Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / REWIND: Ali Krieger, Pro Soccer Player

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REWIND: Ali Krieger, Pro Soccer Player · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

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