My WPS Adventure 2009
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(Editors Note: We profiled Jill Oakes shortly before the start of the WPS season. A high school and college soccer standout, Jill just wrapped her first season as a pro and will be a regular contributor to Pretty Tough as she, and the league, gear up for a second season).
As I reflect on the roller-coaster ride I like to call the inaugural WPS season, my own personal journey reads with the same dramatic exclamations of a thrilling 1920’s newspaper headline. “Fame! Discovery! Tragedy! Struggle! Defeat! Opportunity! Triumph!” Or perhaps I’ve just watched the movie “Chicago” way too many times, which is after all one of my top five all-time favorite movies, and ok, maybe I secretly envision myself dancing those legendary Bob Fosse moves on the broadway stage. As it happens, I ended up with my own CHICAGO story, playing for the Chicago Red Stars.
Oct 6, 2008: Fame!
Going in to the WPS Draft, I was the #2 Overall pick. After the National Team player allocation and International Player draft, I was the Bay Area FC Gold Pride’s FIRST choice! My face was splashed all over the soccer presses, right in between #1 Sarah Huffman and #3 Becky Sauerbrunn. It was pretty dang cool I must say. Before that moment, I’d been feeling myself fall from the soccer world’s radar, then this bumped me right back in there.
Jan 2009: Discovery!
I get the invitation to attend training camp with the US Women’s National Team. Woo hoo! This was what I’d been hoping for, another shot at the pinnacle of American women’s soccer. I’d been in the player pool in past years, but like I said, I’d fallen off the radar, especially after the new head coach, Pia Sundhage, was named. She didn’t know me as a player. And I wasn’t in college anymore, able to be scouted easily. I’d been in soccer limbo, playing on various domestic and international teams, waiting for the elusive new pro league to begin since my senior season ended with UCLA in 2005. Now, I was going to be discovered again!
Jan 2009: Tragedy!
I’m forced to take myself off the training camp roster…. Even now, my throat gets a little choked thinking about it. But it was the right choice for my body, for my ailing knee specifically. ***Must keep reminding myself of that*** My less than perfect right knee that had undergone less-than-routine PCL reconstruction surgery in 2002, acted up in a way I’d never experienced before. As I turned up my training intensity, I expected my usual knee aches and post-workout swelling, but instead experienced actual pain during my workouts. It was pain that gave me what felt like an overly exaggerated limp. I don’t know if my friend Dave, who’d kindly agreed to oversee my camp preparation training, noticed, but the internal pain was definitely there. Something was wrong. And I didn’t have medical insurance! After a mad week of medical favors that allowed my knee to get an MRI and multiple doctors’ opinions, results were that wear & tear had created a case of osteoarthritis. Though the case wasn’t deemed ‘severe,’ it was unanimously agreed upon that I not go into camp and rehab, rehab, rehab. I did as they said, found a family with the Core Performance gym in Santa Monica, and turned my focus to getting ready for the WPS season.
March 2009: Struggle!
FC Gold Pride Preseason. Double-day practices, a rain-soaked turf field, and few easily available rehab/treatment options, nor a nearby training room for optimal pre- or post-practice body attention… Things weren’t looking promising for me and my knee. While getting my playing legs back underneath me on the first day, I had a pretty good performance. Day 2 came and that was it. My body wasn’t having it. Yes the knee was sore, but what also affected me was an excruciatingly painful big toe issue. My toenail was jamming into the front of my cleat every time I stopped or changed directions. I’d never felt so debilitated. I forced myself to remain in practice the rest of the week because on our arrival day, it was clearly explained that “anyone” can get cut, this meant, even their top draft pick (me). I remember being told that I looked like I was just “getting by” in practice, not standing out. I was just getting by; I couldn’t move much or very quickly without pain. Finally, enough was enough and I sat myself out completely and didn’t re-join practice until a week later when my body had finally ‘returned to equilibrium.’ When I realized that all I needed was rest, I knew that it really was just a matter of doing too much too fast, not easing or progressing back thoughtfully.
March 22: Defeat!
After one team practice, I unfortunately was rusty and not up to game-speed to perform well in our scrimmage versus the LA Sol. And although I did awesome the following weekend in a scrimmage versus the College All-Stars, I was cut the next day. On a funny note, I was at the acupuncturist office when I got the news that I was being released. Just picture…. me, lying alone on the treatment table in the tranquil room with acupuncture needles sticking out of my knee, the sound of my loud “Bad to the Bone” ringtone going off, and me, awkwardly paralyzing myself stiff and resisting the urge to fidget while I’m basically being told that I’m fired over the phone. Of course they didn’t use the words, “You’re fired,” but that’s what it is when you are forced to leave a job without any say in the matter, isn’t it? I was fired!? That’s when I realized that these are the pros now. Not college. Nothing’s guaranteed. Anything can happen.
April: Opportunity!
Will another team pick me up? Will I be out of the league for good? What would I do next? And so marked the beginning of a spiritual journey, having faith in whatever it was that was meant for me. I was surprisingly very calm and confident that something else would turn up. I didn’t know what. But, I just felt it would. Emma Hayes and Denise Reddy, coaches for the Chicago Red Stars, showed up with that opportunity. Before I knew it, I arrived in Chicago, surprising most of the girls on the team, whom were apparently not informed of my arrival. It was uncomfortable for me; I was the girl coming in to take someone’s spot. I didn’t wanna be the “bad” guy. Then, I accepted, “It’s business.” Someone inevitably took my spot on the Bay Area team. It’s nothing personal. And after about a week of my ‘trial period’, I signed a developmental player contract. I was on the team. I could check that off my list. Good for me, right? But I had a few more goals on my list that I wanted to check off too. #1: Get a contract. And I mean a real, fully paid, top-18 player contract. Ok, so compared to our male counterparts, the pay is modest, but certainly above and beyond the meager developmental player contract. #2: Be a starter. I wanted to be taking my position on the field after the team cheer, be on the field when that opening whistle blew, and be a leading force in the flow and success of our team play.
May: Triumph!
I triumphantly went on to get signed to the full 18-player roster. Then, on May 23rd, our National team players left for a couple friendly matches versus Canada, causing them to miss our game versus St Louis. I got to start! I started at defensive midfield, the position I’d been competing for all the while I’d been in Chicago up to that point. But during the second half, I played center back. I felt great. I played great. And from that moment on, I was the starting center back for the Chicago Red Stars where I played for the rest of the season! I had done it, checked off both of my remaining personal goals. Wow.
Although my goals for the team and season were not fully fulfilled (we didn’t make playoffs), although I didn’t always reach my own personal performance standards at every moment on the field and although frustrations with my healing-thirsty knee remained a constant concern, I’m awfully proud of what I accomplished this season. And I’m so appreciative, humbled, and motivated to keep working and create what’s next. A great source of motivation and inspiration for me this season has been from one of our strength & conditioning coaches and friend, T. Scott. One of the things he told me was: “GREATNESS is the relentless pursuit of excellence.” To me, that means that you won’t always be perfect; you won’t always win. But, when you work persistently to master what you do, to have integrity, to be sharp, and to continually accomplish more everyday, then you will be great. Greatness is in your control. So, be great!
What’s in the near future for me? I focus on rehab and strengthening my knee; I wait on the WPS expansion draft, commencing tomorrow, Tues. September 15th, to see what team I end up on next year; I organize some soccer clinics in the LA Area; and I complete a 6-week Yoga Naga teacher training course.
Follow along on my journey – on and off the field – as I forge ahead with my athletic career.
View Original Post at prettytough.com
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