16:20
Speaker 2: a time.
16:20
Speaker 3: I had Carly Lloyd on the show god months ago now,
16:24
Speaker 3: but she had a lot of sentiments to share about,
16:26
Speaker 3: like what it was like to be one of the
16:28
Speaker 3: older players in the league. And you've been going at
16:30
Speaker 3: this for a long time and been playing really well
16:33
Speaker 3: for a really long time. So kind of bring us
16:35
Speaker 3: back and talk to us about your entry point into
16:38
Speaker 3: playing professional soccer.
16:40
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, it's definitely this is my sixteenth year professionally.
16:44
Speaker 1: I you know, we didn't have a league when I
16:46
Speaker 1: graduated way back in I was seventh, and so I
16:49
Speaker 1: wanted to continue to plan. Ultimately, my dream was to
16:52
Speaker 1: make the national team. So long story short, I that
16:55
Speaker 1: year was on the U twenty threes. We went to Vasa,
16:58
Speaker 1: Finland and had a tournament there and I think a
17:00
Speaker 1: lot of European coaches came to that tournament to recruit
17:03
Speaker 1: or just to see. And so I got a phone
17:05
Speaker 1: call from an agent of just a family friend and
17:09
Speaker 1: he said, Hey, would you want to come try out
17:11
Speaker 1: like for a couple of teams in Europe who are
17:13
Speaker 1: interested that they saw you this summer. I said, oh
17:15
Speaker 1: my gosh, sure, Like what else am I going to do?
17:17
Speaker 1: Play pick up with like my guy friends from high
17:19
Speaker 1: school like twice a week and hope I'd get to
17:21
Speaker 1: the next level. No, So I packed with two bags
17:25
Speaker 1: and I went to Frankfurt, Germany, and I ended up
17:29
Speaker 1: at training with like seven of like some of the
17:32
Speaker 1: best footballers in the world which played on the German
17:35
Speaker 1: national team, and they were incredible. And also Gino Lewandowski,
17:39
Speaker 1: who's my teammate here at Gotham she Gotham FC. She
17:44
Speaker 1: was also at the at the field that day, so
17:47
Speaker 1: I met her and then five and a half years later,
17:50
Speaker 1: I had some of the best experiences of my life,
17:54
Speaker 1: both on the field and off the field. That's when
17:56
Speaker 1: I kind of went through this whole finding myself and
18:01
Speaker 1: kind of exploring. I think I needed that just kind
18:04
Speaker 1: of to be and be able to sit with myself
18:07
Speaker 1: and in my thoughts and kind of you know, picture
18:10
Speaker 1: my life. And I really loved it there. I had
18:13
Speaker 1: five and a half great years. I ended up coming
18:15
Speaker 1: back because I wanted to help the nwasl start the league,
18:20
Speaker 1: so that was my reasoning end of coming back after
18:22
Speaker 1: so long. But I mean I won Champions League there
18:25
Speaker 1: and all the titles that you can win at club
18:28
Speaker 1: level in Europe, which was fantastic. So that was a
18:31
Speaker 1: great start. So I loved it. And then I came
18:36
Speaker 1: home and started to play in DC, you know, for
18:40
Speaker 1: four years, and then got traded to Orlando. Luckily they
18:44
Speaker 1: traded me there because Ash was there. I don't know
18:46
Speaker 1: what would what would have happened if I would have
18:48
Speaker 1: been traded anywhere else, but and then you know, I'm
18:51
Speaker 1: going to end my career with Gotham FC. So this
18:54
Speaker 1: has been quite the experience. I've learned a lot along
18:57
Speaker 1: the way. I've been in really good environments and maybe
19:01
Speaker 1: not so good environments. So I think I've taken the
19:04
Speaker 1: good and the bad and mixed it all together through
19:07
Speaker 1: my experiences now and just having the best four weeks
19:11
Speaker 1: so far with any club team that I've been on.
19:14
Speaker 1: So this has been a great road, a really tough road.
19:18
Speaker 1: You know. In between there, you've had some big time tournaments,
19:21
Speaker 1: World Cups and Olympics. But you know, in two thousand
19:25
Speaker 1: and seven, I decided to take this big risk. I
19:27
Speaker 1: didn't know anybody. I just packed my bags. I said, listen, family,
19:31
Speaker 1: I'm leaving. I need to get out of here. I
19:34
Speaker 1: want to go explore something new, culture, food, people, environment,
19:39
Speaker 1: let me learn something about myself, challenge myself. And I
19:43
Speaker 1: ended up taking a risk and then ended up, you know,
19:47
Speaker 1: landing me in my dream job. So I'm so grateful
19:51
Speaker 1: for that experience.
19:52
Speaker 3: It's so funny, right, I feel like you hear that
19:54
Speaker 3: all the time, someone says something like I took a
19:56
Speaker 3: risk and it paid off. But so often people are
19:59
Speaker 3: afraid afraid to take the risk because they're nervous about
20:03
Speaker 3: it going in the other direction. Do you think that
20:06
Speaker 3: you kind of were born with that level of gusto
20:10
Speaker 3: or was this truly something that was entirely out of
20:13
Speaker 3: your comfort zone.
20:14
Speaker 1: I think a little bit of both, because I was
20:15
Speaker 1: definitely like, I don't even know what I'm jumping into,
20:18
Speaker 1: Like I have absolutely no clue, but like, I'm willing
20:21
Speaker 1: to take that because here I'm you know, I have
20:24
Speaker 1: goals and dreams that I want to accomplish, and I
20:26
Speaker 1: don't think that this environment is going to get me there.
20:29
Speaker 1: So I needed to put myself in an environment where there
20:31
Speaker 1: were players who are better than me and kind of
20:33
Speaker 1: challenge myself in order to then grow. So I was
20:37
Speaker 1: willing to just like try something new, and just like
20:41
Speaker 1: you said, like I feel, I feel like unless you
20:44
Speaker 1: take that risk, you're never gonna know. And so the
20:46
Speaker 1: worst thing that could happen is if it goes south,
20:48
Speaker 1: I just come back. And so I was like, listen,
20:50
Speaker 1: I'll do something else. So I definitely had that luxury of,
20:54
Speaker 1: you know, making that choice, and they ended up signing
20:56
Speaker 1: me for two years and then the rest is history.
20:59
Speaker 1: But I think, yeah, if you don't take that risk,
21:02
Speaker 1: you'll never know.
21:03
Speaker 3: Talk to me about getting involved with the US women's
21:07
Speaker 3: national team.
21:08
Speaker 1: Pia Suntaga came to one of my club club games
21:11
Speaker 1: in Frankfurt and we were playing Potsdam and I was
21:14
Speaker 1: having to play against one of the best German players
21:16
Speaker 1: of all time, Leira Bairomi, and I think she came
21:20
Speaker 1: to that game and watched watch me play, and then
21:25
Speaker 1: after that game she was, I guess, just impressed with
21:29
Speaker 1: the game and the way we played, and then invited
21:32
Speaker 1: me to that next camp. And so it was a
21:34
Speaker 1: bit of a surprise that I was going to be
21:37
Speaker 1: like coming into that next camp, and I'm sure she
21:40
Speaker 1: was just kind of, you know, seeing if I could
21:43
Speaker 1: fit with the rest of the team and play at
21:46
Speaker 1: the level of the national team, because it is a
21:48
Speaker 1: huge jump from club it's definitely not the same. And
21:51
Speaker 1: so I went into that camp and I felt like,
21:53
Speaker 1: you know, I did well, and she gave me great
21:55
Speaker 1: feedback and then continued calling me in and then that
21:58
Speaker 1: was the year of the World Cup, so this twenty ten,
22:01
Speaker 1: and then the year of the World Cup was obviously
22:03
Speaker 1: twenty eleven, and that was in Germany, and so it
22:05
Speaker 1: was just kind of like a whole full circle moment.
22:08
Speaker 1: So luckily Pia came to one of the games when
22:11
Speaker 1: I was playing in Frankfurt, and then you know, the
22:14
Speaker 1: rest is history.
22:17
Speaker 3: But along your journey, you also you mentioned some hard times,
22:21
Speaker 3: some of those hard times having to do with injury.
22:24
Speaker 3: So chat me through what that landscape has really looked
22:29
Speaker 3: like for you. I know you had a really rough,
22:31
Speaker 3: fibulous spiral fracture, so let's talk about that.
22:35
Speaker 1: Yeah, So I was three days before the NCAA first
22:38
Speaker 1: round game in college and we played against a boys
22:42
Speaker 1: team that year just to prep us. It was a Wednesday,
22:46
Speaker 1: I think we were playing Friday, and so it was
22:48
Speaker 1: just like at the end, we just wanted to get
22:50
Speaker 1: a game in before to prep us. And I just
22:54
Speaker 1: got tackled from behind unfortunately, and got tangled up and
22:59
Speaker 1: landed down in a weird way and immediately broke my fibula.
23:04
Speaker 1: I didn't know at the time, but I definitely knew
23:06
Speaker 1: something was wrong and that turned into missing the rest
23:11
Speaker 1: of the season. That year, we actually went to the
23:14
Speaker 1: final four, So I missed the final fours. I was
23:16
Speaker 1: so devastated. But we played Megan Rapino in the semi
23:20
Speaker 1: final against Portland, and so we lost in TKS, but
23:24
Speaker 1: it was such a such a great year. We were
23:26
Speaker 1: ranked like number one that year. But it was a
23:28
Speaker 1: real struggle because that was like probably one of my
23:31
Speaker 1: first injuries that I experienced and not being able to
23:34
Speaker 1: play and you know, just in tears and just like
23:38
Speaker 1: going through it. And then the road was even longer
23:41
Speaker 1: because I ended up having a pulmonary embolism from that
23:45
Speaker 1: surgery the flights to the Final four and over Christmas
23:49
Speaker 1: break and then I was on you know, birth control
23:52
Speaker 1: pills at the time, So I think it was like
23:53
Speaker 1: a perfect storm for that to happen. That was a
23:56
Speaker 1: whole nother layer. And then that was a six month recovery,
23:59
Speaker 1: So it was definitely a long period of time where
24:02
Speaker 1: I was away from the game, and so I struggled
24:04
Speaker 1: a little bit mentally and wondered if I would ever
24:07
Speaker 1: be able to play again. And so that took a
24:09
Speaker 1: toll on me. And I was only twenty one at
24:12
Speaker 1: the time, and I still had another year left in school,
24:15
Speaker 1: and so I just fought back and listened to the
24:18
Speaker 1: doctors and the professionals as much as possible and was
24:21
Speaker 1: able to slowly get back into it. But it definitely
24:24
Speaker 1: put a dent in my mindset and mentality, and it
24:29
Speaker 1: really challenged me.
24:31
Speaker 3: And you've dealt with other injuries since I think so
24:33
Speaker 3: many people can relate to not being able to do
24:37
Speaker 3: the thing that they love that brings them so much joy,
24:39
Speaker 3: that's a huge part of their identity. What were maybe
24:44
Speaker 3: some of the tools that you harnessed, either like mentally
24:47
Speaker 3: or like reaching out to help from friends and loved
24:49
Speaker 3: ones to get through these times where you felt so
24:53
Speaker 3: unsure of like who you were supposed to be or
24:56
Speaker 3: what you would do going forward, if X or if HY.
25:00
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's difficult because you do start thinking that
25:02
Speaker 1: you're like, oh gosh, like what if I can't play again?
25:05
Speaker 1: Like I don't I'm not set up yet for the
25:07
Speaker 1: next step. You know, you're just going to be forced
25:09
Speaker 1: to kind of just like do take another path, which
25:12
Speaker 1: I would have been fine with, but it just would
25:14
Speaker 1: have been definitely a period of you know, grieving, I guess,
25:18
Speaker 1: so to speak. And at that time I was just
25:20
Speaker 1: focused on, you know, the next day. And I think
25:24
Speaker 1: a lot of people it's difficult for people to not
25:27
Speaker 1: think ahead of down the road and visioning that Okay,
25:32
Speaker 1: you're going to be doing this or that, But I
25:34
Speaker 1: honestly just focused on the recovery process and how can
25:37
Speaker 1: I first of all get healthy and then how can
25:41
Speaker 1: I slowly get back onto the field, and following the
25:46
Speaker 1: instructions from you know, the medical staff was really important.
25:51
Speaker 1: And then just taking one day at a time and
25:53
Speaker 1: having small goals each day and each week rather than
25:56
Speaker 1: looking ahead and setting, you know, my long term goals
25:59
Speaker 1: and kind of overseeing those weekly goals, because then you're
26:02
Speaker 1: just gonna drive yourself nuts if you don't meet it
26:05
Speaker 1: at that specific time period. So I just tried to
26:09
Speaker 1: continue to get better every day, continue to get healthier,
26:12
Speaker 1: and take one day at a time and not really
26:16
Speaker 1: put that pressure on myself. So it was definitely a
26:18
Speaker 1: slow process, but I feel like in the end it
26:23
Speaker 1: made me that much stronger.
26:30
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Speaker 3: some of these themes have been ones that have kind
30:28
Speaker 3: of interwoven throughout your entire story. Circling back to that
30:32
Speaker 3: twenty seventeen moment, where were you mentally when you realized
30:36
Speaker 3: what was going on with the US women's national team.
30:39
Speaker 1: I was devastated. I was devastated because I was actually
30:42
Speaker 1: playing some of the best football in my career and
30:45
Speaker 1: I couldn't really understand. And I know there was you know,
30:48
Speaker 1: I was thinking of every which way, like what could
30:51
Speaker 1: be the issue, like, because you know, my ability and
30:56
Speaker 1: quality on the field at that time was really good,
30:59
Speaker 1: and I felt very confident and very consistent, and at
31:04
Speaker 1: that level, my mentality was was good, and I just
31:08
Speaker 1: feel like there was no one that was really truly
31:10
Speaker 1: like beating me out of my position. So I guess
31:13
Speaker 1: I didn't really understand. I know that not every coach
31:17
Speaker 1: is going to like you, you know, whether that be your
31:19
Speaker 1: playing style or maybe just because you know, sometimes there's
31:23
Speaker 1: not even a rhyme or reason, like, you know, not
31:25
Speaker 1: everyone's going to like you. But I thought that at
31:28
Speaker 1: that level, if you're the best in that position and
31:32
Speaker 1: you're playing well in club, then you deserve to be there.
31:36
Speaker 1: And so I wasn't really understanding that and even asking
31:41
Speaker 1: the question, I wasn't really getting an honest answer. And
31:45
Speaker 1: so that's something that I was really upset about because
31:49
Speaker 1: in this profession and a lot of us, you know,
31:52
Speaker 1: we're professionals, like you could just tell me, hey, this
31:55
Speaker 1: is what you need to get better at, this is
31:57
Speaker 1: what you need to do in order to be here,
31:58
Speaker 1: and then sure out, like you know, apply that and
32:02
Speaker 1: implement that in every training and get better and then
32:05
Speaker 1: bring it back into the camp. Well, there was just nothing.
32:09
Speaker 1: It was just crickets, like, it was just not even
32:12
Speaker 1: it was just made up, I felt like. And so
32:16
Speaker 1: then I thought it was somewhat of a personal vendetta.
32:18
Speaker 1: And so that was really a hard time period because
32:22
Speaker 1: I just never had an answer of why and so
32:26
Speaker 1: like what can I work on in order to get back?
32:28
Speaker 1: And so that's why I think I struggled more because
32:31
Speaker 1: I was doing well and I had one of the
32:33
Speaker 1: best club seasons in my career with Orlando that year,
32:36
Speaker 1: and just it wasn't clique and I wasn't really understanding.
32:39
Speaker 1: So that was why it was so tough.
32:41
Speaker 2: There's kind of two parts to this.
32:43
Speaker 3: One is like you get to a point where you
32:45
Speaker 3: start telling yourself all of these stories. So if someone
32:49
Speaker 3: could have just kind of like put you out of
32:50
Speaker 3: your misery to better understand what you could focus your
32:55
Speaker 3: energy on, the other thing, really, is you learning this
32:59
Speaker 3: important lesson of doing the best you could with what
33:01
Speaker 3: you had, right, Like, it wasn't like you didn't have
33:05
Speaker 3: or deserve or earn the right to be upset in
33:08
Speaker 3: this moment. But then, as I know, because I know
33:12
Speaker 3: what's coming, and maybe some of the listeners do as well,
33:14
Speaker 3: but like turning your energy into okay, well this is
33:17
Speaker 3: how it is now, so I'm gonna push with that, right.
33:22
Speaker 1: And like we talked about before, you can only control
33:25
Speaker 1: what you can control. So then you know, it's not
33:27
Speaker 1: like I turn on the specific alley care Yer that
33:29
Speaker 1: shows up just with the national team at camp. It's
33:31
Speaker 1: like I'm always that same alley. So in club, I
33:34
Speaker 1: made sure that I, you know, showed up every day.
33:37
Speaker 1: I had a good attitude, you know, fought for my position,
33:40
Speaker 1: you know, earned weekend and week out a position in
33:43
Speaker 1: the starting eleven on this or just in the squad
33:46
Speaker 1: of eighteen, and just made sure that I was consistent
33:49
Speaker 1: and confident in every performance, so that you know, that's
33:54
Speaker 1: going to always be my mentality. You know, that's always
33:57
Speaker 1: going to be me, whether I'm just with club or
33:58
Speaker 1: national team or both. So I feel I feel like
34:02
Speaker 1: that's what I focused on. I tried to just be
34:04
Speaker 1: more consistent and you know, have great performances. And then
34:08
Speaker 1: it hopes that the door was still cracked, you know, open,
34:13
Speaker 1: that I could get my big toe right in there
34:16
Speaker 1: and keep the door open for a little bit longer
34:19
Speaker 1: for you.
34:20
Speaker 3: During this time also going through so much personally, did
34:23
Speaker 3: you have a hard time navigating your personal relationships because
34:28
Speaker 3: of the frustrations that you were experiencing with it in
34:31
Speaker 3: your professional life.
34:33
Speaker 1: Yes, good question. I mean, I absolutely it's really difficult
34:37
Speaker 1: when you're going through something. I think, you know, Ash
34:41
Speaker 1: thank God for her, Like she's stuck by my side
34:44
Speaker 1: and actually pushed me every day to continue to you know,
34:47
Speaker 1: play well and do the right things in order to
34:50
Speaker 1: perform at the highest level and in order to not
34:55
Speaker 1: be ignored. And so I think, you know, she was
34:57
Speaker 1: such a staple obviously and helping me get back to
35:01
Speaker 1: the team. My family and friends are always going to support,
35:04
Speaker 1: but I did feel like I was pushing people away
35:06
Speaker 1: because I just wanted, you know, some time to try
35:09
Speaker 1: and figure out what was next. I actually tried to
35:12
Speaker 1: stay busy as much as possible, and I had my
35:14
Speaker 1: camps and clinics with AKFC, and I would do appearances,
35:18
Speaker 1: you know, and try to stay busy as much as
35:21
Speaker 1: possible in order to kind of, I guess, not have
35:23
Speaker 1: as much free time to think about what was going on.
35:26
Speaker 1: And so I started working on projects that I've always
35:29
Speaker 1: wanted to and you know, visit friends that I've always
35:33
Speaker 1: wanted to. And I was able to go to a
35:35
Speaker 1: wedding and different like family gatherings that I that I
35:39
Speaker 1: had never been able to up until now, you know,
35:42
Speaker 1: for years, and so I think that time was really
35:44
Speaker 1: healthy for me to kind of pick myself back up
35:47
Speaker 1: and you know, do other things that I enjoy. And
35:50
Speaker 1: so all in all, yes, was a devastating, but it then,
35:55
Speaker 1: you know, helped me kind of have more time and
35:58
Speaker 1: quality time with family and friends that I didn't before.
36:01
Speaker 3: Makes you think of that saying like life is happening
36:04
Speaker 3: for you, not to you, and when you're in that moment,
36:07
Speaker 3: like gosh, does it feel like everything everything is happening
36:12
Speaker 3: to you? When it feels completely out of your control
36:15
Speaker 3: and the world is spinning and.
36:16
Speaker 1: You know as it is right right for sure.
36:20
Speaker 3: This mentality that you're explaining here and like taking advantage
36:23
Speaker 3: of what could have been seen as like a very
36:26
Speaker 3: you know, and was a disappointing situation is why you
36:30
Speaker 3: and I've heard you talk about this before, are a
36:32
Speaker 3: one percenter, So talk to us about what that is.
36:34
Speaker 1: Yeah, I just think you're, you know, one percenter where
36:37
Speaker 1: you have You're willing to do the work that not
36:40
Speaker 1: many other people are willing to do in order to
36:42
Speaker 1: stay at the top. So if it's between you and me,
36:44
Speaker 1: I'm going to be winning. It's that fight. It's that mentality,
36:47
Speaker 1: It's that drive to want to be successful and compete
36:50
Speaker 1: constantly and playing in this sport at this level, it's
36:54
Speaker 1: somewhat easy to get to this level and you think
36:57
Speaker 1: you've made it, but what actually keeps you here is
37:01
Speaker 1: having that mentality and that drive to want to be
37:04
Speaker 1: the best every single day, and that's how you can
37:08
Speaker 1: stay here. So some you know, my teammates and former
37:11
Speaker 1: teammates get to this level and possibly you know, I've
37:15
Speaker 1: seen a handful of rookies do the same. They're just
37:17
Speaker 1: happy to be here. And I feel, you know, you're
37:20
Speaker 1: not going to last very long if you just have
37:23
Speaker 1: that mentality like, ah, I made it, but it's actually
37:25
Speaker 1: now the work begins. You made it, but now the work,
37:28
Speaker 1: the hard work, really begins, and you have to continue
37:31
Speaker 1: to have that growth mindset and wanting to get better
37:34
Speaker 1: and be the best every day. And if you have
37:37
Speaker 1: that mentality, you will stay and have a long career.
37:40
Speaker 1: But if you don't have that willingness and that drive,
37:43
Speaker 1: it's going to be a tough road.
37:44
Speaker 3: It's it's about like not getting complacent, right exactly. I
37:48
Speaker 3: mean the other part of it really is that, yes,
37:51
Speaker 3: like this goes hand in hand with leveling up on
37:53
Speaker 3: the field, but it also goes hand in hand with
37:56
Speaker 3: like the other aspirations that you have, Like being a
37:58
Speaker 3: one percenter isn't just excelling in what is your profession.
38:03
Speaker 3: It's kind of channeling that same energy and using it
38:06
Speaker 3: to go after the other pursuits like we were talking
38:08
Speaker 3: about at the top of this, the business things that
38:11
Speaker 3: you're interested in right now, you know, being an advocate
38:13
Speaker 3: for your community, it goes so much farther than just
38:16
Speaker 3: being on the pitch.
38:17
Speaker 1: Absolutely, absolutely, you have to take that into every piece
38:21
Speaker 1: of your life, right, So it's like, you know, with
38:23
Speaker 1: my family and like doing everything I can outside of
38:26
Speaker 1: the field in order to continue to have a roof
38:29
Speaker 1: over my head and fight for, you know, issues that
38:31
Speaker 1: I believe in that Sloan is going to be affected
38:33
Speaker 1: with one day, and making sure that you you know,
38:36
Speaker 1: put all of your effort into family, into your sport
38:40
Speaker 1: and make sure that that stays consistent. So you're right,
38:44
Speaker 1: you can't get complacent, and it's definitely a journey, but
38:48
Speaker 1: it's all about your willingness and what you put into
38:51
Speaker 1: it is what you're going to get out of it.
38:53
Speaker 3: There's that saying when you're tired, you rest, you don't quit,
38:57
Speaker 3: and I would assume that pride yourself as a one percenter.
39:03
Speaker 3: There are many moments where especially gestures loosely because of
39:07
Speaker 3: the last two years, like everything that's going on. Burnout
39:10
Speaker 3: is real, like going from one team to next team again,
39:13
Speaker 3: the chaos, you thrive in it.
39:14
Speaker 2: But it's a lot. So how does Ali take care
39:18
Speaker 2: of Ali?
39:20
Speaker 1: Well, I go to therapy, so that's yeah, we love
39:24
Speaker 1: therapy here. Yeah, that's important. I definitely communicate with my
39:30
Speaker 1: family and friends and check in and make sure that
39:33
Speaker 1: like we're all doing okay. I feel like that's really important,
39:36
Speaker 1: making sure that you know everyone's on the same page
39:39
Speaker 1: and that we're all okay. I do think it's really
39:43
Speaker 1: important for Ash and I to make sure we make
39:46
Speaker 1: ourselves the priority. I know we do everything now and
39:49
Speaker 1: Sloan's the priority, but really I want her to see
39:52
Speaker 1: us with a smile on our face walking into the
39:55
Speaker 1: door after training and maybe a hard day. So I
39:58
Speaker 1: think it's okay to, you know, kind of do things
40:02
Speaker 1: for yourself in order to bring that happiness into the home.
40:06
Speaker 1: And I can't forget that because I do carry a
40:08
Speaker 1: lot of mom guilt, and so it gets to be
40:10
Speaker 1: a little bit difficult.
40:12
Speaker 2: What does the mom guilt look like for you?
40:14
Speaker 1: Well, I feel like, am I there enough? Am I
40:16
Speaker 1: paying attention to your enough? Am I doing activities with
40:19
Speaker 1: her enough? You know? Am I away from the house
40:22
Speaker 1: like too long? You know? I don't know, It's just
40:26
Speaker 1: that that's what it feels like. And so you want
40:28
Speaker 1: to make sure you're there all the time and giving
40:31
Speaker 1: her everything and there every minute. But it's impossible because
40:33
Speaker 1: I also want her to know that it's okay to
40:37
Speaker 1: really love what you do, and I want her to
40:39
Speaker 1: be inspired by what we do. And you know, working
40:44
Speaker 1: in life is really critical, and I want her to
40:48
Speaker 1: know that we work hard at what we do and
40:50
Speaker 1: in order for us to have what we have and
40:53
Speaker 1: a roof over our head, and so I think that's
40:55
Speaker 1: also important. So it's definitely trying to like let that
40:58
Speaker 1: go slowly. It's really theficult for moms. And now I
41:01
Speaker 1: understand what moms, you know, say when they say mom guilt,
41:04
Speaker 1: because you just want to make sure you're given, giving, giving,
41:07
Speaker 1: so that they are successful. But really, you doing what
41:11
Speaker 1: you do best is enough. As long as we walk
41:15
Speaker 1: in the door with a smile on our face and
41:16
Speaker 1: excited to see hear them. Sure, that's all she cares about.
41:19
Speaker 1: And I have to continue to remember that.
41:22
Speaker 3: I mean, you're describing, you know, your tendencies and yourself
41:26
Speaker 3: ultimately as someone who is both compassionate and strong. When
41:31
Speaker 3: you think about what makes you both a good partner
41:35
Speaker 3: and a good teammate, what would you say puts you
41:40
Speaker 3: in that bucket.
41:42
Speaker 1: On the field, I'm supportive and demanding at the same time.
41:45
Speaker 2: Talk to us about being both, because I think you have.
41:48
Speaker 1: To understand how your teammates receive information and not just
41:51
Speaker 1: expect them to receive it if you're like yelling at them,
41:54
Speaker 1: Like some of my teammates can handle that, like I
41:56
Speaker 1: can demand a little bit more, but some teammates you
41:59
Speaker 1: have to be a little bit more supportive. And so
42:01
Speaker 1: I think it's you know, there's a lot of value
42:03
Speaker 1: in both and you have to understand each other in
42:05
Speaker 1: order to do that. But that also boils down to communication.
42:09
Speaker 1: And I think communication, not only in my personal life
42:12
Speaker 1: but on the field within the team is really critical
42:16
Speaker 1: in order to have a successful environment and a safe environment.
42:19
Speaker 1: And so I think communication and patients, which I've learned
42:23
Speaker 1: a lot being a mom, I definitely try to carry
42:26
Speaker 1: that through with myself every day and into the team.
42:32
Speaker 1: And I think as I get older, because now I think,
42:35
Speaker 1: since we were talking about this earlier, I think I'm
42:37
Speaker 1: the oldest player and imother son, you know, I feel
42:42
Speaker 1: like it's really important to have good communication and good
42:45
Speaker 1: build those good relationships because like you said, it's not
42:49
Speaker 1: going to last forever, and you really have to enjoy
42:52
Speaker 1: in the moment, and so being supportive yet demanding in
42:56
Speaker 1: order to win a championship is key. And then I
42:58
Speaker 1: think having communication patients every day as just me as
43:03
Speaker 1: an individual is something that is really important with all
43:07
Speaker 1: my relationships, definitely.
43:09
Speaker 3: And to go back and bring this full circle stemming
43:13
Speaker 3: from that time a poor communication of you not knowing
43:16
Speaker 3: your place, of feeling frustrated with the US women's national team,
43:20
Speaker 3: bring us to what ultimately happened in was it April
43:24
Speaker 3: twenty nineteen, Yes, talk to me about April twenty nineteen.
43:29
Speaker 1: So I was out on the Saga field in Orlando
43:33
Speaker 1: during like a double day and I get back in
43:36
Speaker 1: after the first train session. I have a text message
43:39
Speaker 1: from Joe Ellis and I said, oh, I haven't talked
43:42
Speaker 1: to her and I don't know how long, like what's
43:44
Speaker 1: going on? And so I took a look at it
43:47
Speaker 1: and she said, hey, I'd love to catch up and
43:50
Speaker 1: you know, let me know when there's a good time
43:51
Speaker 1: to chat basically, And I didn't answer right away, you know,
43:56
Speaker 1: I let her sit on it for a little bit,
43:58
Speaker 1: and I went in and actually talked to my co
44:00
Speaker 1: is in Orlando and just you know, had asked if
44:03
Speaker 1: they had spoken to her, because I was just wondering
44:05
Speaker 1: what it could possibly be about. They said no, not yet,
44:09
Speaker 1: but we talked a little bit about potentially having an
44:12
Speaker 1: offer to go back to the national team, and I said, yeah,
44:15
Speaker 1: I need to think about it for a little bit,
44:17
Speaker 1: but I'm going to give her a call back, and
44:19
Speaker 1: so I did. On the way home after the second session,
44:23
Speaker 1: I told her that's when I would have time, and
44:26
Speaker 1: we talked a little bit and she had said I'd
44:28
Speaker 1: love to invite you back in and we went on
44:32
Speaker 1: and discussed, you know, some things that I just said, Honestly,
44:36
Speaker 1: I'm willing to do anything for the team, whatever that is.
44:40
Speaker 1: I want to help the team be successful and win,
44:42
Speaker 1: and ultimately that is you know what I'd love to do.
44:46
Speaker 1: So yes, there was no really explanation, no communication on
44:51
Speaker 1: the past or anything. I just wanted to like let
44:53
Speaker 1: that go because I was already in a new place
44:56
Speaker 1: and a new environment and a new space mentally that
44:59
Speaker 1: I just wanted to continue to keep going in that
45:01
Speaker 1: positive direction. And so I was so excited to have
45:06
Speaker 1: the opportunity again because it was the last camp before
45:09
Speaker 1: or maybe the second to last camp before the World Cup,
45:12
Speaker 1: and so I couldn't believe it, and so I was
45:15
Speaker 1: just really excited to have the opportunity and I said,
45:19
Speaker 1: whatever you need me to do, I'm ready to.
45:21
Speaker 2: Do ready to do it.
45:22
Speaker 3: And then I mean comes soon after that to get
45:25
Speaker 3: to the hundred cap mark was just probably the most
45:29
Speaker 3: beautiful moment for you.
45:31
Speaker 1: Yes, because I was stuck on ninety eight. And honestly,
45:35
Speaker 1: it's not about the numbers, you know, for me, it's just,
45:38
Speaker 1: you know, I was so proud every single one of
45:40
Speaker 1: those appearances to be a part of the team and
45:43
Speaker 1: help the team win. But I definitely was hoping that
45:48
Speaker 1: I could kind of, you know, get those last two
45:53
Speaker 1: and feel I think, more complete. Not that I I
45:58
Speaker 1: wouldn't if I didn't get those, but just somehow it
46:01
Speaker 1: was just lingering and I felt like over the years
46:06
Speaker 1: and the way that I was playing, I had you know,
46:09
Speaker 1: deserved that moment, and so I think, yeah, it was
46:13
Speaker 1: a beautiful experience. I'm so grateful for the opportunity. Every
46:16
Speaker 1: time you put on that national team jersey, it's an honor,
46:19
Speaker 1: and I wasn't going to let that moment pass me by,
46:23
Speaker 1: and so so excited that that is where you know,
46:28
Speaker 1: that next chapter kind of began.
46:30
Speaker 3: You mentioned your wedding being one of the last real
46:34
Speaker 3: great gatherings of twenty nineteen. Yeah, you know, it's it's
46:39
Speaker 3: so awesome. I watched the wedding video on Vogue. Like
46:41
Speaker 3: everyone also like does it ever get old? But someone's like, oh,
46:44
Speaker 3: I watched your wedding video on Vogue.
46:47
Speaker 1: No, but like I have to tell you, we weren't
46:49
Speaker 1: even planning on having a videographer. We weren't even planning
46:53
Speaker 1: on having We were like, oh, like, I think the
46:56
Speaker 1: pictures will be just fine, right, So then like one
46:59
Speaker 1: of our wedding planners friends was like, wait, they don't
47:01
Speaker 1: have any videographer. Like all like, we'll do it. Our
47:04
Speaker 1: Timeline production company were like, we'll do it. And then
47:08
Speaker 1: they were like, okay, well we found, you know, a
47:10
Speaker 1: videographer if you want to, like, you know, they would
47:12
Speaker 1: love to do it for you. Guys. I said, one
47:15
Speaker 1: hundred percent, that'd be great. You know. So we never
47:18
Speaker 1: even had that footage.
47:20
Speaker 2: Oh my god, Well the footage was stunning.
47:22
Speaker 3: But it's so cool because you do see like such
47:25
Speaker 3: a beautiful moment with your friends and family standing truly
47:28
Speaker 3: surrounding you, and then I believe in there there's there's
47:32
Speaker 3: Meg's speech and everything, and it really highlights the beautiful
47:36
Speaker 3: relationships that you have in your life, both with your
47:38
Speaker 3: family and your friends, but also with your teammates who
47:41
Speaker 3: have become, you know, just like family. Why would you
47:45
Speaker 3: say the relationships that you have with these women are
47:49
Speaker 3: literally forever lasting.
47:51
Speaker 1: They are because you go through things with them that
47:54
Speaker 1: you can't even put into words. Really, you can't, you know,
47:57
Speaker 1: share the deep emotional feeling that you go through with
48:02
Speaker 1: these women, you know, year after year and tournament after tournament,
48:05
Speaker 1: and just like a lot of people don't see behind
48:08
Speaker 1: the scenes of how hard it really is, and you
48:11
Speaker 1: don't understand it unless you're there and you're within the
48:14
Speaker 1: squads and the staff. And so I think that I
48:18
Speaker 1: will always have a specific bond and such a beautiful
48:21
Speaker 1: bond with each and every one of these players and women,
48:24
Speaker 1: and you know, you build these lifelong friendships, and I
48:27
Speaker 1: think that is ultimately what is the best about our
48:30
Speaker 1: group and players in the football community, is that you
48:35
Speaker 1: build these lifelong friendships. And that's something that I am
48:38
Speaker 1: so grateful to take away, not you know, the championships
48:42
Speaker 1: and this and that, it's honestly about these friendships that
48:45
Speaker 1: you build with these women who have these shared experiences
48:50
Speaker 1: that are you know, the ups and the downs and
48:53
Speaker 1: the emotional, mental, and physical battles day in and day
48:57
Speaker 1: out is and what we endure day to day is
49:02
Speaker 1: you know, you can't really explain it unless you're there,
49:04
Speaker 1: and so that is why it's so special.
49:07
Speaker 3: Yeah, And I mean the word battle kind of brings
49:09
Speaker 3: to the forefront the equal pay lawsuit, which what a
49:13
Speaker 3: huge moment recently for all of you women trying to
49:18
Speaker 3: find you know, your footing in this space, to be
49:21
Speaker 3: recognized and given the moment that you deserve. How did
49:24
Speaker 3: that feel for you after all of these years?
49:28
Speaker 1: Really great? It's definitely a step forward. It's definitely a
49:31
Speaker 1: step forward. And I know that we might not see
49:34
Speaker 1: all the benefits from it, but that's something that we
49:37
Speaker 1: have always talked about. We want to leave the game
49:38
Speaker 1: better than where we found it, and so it is
49:40
Speaker 1: so important that our younger players and the youth have
49:44
Speaker 1: the opportunity to dream big and to get what they deserve.
49:47
Speaker 1: And so we'll keep fighting because we do deserve more.
49:51
Speaker 1: And this is a win for all women. It's not
49:54
Speaker 1: just about the US women's soccer team. It's about women
49:58
Speaker 1: across all industries who are fighting the same fight in
50:01
Speaker 1: their workplace, who are fighting for equity, equality, respect in
50:05
Speaker 1: the workplace. So this is a step forward and we
50:08
Speaker 1: are very happy about it, but we can always be
50:11
Speaker 1: doing more and the work will never be done, and
50:14
Speaker 1: so we will continue to fight every day. And now
50:16
Speaker 1: we have to get down to the club level and
50:18
Speaker 1: kind of have that same mentality in that same fight
50:22
Speaker 1: going on in order to get what we deserve.
50:25
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I mean the equal rights definitely also extending
50:28
Speaker 3: to a lot of the work that you do with
50:30
Speaker 3: the LGBTQ community. I feel like I would be remiss
50:34
Speaker 3: if I didn't ask you to maybe offer some sentiments
50:39
Speaker 3: to someone who is struggling to get to this beautiful
50:42
Speaker 3: place that you are in now, someone who feels so
50:45
Speaker 3: accepted and loved by her community. Embracing yourself authentically as
50:49
Speaker 3: you are for these people that may not be quite
50:52
Speaker 3: at this stage just yet, what is it that you
50:55
Speaker 3: tell them during their struggles?
50:57
Speaker 1: But I think everything is going to be okay. I
51:00
Speaker 1: think living your truth really opens so many doors, and
51:03
Speaker 1: I think that it's okay to kind of take your
51:06
Speaker 1: own journey. You don't need to have a time stamp
51:08
Speaker 1: on when you express your sexuality or who you really
51:12
Speaker 1: feel you are, and there's you know, no one saying
51:16
Speaker 1: that there has to be this special moment of you
51:19
Speaker 1: announcing it to the world. It's your own journey and
51:22
Speaker 1: in your own time. It's okay to take that time
51:26
Speaker 1: and to realize that this is about you. And also,
51:32
Speaker 1: you know, if anyone has a problem with it, then
51:34
Speaker 1: it has a lot to do with them and very
51:36
Speaker 1: little to do with you. So live your authentic life.
51:40
Speaker 1: And once that, I think I can speak for Ash
51:43
Speaker 1: as well. Once we kind of open that door and
51:47
Speaker 1: we haven't looked back, it's just been an incredible experience
51:52
Speaker 1: for us. And the way that I feel now is
51:56
Speaker 1: just having that openness and honesty and authenticity to my
52:00
Speaker 1: life has been so accepting. So on the other side
52:03
Speaker 1: of the door, you will be so loved in our community.
52:07
Speaker 1: Will it be accepting and can't wait for you to
52:10
Speaker 1: jump through.
52:11
Speaker 2: We love that.
52:12
Speaker 3: We love that someone right now comes to your Instagram
52:15
Speaker 3: page they see this amazing footballer, a mom, a wife,
52:20
Speaker 3: joins of nine hundred and twenty two thousand people. When
52:23
Speaker 3: you look in the mirror, what is it that you
52:25
Speaker 3: see looking back at you?
52:27
Speaker 1: I gosh, I see a strong, confident woman who really
52:34
Speaker 1: cares about her family and her friends and wants what's
52:38
Speaker 1: best for the community that she lives in every single day.
52:41
Speaker 3: Right now, you have an opportunity to give the ALLI
52:46
Speaker 3: in twenty seventeen going through that really big hurdle moment
52:50
Speaker 3: asking herself all of the why a piece of advice.
52:53
Speaker 3: Looking back on it right now, with the know how
52:56
Speaker 3: and the wisdom and everything else that you have at
52:59
Speaker 3: this moment, what do you tell her?
53:02
Speaker 1: I mean, we spoke about it before. I think mainly,
53:07
Speaker 1: just live your life authentically and for you. I think
53:11
Speaker 1: that if I could have told myself fifteen years ago
53:16
Speaker 1: that it's okay to just be you, I think I
53:21
Speaker 1: would have started living a lot earlier. And two, I
53:26
Speaker 1: think take that big risk because it could lead you
53:29
Speaker 1: to your dream job. I might have four things. The
53:32
Speaker 1: third thing I would say is just put your cell
53:34
Speaker 1: phones down and explore the world. I think we miss
53:38
Speaker 1: a lot now because we are constantly scrolling through social
53:41
Speaker 1: media and we're really missing what is so beautiful around
53:44
Speaker 1: us and those moments that we will never be able
53:47
Speaker 1: to get back. And for control what you're able to control.
53:52
Speaker 1: Just that's your work ethic and your attitude towards something.
53:55
Speaker 1: And I think if you can keep that consistent and
53:59
Speaker 1: have that as a mind set, then everyone will be
54:02
Speaker 1: in such a happier place.
54:05
Speaker 2: What excites you right now?
54:06
Speaker 1: Al? My family, hopefully growing my family, and then our
54:13
Speaker 1: NWSAWS season coming up. I'm so excited to be a
54:15
Speaker 1: part of this new team and this amazing group of
54:20
Speaker 1: people and footballers who have worked so hard to get
54:25
Speaker 1: this team in a place to really play and bring
54:31
Speaker 1: something special to this city. And so I'm so pumped
54:34
Speaker 1: about that.
54:36
Speaker 3: I'm pumped about it too because hopefully I can come watch. Yes,
54:39
Speaker 3: you have to, you have amazing Yes, I'll have to
54:42
Speaker 3: come from Brooklyn. I am so grateful for your time.
54:44
Speaker 3: I'm so grateful for this conversation. How did the hurdlers
54:47
Speaker 3: follow along with you? How do they keep up with you?
54:50
Speaker 3: Give us all of your details?
54:51
Speaker 1: Okay, so I keep everything really simple and all the same.
54:54
Speaker 1: So Twitter and Instagram is Ali Kreeker and that's it,
54:57
Speaker 1: so follow me on there. I don't really do TikTok,
55:00
Speaker 1: but we might be doing maybe TikTok san.
55:04
Speaker 2: Using a TikTok.
55:06
Speaker 3: I'm over at Emily a Body and at Hurdle Podcast
55:09
Speaker 3: Another Hurdle Conquered, Catch you guys, next time.