Accepting the Butterflies

It was so great to meet a lot of you in Phoenix! If you did not get a chance to come introduce yourself and try the first Fuel Your Fire Skill Challenge right next to the Zone, be sure to come by in Orlando. The winner of the first skill challenge is 13-year-old Briana Hernandez, who did 168 juggles, alternating feet, in 1 minute. It was siiick and she won a sweet prize for her efforts! You can click on the video below to watch 5 different 1 minute time trials for juggling. Please comment below the video to let me know your high score for each and come find me in Orlando to see what the next challenge is... 

First Fuel Your Fire Skill Challenge

Controlling Accepting The Butterflies

Soccer is such a funny sport sometimes. In some ways, it can teach us all about life, overcoming obstacles, working with others to achieve a common goal, and other times it seems to defy all logic. The irony of a big game is that it's just like any other, but at the same time it's so different. It's such a cliche to say that soccer is 90% mental, but at the most elite level I actually think it's even more than that.

I distinctly remember the days of being the only girl on an all boys' team. From age 11-14 I kid you not, I was the most nervous for games and training sessions I have EVER been in my entire career, even when I first got called up to the USWNT. I remember thinking at the time, "They say it's important to be pushed out of your comfort zone, so come on, Yael, just get comfortable being uncomfortable." I would show up at games dreading the moment that they other team would see me and point and laugh. I'd hear them whispering, "What is she doing here?"

In addition to the social awkwardness, the level of play was extremely challenging for me. I had to be completely tuned in mentally, my sharpest technically, and physically ready to compete with superior athletes at all moments. Even if I did that, I was still an average player on my team. The feeling I had before and during the games I played during those years did, in fact, prepare me well for playing at the highest level. In a big game, every moment is completely vital, and that is often more taxing mentally than it even is physically. 

When we compete with and against the very best, it becomes less about skill sets and more about execution. Who is able to bring their best out that day? Who is relaxed enough in big moments to not panic? Who is able to push a little harder and do that little extra to be in the right place at the right time when it counts? By the day of a big game, I always think to myself, "Yael, you know you have put in the work to prepare yourself, now it's about figuring out how to leverage your tools to be effective." And that is not always an easy thing to do!

I remember being on the bus with the USWNT in China in 2007. It was my first trip with the team and I knew that any game could be my first cap. I didn't listen to music or anything because I wanted to fully remember everything I saw, thought, even smelled that day. For the team, the games were merely friendlies, but for me it was one of the biggest moments of my career. We were playing against England when the coach gave me the signal to warm up. As I stood on the side with the fourth official waiting to check in, I literally could barely breathe or feel my legs. It was like my nerves suddenly weighed 400 lbs and were flooding my body. I wondered how I would even be able to run onto the field when they called for the sub. But I also laughed to myself when I thought, "Good thing I've prepared for this feeling when I played for the boys' team!" Once I stepped on the field, like always, slowly the game took over. That's the thing--soccer always stays the same--it's our mindset, the pressure, and the meaning we place on the game, that changes. 

In preparing for a big game I try to remember several important things. I always feel confident that I have prepared as well as possible, because that I can control and I do my best to do that. I often get very nervous before games, but I try to both relax my nerves and accept how I feel all at once. I am not a player who gets really hyped up before games. I stay calm (at least on the outside), and often even take a nap on the way to the field. Because of that, it isn't helpful for me to have too much nervous energy. I try to remember that no matter what game it is or how much is on the line, it's all just soccer, the sport I've played thousands of times since I was 7 years old. At the same time, I don't just brush the nervous feeling away, because it is important for me to acknowledge the anxiety. The older I get as a player, the more I am able to feel deep gratitude for doing something in my life that can make my heart pound and my knees weak--literally. There aren't many people who get to do things that they care so deeply about on a regular basis and the nerves are a sign to me that I am so fortunate to get to do something that makes me feel that way.

So as you get the privilege to prepare for big games, feel grateful for those butterflies in your stomach. Harness confidence from your preparation and the awesome teammates who surround you, but know that you are one of the lucky ones to care enough to feel that way. 

I'd love for you to comment below and let me know how YOU prepare for a big game. 

#FuelYourFire

Peace, love, futbol

Yael