Naomi Girma is a defender for the Stanford University Cardinal, with whom she won the 2019 NCAA College Cup. 

How do you feel about being called into USWNT training camp?

I’m really excited. It just feels like a bright spot in what has been a tough year with obviously our season getting canceled and all these things. So yeah, I’m super excited to go.

How’d you find out about the call-in? And how excited were you to see some current and past teammates on the roster? 

I got an email. Sophie Smith, who went pro last year, is also going and we were kind of talking about it and it was just like, “Yeah.” It was really exciting. My parents were super excited. And I think it’s great to see familiar faces there and a new environment for me. And yeah, I think it’s just cool that Stanford has that many people representing them there.

How have you been training this fall given that the Pac 12 isn’t playing? 

I’m happy I stayed on campus. We’ve been getting good training with our coaches and then also playing by ourselves and just focusing on finer details that we don’t usually focus on during the season. It’s just been great to have a steady training environment compared to the rest of this year when we were at home.

At this point, do you count on there being a spring season?

Well, I’m preparing for a spring season. That’s kind of been my outlook the whole year. If there’s a season, I want to be ready for it. I think it’s looking a lot better because of how Stanford is pushing for basketball and football to get the testing to be able to fully practice and then also be able to play in the game. So I think depending on how this fall season goes for them, that’ll kind of determine what happens with us. But I’m hopeful for a spring season and I mean, it’s really cool. We have the opportunity to play for a national championship in spring. And then also in the fall to play for 2021. That’d be pretty cool.

What have the last 6 months been like for you in terms of Covid, the season being cancelled, and the protests against social injustice? What’s changed in your perspective both as a person and as an athlete? 

It’s definitely changed. I would say I feel more empowered to use my platform as an athlete and to use my voice in ways that I didn’t feel like I could before. I think seeing the impact athletes can have on these issues has definitely inspired me and has caused me to start speaking out more. And I think it’s also great that our team is super open and willing to have those conversations, which has helped me feel more supported in speaking out and stuff.

You’ve talked before about the importance of having Black role models when you were younger in a sport that’s historically white. Your own platform is growing as we speak. How has your sense of yourself as a role model changed over the last few months? 

I think I just realized how special this opportunity that I have is, because obviously I know playing for Stanford soccer and getting to be in this environment is such a privilege. And I’m obviously grateful for it every day, but I think I realized the impact that it can have on other people who are younger than me. And I didn’t necessarily think about that before, that as a first generation American, I can have an impact by showing younger kids that you can do anything you set out for. And I think I realized the people that I looked up to inspired me and I can be that for younger kids as well.

What would “success” mean for you in camp?

Honestly, I think growing and learning as much as I can and going into that environment with an open mind and just being exposed to the faster pace, their style of play, and just retaining as much as I can. That is my goal going into this. And obviously, I want to perform and play my best as well.

What are your goals for the next 12 months? I mean, you’ll have camp, you’ll have more training, you’ll potentially have a spring season. What does all of that kind of look like on your radar? 

I think the coming months are really exciting, especially compared to what’s been happening. I think right now I’m continuing to build my base, making sure I’m ready for a spring season, and then hopefully in that spring season, competing for a national championship. And then I want to continue to perform in camps, whether it be at the senior level or at the U20 level if those happen. After all the work that’s been put in this year during this prolonged offseason, we should finally have a chance to perform and show out. I think it’s time for the fun part.

Ashley Hatch is a forward for the Washington Spirit of the NWSL. 

What were your thoughts on the Fall Series and how your team played? 

It was great to get back out there, and although the format was different it felt like normal. Having a week of practice, preparing for a game, then having another week of practice, and preparing for a game. That was really nice and it felt like it was normal for a little bit, and it was kind of nice to get into that rhythm. I’m a little sad that it’s over. But in regards to how we played as a team, obviously we would have liked to win and score a few more goals. I think overall we’re pretty happy with how we dealt with the unusual circumstances. And I think towards the back end of the fall series, we really started playing well together as a team. We started to really mesh on the field and it was a lot of fun. I wish we could have had another game or two.

You’re heading into national team camp. How did you find out about the call up?

I just got an email notifying me about being invited. It had the camp details and all that jazz. And then after I got the email about 5, 10 minutes later, Richie Burke, our coach, texted me and just congratulated me.

Do you have any personal goals for the camp?

Just to go in there and just play my best. Every camp situation is always an intense environment, because you’re surrounded by such great athletes and soccer players. I’m just focusing on being myself and having fun, but I have fun when I perform well, so performing well is the priority.

Are there any of the veteran names on the list that you’re especially excited to go up against?

I mean, honestly, everyone definitely belongs there, and so I think I’m just excited to be in an even more competitive environment that I’m already in. Obviously it’s going to be fun to play with girls who have been there longer than I have. But I’m pretty excited just to be there.

You have been to a few camps before. With such a young roster, how will your experiences help you do well?

That’s a good question. I think it helps because I know a little bit of what to expect. I’ve had the experience before. It still doesn’t take away from the initial nerves and jitters of training, but I think just having that experience will help me calm those nerves a little bit, and hopefully be able to get into the rhythm of being myself sooner as opposed to halfway through the week.

Are there any younger players that you were especially excited to see make the roster?

Yeah. I mean, obviously Ashley Sanchez, my teammate, I’m super excited for her. I think it will be fun to be there with her. I think she’s super talented, and it’s going to be a great environment for her to push herself and get better. Every camp you go into is an opportunity to become a better player. I’m excited for her. I’m also really excited for Aubrey Bledsoe. She’s not a young player, I think this will be her second camp, but we’ve never been in a camp together before, and I think she is very deserving of it. I’m excited to see her in a more competitive environment, because I think it’ll help her become even better of a keeper than she already is.

This will be your first camp with Vlatko Andonovski. What are your expectations for his coaching style and playing under him? 

I’m excited that I got to go to the ID camp last year, so I got a small glimpse of what he is like as a coach. I think this camp is a lot different than that camp. I think he will have even higher expectations for all of us. I’m excited. He’s a really smart coach, and so is all his coaching staff. I’m excited to hopefully get a lot of feedback on what I can improve on, and what they see with me going forward, and also just learning from them as coaches.

I know when we chatted with you in the past you were very straightforward about your goal of wanting to make the national team. Obviously this camp is one step closer. What would success mean for you in this camp and what are the next steps for reaching your goal?

I feel like success is super hard to define, but obviously there’s other camps in the future. I feel like it would be a sign of success if I was able to get invited to more of those. Or even if I don’t get invited to those, just getting positive feedback that I’m headed in the right direction. Any step in that direction I would be definitely excited about, but I’m also not focusing a ton on that, because I know I need to first take care of business in this camp.

Rachel Jones is a junior midfielder for the University of North Carolina women’s soccer team. UNC, as part of the ACC, is playing soccer this fall while much of the rest of the country waits for spring. Jones spoke with JWS about the unique situation and what it’s been like to be a student-athlete in the time of COVID-19. 

The NCAA has said that it will allow for championships in the spring, and that the games you’re playing now will count toward that. What is the team’s plan for making that work? 

We haven’t really gotten many details, but I did ask our Director of Operations the other day if we would be able to go home for winter break and he said, “100 percent.” Once the season is done in the fall, it’s just going to go back to normal. We will just come back whenever the semester starts in the spring. Even if we can play games, it wouldn’t be until February so we would still have an extended pre-season to be able to ratchet things up again.

What do you think about the ACC’s decision to go ahead with fall sports now that you are about a month into the season?

I’m really grateful for it just from a mental health sense. I think everybody was in a tough space when we were trying to figure out if we were going to have a season or if we were going to be able to play with our seniors again. Also, the protocols that they have set in place have really given us an opportunity to do what we love while staying safe. We’re getting tested three times a week, so it’s really unlikely that we’ll play and then figure out later, “Oh, we played with someone that was positive.”

Has it been difficult to stay focused on the season given everything going on in the rest of the country?

Yeah, this has definitely been the hardest season since I’ve been here at UNC. Everything going on is just draining in general and being in season is draining itself. Everybody on our team is in a tough place and we’re really having to put our arms around each other and push each other through. We’ve been in classes since the first week of August and we’ve only had one day off. Everything just adds up. I think we’ve done a really good job of hitting the field, walking across those lines, and letting everything else fade away. We enjoy being together and we let soccer be our escape from everything else.

Your team is undefeated so far and ranked No. 1 in the country, which is awesome and kind of no surprise given how historically good UNC soccer is. What has allowed you to come out with such a fast start amidst all that’s going on?

I think it’s really a testament to our core values as a team. We have 13 core values that we try to live by and one of them is that you always have control of your attitude. I think we’re really prepared for this situation because of how Anson [Dorrance] has taught us to deal with whatever comes our way. We know that we always have our team to help us. We have really good team chemistry, so nobody feels like they’re going through it on their own.

I know you said you were super excited to get the chance to play this year, but did you have any personal hesitations about playing in the beginning?

Before the ACC came out with their protocols, some people were a little sketched out. We had decided from day one that if we were going to go through with this, we were going all in. We have to be in a bubble because Anson is high risk and his family is high risk, too. We knew that we couldn’t take any chances with this. We had to decide from day one that we weren’t going to see anybody outside of our team. And if we did, we were going to have to be masked, six feet apart and outside.

At the beginning, we were scared that other teams weren’t going to take it as seriously as us. But once the ACC came out with their protocols, those feelings of nervousness went away and we were just excited to get some games in.

Anson Dorrance is a coaching legend. What has he done amidst all the external factors to keep this team calm and focused on their goals?

Throughout the summer, we had weekly team meetings with him. That was really nice because we obviously hadn’t seen each other since March and we started to feel like a team again. He kept us in the loop and he made sure that we kept our eye on the prize. He can’t control a pandemic, obviously, but he made sure that if we got to play, we were ready. He didn’t let us slack off at all. And then, with all of the racial injustice stuff, he did a really good job having conversations as a team immediately and making sure that those conversations have been sustained. With all of the outside factors, I think he did a really good job addressing them and not letting anything go unsaid.

How has dealing with all of the chaos leading up to this season given you any perspective on the rest of your playing career? 

First of all, it really made me realize that I am an upperclassmen now. I think when you normally go from sophomore to junior, you don’t really feel like anything is different. But when we had our spring season taken away from us and when we were sent home, it made me realize that I’m not always going to be here. I have to make the most of my time here and just embrace every aspect of it, and enjoy it as much as I can.

How has the team adjusted to playing without Lotte Wubben-Moy, Lois Joel, and Alessia Russo, all of whom signed with English clubs instead of coming back to the States? 

Well, that’s another way the pandemic has affected us. Players from England had to decide whether they wanted to take the chance and stay here without knowing if we would even have a season, or if they should bet on themselves and try to start their professional career early. Anson told them to bet on themselves — he really thought that they were ready to start their professional careers. And as you can see, Alessia scored her first goal in her first start. It was tough for us to lose them, for sure. But I think it shows just the depth of this program. We’re never dependent on a few players, we’re a team.

I saw that a couple freshmen players have earned starting roles at UNC. Have any of these players really surprised you?

With Alessia, Lois and Lotte leaving, it opened up opportunities for other players to earn playing time. A lot of players have come through and made the most of that opportunity, and we are really appreciative and proud of them. We have three or four freshmen who are starting and absolutely killing it right now. We love every single one of them and we’re so glad that they all came.

I know this is still a few years away, but do you have personal goals of playing professionally once you graduate or even prior to graduation?

Yes, I definitely want to try and play in the NWSL.

imone Charley is a forward for the Portland Thorns. In college, Charley played soccer and ran track and field for Vanderbilt University where she was named to the 2019 SEC Class of Women’s Legends.

Your first game was pushed back due to the fires in the Pacific Northwest. How was it dealing with that in practices and games?

Luckily, the air quality has improved a lot. It’s pretty much fine now, but for a while it was bad. We just bunkered down indoors — that’s pretty much all you could do. And yeah, our first game was originally pushed back about a week and a half. They delayed it two more times after that because they thought that the air quality would improve, but it didn’t. They just kept having to push it back further and further. It was pretty crazy.

Well, luckily you are safe and you guys were eventually able to play your first game of the Fall Series and beat Utah. How was it being back on the pitch? 

I’m pretty proud of how well our team played. We’ve been working hard these past few weeks and we have a lot of new faces this year, so we’ve had to develop a new team chemistry. I think that as more time has passed, we’ve had more time to play with each other and it’s all starting to come together. So, yeah, I was pretty excited with our performance and how it all played out.

What are your thoughts on the format of these games, since this is obviously very different from the Challenge Cup? 

I like the idea that now we get to play for something bigger than ourselves. We are playing for the Verizon Community Shield and Mimi’s Fresh Tees, which is a really cool organization that makes t-shirts in support of social justice causes. Being able to play for something so much bigger than ourselves and something that will impact our community is a really cool opportunity. I’m enjoying it so far.

Are there any safety concerns you or your team have had given traveling for games while we are still in a pandemic? And if so, how has the team and the league handled these concerns?

The whole series looks a little different than the bubble in Utah. We’re going to have to travel when we go to Seattle and Utah and we’ve had many team meetings about it. We’ve talked about how to do it safely and how to take as many precautions as we can. We’ve had a lot of conversations about it and we’ve figured out a plan that everyone is comfortable with. It was definitely not an easy discussion, though, because it’s for sure not the same as the bubble that we had in Utah.

How have you felt since returning from life in the bubble? Other players have said that the bubble was fairly draining for them. Was that a similar experience for you?

Yeah, I kind of felt removed from the real world and real life for the month and a half we were in the bubble. Returning home afterwards was very weird, especially because I was used to everything being so structured — where you have to be at a certain place at a certain time. In the bubble, everyone is masked up and being as strict as possible all the time. You come back to the actual world and it’s not as strict. When I first got back, I was a little paranoid, like, “Oh my gosh. What’s happening? I can touch things? This is crazy.” It was definitely an adjustment for me, but it was nice to come back.

Are you all still getting tested for COVID once a week?

We’re actually getting tested twice a week right now. I was joking with my friend the other day because I can’t even count how many times I’ve been tested, and it’s like you get it down to a science. It’s like, okay, I like this nostril better and remember to breathe out as soon as they start. But, yeah, because games were a lot more frequent in the bubble, we were getting tested more often because you’d have to be tested before and after every game. It was upwards of three or four times a week. Sometimes even more. And now it’s around twice a week, which is still a good amount.

What are your team’s goals for the remainder of the Fall Series?

Like I was saying earlier, it’s a pretty cool opportunity to play for something bigger than ourselves. I think that’s definitely something in the back of our minds. We want to have the opportunity to give back to our community by wearing the Community Shield. We also want to build for next year. We have a lot of new faces and a lot of young people on our team, so this is a great time to just get more experience under our belt and look forward to the next season.

You came out strong with a goal in your first game against Utah. Do you have any personal goals you are striving for in the last few games?

Just getting more experience and more games under my belt. I want to be consistent and help to continue the momentum that we had as a team throughout the rest of the fall series.

A big storyline before the Fall Series were all of the trades and loans that occurred with some big-name players. How do you think that has affected, if at all, your team or the league in general?

A lot of people decide to go play abroad, which is a pretty cool opportunity. With everything going on, I think that a lot of people thought that playing overseas would be best for them. I do think it’s affected teams who lost a lot of their players, but it also gives more people an opportunity to grow and it allows other players to step up and get more minutes on the field. I think now it’s a cool opportunity to play in the US because you’re going to see players who you wouldn’t normally get to see play.

Elizabeth Price is a retired gymnast who competed on the US national team as an alternate for the 2012 Olympics and at Stanford University. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in design engineering at Harvard. At Stanford, Price won national championships in the vault and the uneven bars. Below, she spoke to Just Women’s Sports about her career as an elite gymnast, her experience with the national team, and the necessary changes the sport is undergoing. 

A lot of gymnasts start at a very young age. Was that true for you and how did you get introduced to the sport? 

Yes. I started when I was three. My mom put me in the sport because she said I had too much energy and she just needed me to do something. It ended up being gymnastics. My parents have no gymnastics background whatsoever. But both my parents would drive past this gym on the way to work when I was little and my mom saw little kids running in and out so she decided to stop by. It was gymnastics, so she was like, “Perfect!” She signed me up for a class, and the rest is history. I was six when I started competing at meets around Pennsylvania where I grew up when, and then each year I’d move up a level and start competing in more competitions, and traveling to more places.

I read that you were homeschooled most of your childhood to focus on training for elite gymnastics. At such a young age, what was it like to dedicate yourself to a sport like that? 

I was twelve, going into seventh grade when I started homeschooling because that was also the year when I became an elite gymnast. My coaches saw a lot of potential in me before then and really actually wanted me to start homeschooling earlier so I could spend more time in the gym. But it was my parents who wanted me to wait a little bit longer. Once I qualified as an elite, I stopped going to school and became homeschooled. From then on, I spent 40 hours a week in the gym until I graduated high school.

Does becoming an elite gymnast mean that you’re basically on track to competing with the Olympic team at some point?

Yeah, it’s definitely the track for the National Team and the Olympics. You can’t go to the Olympics unless you’re on the national team, so that’s the ultimate goal. But the first goal if you want to make it to the Olympics is becoming an elite gymnast.

Was there ever a point in your childhood to early teenage years that you questioned your love of the sport? 

There were things that I didn’t like that I had to do to be as good as I was. For example, I didn’t want to be homeschooled. I loved going to school as a kid so that was a huge sacrifice for me. And then even when I was younger practices were longer. Even then it was like, oh I can’t go trick-or-treating. That’s not a big deal, but to a nine year old that was a big deal. So little things like that that I really missed out on. Birthday parties, vacations, that kind of stuff. Around the time I was maybe eleven or twelve, that’s when the competitions and the training required more focus, dedication, and effort on my part. That is when gymnastics became something I was really dedicating myself to, as opposed to something that I did and just happened to be really good at.

What was your go-to event?

So I competed in all four events throughout my entire gymnastics career. Most girls before college compete in all four. However, my strongest events were floor and uneven bars. And I would say bars are my favorite, for sure.

You were a member of the US Senior National Team in 2012 and an alternate for the 2012 Olympics. What was that experience like?

I don’t think I really saw myself as going to the Olympics, ever. Not that I didn’t think that I was good enough, but as a kid, you see the people at the Olympics, and those are the best in the world. And I never personally never thought of myself as one of the best in the world. Yes, I thought I was competing with the best, I was holding my own. But I never really saw myself as being able to go out there and be one of the best in the world. At least not until I was at Olympic trials.

I don’t think I realized that I had the potential to really make an Olympic team until that meet. I didn’t have confidence in myself before then. Even if I’d go out there and win every event, I still wouldn’t think that I was one of the best. But the year of the trials was one of my best years ever. I was super consistent and doing really well. I ended up finishing fourth at the Olympic trials. I mean, it really doesn’t get much better than that. Obviously that was a huge accomplishment to finish so high and qualify for an alternate spot on the team. But it was also huge for me personally because that was the moment when I realized oh wow, I’m definitely able to go out there and be one of the best in the world, if not the best in the world one day.

Five gymnasts compete in the Olympics. You placed fourth in the Trials. So how come they didn’t choose a top-5 performer from the trials for the team?

So the only person who’s guaranteed a spot on the Olympic team is the person who finishes first at trials. All of the other spots are selected individually. And in 2012 they took the first place person, who I’m pretty sure was Gabby Douglas, and then they took the second and third place person, the fifth place person, and the seventh place person. In the Olympics, not everyone gets to compete in every event. There’s strategy in picking the team. You want the five people who would get the top three scores on each event. So it’s more than just taking the five best all around gymnastics. So even though I competed in all of the events, if I was to end up selected, it would have been for either floor, bars or the vault.

Were you surprised to not have been selected?

After the meet was over and I was sitting in fourth place, I definitely thought I was going to be selected as one of the five people to compete. But at the same time, I wasn’t really sure, because I knew I was right on the edge. The people who placed above me were stronger all around gymnasts, and the people who placed below me were stronger on individual events. Of course, I would’ve loved to have been part of the five who got to compete, but also being selected as an alternate is a huge accomplishment. I mean, how many people get to say that they were part of an Olympic team at all? So I was very proud of myself and definitely happy with what I got in the end.

You retired from elite gymnastics in 2014 before heading to Stanford. Is it common for athletes to choose between competing in college and with the national team? 

Very few people do both. If anything, if you still want to do elite gymnastics, people might take off a semester or something to train for the national team. But like I said earlier, elite gymnastics requires 40 hours a week of training. And I could not do that and compete for Stanford at the same time, on top of the academics.

How did you feel when you retired from elite gymnastics? Was it a sense of relief or was it more excitement about this new chapter?

I was very excited about what was coming next, because at the end of my elite career I had accomplished everything that I wanted to. I didn’t necessarily compete at World Championships or compete at the Olympics, but those were never my specific goals. I wanted to make the national team and just be the best gymnast that I could be, and I felt that I had proven to myself that I was stronger than I thought. I had gotten everything I would receive from elite gymnastics, and so I was very excited to head to Stanford and see what it had to offer.

Right away, your freshman year, you win the NCAA vault title. How do you feel like that set expectations for the rest of your Stanford career?

I had high expectations for myself going in. But college gymnastics is much different than everything else. The judging is different, the routine structure is different, and I wasn’t sure how I would compare to the other athletes and their routines. So going out there and being able to win an NCAA title my freshman year was super reassuring and obviously a great accomplishment. Especially as a freshman who was new to the whole college scene, so it was pretty awesome.

What makes the competition different in college? 

Aspects of it were easier. For example, in college you can’t train more than 20 hours. So obviously there goes half of my training time. Additionally, in the elite you’re basically trying to do the hardest possible skills you can and make them look pretty decent. In college you’re not necessarily trying to do the hardest skills. You’re trying to do medium difficulty skills but make them look absolutely perfect. And that was basically the difference. You’re really focusing on trying to get the perfect 10, which is different in elite scoring because in elite scoring you can’t really get a 10. As you just add harder skills, the scores go higher and higher and higher. There’s really no limit to the scoring, so that’s the biggest difference.

What did it mean for you to end your gymnastics career as An NCAA champion?

It was more than I could’ve asked for. Knowing it was going to be my last competition, my main goal was just to go out there and hit four solid routines and do as good as I possibly could. But I did even better than that because I scored a 10 at nationals, which never even crossed my mind as being a possibility. I’m like, you’re at nationals, there’s even more judges, they’re doing everything they can to find everything wrong with your routine. So the fact that I scored a perfect 10 at nationals at my last competition was just the cherry on top. All the hard work, all the hours I put in my whole life, and especially in college and all of the injuries I endured — everything was worth it.

How did you deal with the transition out of gymnastics when you graduated?

Starting when I was a kid, I wanted to be an engineer. Before I knew I was going to do college gymnastics or be an elite gymnast, I knew I wanted to be an engineer. So throughout my college experience, I always saw the end of gymnastics coming. I knew exactly when it was coming, and I knew exactly what I wanted to do afterwards, so the transition was pretty natural. Although gymnastics was the biggest part of my life, it wasn’t my life. I’ve always wanted to do other things, and I just happened to spend a lot of my time doing gymnastics along the way.

I wanted to transition to more current events. Athletes have been at the forefront of the social justice conversation this year. What are your thoughts on the importance of athletes using their platform to speak up on these issues? 

I personally think it’s absolutely amazing to see athletes stepping up and using their platforms to bring attention to these really important matters. Especially because so often the general public use athletes as these perfect beings that are so far removed from social issues. But I think it’s really important to see these athletes step up and be saying something and using their platform, because it lets people know that everyone is attached to this. No one is unaffected by what’s going on.

Obviously a big storyline in the gymnastics world the past few years has been all the coaching abuse scandals. What’s been your perspective on these changing dynamics within the sport? 

It’s difficult to analyze a lot of what goes on right now, because gymnastics is a sport that involves athletes that are very young, much younger than other sports. Most gymnasts start when they’re like five years old, and all their careers are done before they’re 22. It is really important to analyze exactly what the coaching structure is because all of the athletes, as great as we are, we’re still only children and have most of our lives to live after our sport is over. It’s not something we get to do forever, so I think it’s great to see the change that’s coming to the sport of gymnastics with regards to how people treat coaching, how coaches are treating athletes, and how everyone’s making sure that accountability is being placed on the people whose jobs it is to take care of the athletes.

Sam Staab plays as a defender for the Washington Spirit of the NWSL and the Western Sydney Wanderers in Australia’s W-League. 

[Editor’s note: this interview took place the day before the Washington Spirit played the Chicago Red Stars to a 1-1 draw.]

Your team is heading into its third game of the Fall Series tomorrow. I wanted to first talk about the format of these games, since this is obviously very different from the Challenge Cup. How do you feel about these more spaced-out games? 

It hasn’t been too bad. I mean, it makes it feel like a bit of a normal season having a few home games and a few away games. They split us up into regions, so we’re only playing Chicago and New Jersey, which are great teams. That’s good because it will be a challenge every single game. But other than that, it’s kind of nice just because it feels like for a month and a half we get to have a bit of a normal season.

I chatted with some other players and they were saying they didn’t realize how emotionally and physically drained they were until they came home from the Challenge Cup bubble. Was that similar for you?

Yes. Definitely leaving the Challenge Cup, I didn’t really realize it. And then when I was at home for a couple of days, I was like, Oh my gosh, this is so nice. Obviously we’re still in a pandemic, but being stuck in a hotel and an unfamiliar place and just everything that we had to go through and be aware of was emotionally and physically draining. But at the same time, I just had to be grateful and reflect on it and be like, okay, we actually got to play, and obviously we were the first league to be able to do so. And I was really grateful at the time to be able to actually play.

What is the team’s mindset given that there’s no trophy or title to play for during the Fall Series?

I think we have taken a bit of a different approach to the Fall Series. We have a lot of players injured, a lot of very influential and impactful players injured on our team right now. And we’re already kind of labeled as like the young and talented team. So I think what we’re doing is giving a lot of younger players, including myself, a ton of experience, not only just playing games, but also being in leadership roles. A bunch of us that aren’t necessarily older or veteran players have had to step into new positions and just kind of take over a bigger role on the team because we have so many big personalities and important people out. Hopefully, next year we’re in a better spot and everyone is a little bit further ahead.

Obviously a huge storyline for your team before the start of the Series was Rose Lavelle being traded and then heading abroad. Did that have any affect on your team’s chemistry?

I wouldn’t say that it had like a major effect on our team chemistry or anything. Obviously, Rose is an unbelievable player, but she had mentioned to us before everything started that this is what she was going to do. So I think we had a bit of a heads up. And everyone was really excited for her new opportunity and we just kind of had to take it for what it is. People have really stepped up into roles that she had in order to fill them. So I don’t think it necessarily had an extreme impact on our team chemistry just because our team is so close anyway, but obviously she’s an amazing player. You can’t really fill that role with anyone else besides her. But people have stepped, and I’ve had to step up, and I think we’ve done a really great job.

A lot of other players across the league have gone abroad in the past month or so. What are your general thoughts on that?

The future of the NWSL, in terms of what the league was going to do at the end of this year, was kind of up in the air and no one really knew what was happen. Everyone is in that same boat. No one knows what’s going on from one day to the next. So I think if people want to play, they’re going to go abroad because they think they can get games in and have a more normal season. It was a good move for some people because the Challenge Cup didn’t necessarily present too many opportunities for people to get playing time and show their skills. So yeah, I don’t know. We didn’t do it [loan out players] as a club just because we wanted to build on what we started and give people opportunities to play but, for the people who thought the opportunity was there for them, I think it’s a good move.

I wanted to end on asking you about any safety concerns you or your team has had given traveling for games while we are still in a pandemic. And how has the team and the league handled these concerns?

I don’t know if our team has really had too many concerns about it. I think in the kind of contract of it all, we kind of just have to make our own sort of bubble. And I think people knew that we needed to be safe with everything. So I don’t necessarily think there were too many issues with playing and traveling just because we know that like the NWSL and our club would take precautions. And ultimately were in charge of what we do with ourselves. So. It’s about putting yourself in a bad or sticky situation. You should be okay. And you don’t have to think more than just yourself because you’re impacting your entire team. So I think if there was any sort of concern, our captains and our club handled it, but I don’t know if there was anything. We get tested twice a week. You need two negative tests before you play any game.

Christen Westphal plays as a defender for the Portland Thorns of the NWSL. Prior to playing for Portland, Westphal also played for Reign FC and the Boston Breakers. She spoke to Just Women’s Sports about the upcoming Fall Series and how her and the Thorns are using the four games to build off their Challenge Cup performance. 

Editor’s note: the Thorns’ first match against OL Reign has been postponed to September 30th due to the poor air quality resulting from the fires in Oregon and Washington. 

What was it like returning home after the Challenge Cup?

Being in the bubble can be mentally, emotionally and physically exhausting at times. Coming home and having a few weeks off before having to be back in the market for these games for the Fall Series was pretty crucial for myself, and probably other girls across the league. It was a chance to just regroup and recharge. Because I don’t think when you’re in that environment, you fully comprehend how much it takes a toll and all those aspects. But then I think after being able to have that space and time, coming back into training and everything can be refreshing. It’s good to be back with the team and be around the girls and just have an opportunity to be able to play some more games and get more games and as a group.

You play OL Reign for your first game of the Fall Series. What are your expectations heading into that matchup?

We played them in the Challenge Cup, so I think playing them for out first game in the Fall Series is great because right out of the gate, it’s a game that even if it’s a friendly, or whatever we are going to call it, it’s going to be a good game because it’s the Reign versus the Thorns. So I think that’s really exciting to start the Fall Series with that kind of game.

The format of these fall games are obviously very different from the tournament format at the Challenge Cup. How do you feel about that?

I think the Fall Series is great in the sense that it kind of mimics what a regular season looks like for us. In the Challenge Cup, it was pretty hard, especially because they’re having games every three days, every four days. That’s really hard on your body and mentally. This is good to be able to have it mimic more of a regular season, in the sense we get the rest, time to prepare for the games and everything like that. I think it’s better for that sense of normality and that it’s more like a regular season than a tournament.

Do you have any concerns about  playing outside of a bubble this time around?

Because the bubble was so successful in terms of protecting us and keeping us safe, I think naturally there’s going to be concerns when that format is now different. New concerns come to the forefront. I think that it’s natural and kind of inevitable in a sense to have concerns, but we also had concerns before the bubble, and it ended up a success.

Has either the league or your team done anything specifically to address some of these concerns? 

I’m not sure if there’s anything that our team has done specifically. I know that the league has been great, especially going into the bubble with listening to concerns and making sure those concerns were met. So I don’t feel that will be any different as we step into these games. There’s so many different aspects of having us travel and all these different kinds of things. I know concerns have been raised, but I haven’t personally been involved in hearing them or discussing them.

And how do you feel about traveling for games?

I don’t know if all the details have been completely ironed out to be honest. I think it’s nice in the sense that we’re playing the Reign, because we’ll probably just bus, which will definitely be the safest in terms of traveling as a team. So I think that’s good. I’m not really sure what it looks like when traveling to Utah. I bet we’ll fly, I’m not really sure what that looks like.

Your team fell short by one goal in the Semifinals of the Challenge Cup to Houston who ended up winning it all.  What are some of your team’s goals for these games?  

When the Fall Series was first presented, it seemed different in the sense of, like, it’s only four games, and then we go into an off season. But I think we’ve tried to fit our mentality with the sense of using these four games as an opportunity for growth for the 2021 season. We’re one of the teams with the most players that are still in the market, so our group is essentially the same as it was in the Challenge Cup. That’s a really unique opportunity to be able to push the boundaries of our comfort zones and try things that maybe we weren’t ready to try in the Challenge Cup. And I think it’s a huge opportunity for growth as a team and honestly, individually. Going into it, obviously we’re going to compete and want to win, but we’re also seeing it as an opportunity to just kind of grow off of what happened in the Challenge Cup.

What are some of your personal goals?

For me, coming to the Thorns and having an opportunity to contribute to the team, I think it’s forced me to want to grow as I’m playing outside back. As with the team, I want to work hard every day in training and not just be going through the motions. In every one of these four games, I want to perform and contribute to the team and work on some areas where I thought I could have done better in Utah.

You mentioned that we’ve seen some changes with rosters across the league. There are a lot of players who have been either loaned to teams in Europe or signed there. How do you think that will affect the Fall Series? 

I honestly think with players going to Europe, it’s going to open up opportunities for other players on other teams to step in and see how they do. I think it could be a cool opportunity for players that maybe didn’t see that much time in Utah. Now they’ll get some NWSL games under their belt. I don’t think there will be a huge drop off for the league or anything like that. I don’t see it having a drastic impact on the games. I think it’s mostly a cool opportunity for younger players and for players who are looking to get an opportunity.

Jasmyne Spencer is a forward for OL Reign of the NWSL. She spoke with JWS about the Black players of the NWSL coalition and how they’re working to put their social justice message into action.

After the statements made by Dell Loy Hanson, what is your hope for the future of NWSL ownership and how do you think the league can continue to progress?

I think one of the big things is that these things are now coming up to the surface. It’s difficult to make change when you’re unaware of it, so as terrible as the statements were, I think it was a really big learning curve to see that within our own ownership group, within our league, that these old mindsets were present. Now, we can flush them out and hopefully bring in leadership that is on board with social justice and social reform and really understand that what they represent is a diverse group of women and a diverse community of fans. It was a terrible incident, but in a way, it has forced us to raise the standards league-wide. I know for us and all the Black players of the NWSL, what we would really like to see is people of color in those leadership roles.

The Black players of the NWSL released a powerful statement regarding his comments. Can you talk to me about what being a part of that statement means to you? 

It’s been difficult for the majority of us to find our footing because we are a minority in our sport. Back in May, when everything happened with George Floyd, a bunch of us felt like, “Enough is enough. We need to do something with our platform.” But, it was also right in the midst of the tournament starting and there were so many things that were unclear. And, for all of the Black women on the OL Reign roster, we were in Montana, we’re in the midst of transitioning to Montana. So, we were very much already isolated in a bubble. It was just a difficult time to even be given space to process and just understand our own feelings, let alone speak on them.

Ahead of the Fall Series, now that everyone’s back in their home market and has had time to process and come together, we thought it was super powerful if we formed our own union, for lack of a better word. Then we can really start to propose some actionable change out there using our platform. This is just another way where we can support each other and check in on each other, and just make sure that we’re all okay and feel secure in our environments and have a safe space to feel and decompress if we need or act if we need. Just to know that we’re, we’re all in this together.

What was the league’s response to your statements?

So far, everyone we’ve spoken to, the PA, the league, and a majority of the individual teams have been super supportive and reaching out and asking for ways they can help. That has been refreshing. I know, here at the Reign, they have been very good in taking a back seat and letting us lead and teach and basically let us help them and guide them in ways that they can be better allies. And, we can do right by the Black and Brown communities that we represent here in the Seattle-Tacoma area. We’re just trying to basically expand that to make it not only league-wide, but nationwide, because we represent a big demographic of women, young girls of color who love the sport of soccer. So far so good, and we hope that we can continue to grow and have a greater influence as time goes on.

We’ve seen in recent weeks the WNBA lead the way in terms of protesting. Does your team, or any other NWSL teams that you’ve heard of have any plans for social justice messaging during the Fall Series?

We’ve all bounced around a couple of ideas of ways we can demonstrate. Our board specifically has reached out and had a lot of positive conversations with members of the WNBA. I think a challenge for us, as I said before, is we’re minorities in our sport, where the WNBA is 70% women of color. We’re just trying to basically learn from them and be advised by them and ask, “How have you been able to do this for so long, so effectively? What are ways that you’ve been able to stay unified as a league to present these super powerful messages?” I think we’ve had a lot of good conversations and inspiration that we’ve taken from them, and hopefully, we’ll be able to execute throughout the Fall Series.

What have you learned up to this point about the role athletes play in national conversations around race and social injustice?

I think our role has been huge. I think it’s always been huge. I think that right now, being that most of the world is still shut down or just coming back to life, we’ve really been able to use our voices more than ever, because we’re some of the few community leaders whose voices can be seen and heard at this time. I think we all collectively as professional athletes just recognize that this is our time to really use our platform for good. I think it’s been amazing to see, across all types of sports, how we’ve embraced that responsibility.

Is there anything that you have personally been using this time to reflect on?

I really have been getting a lot of questions about, “Why now?” Or, “How can we do better?” What I’ve been paying close attention to is just making sure the narrative isn’t leaving out the greater story, which is that most of us have always spoken about these things. It’s just that now, people are listening and then using that, and then shedding light on what the root of the problem really is. It is that our country is built on systemic racism and we have to break it down piece by piece. It’s going to take all of us: Black, white, Latina, everything in between, to really make change. At this point, a lot of us are getting the attention and the questions, and I think we’ve done a really good job of circling back and reminding everyone that it’s really going to take a united front to get the change that we wanted. I think that’s been super cool. What I’ve been enjoying, as I go through this process, is it’s our turn to use our voices to continue to fight for the greater good, which is what we’ve all been trying to do this whole time.

How have conversations been between teammates, while all this is going on?

Here, with the Reign, they’ve been incredible. I take my hat off to our non players of color for really wanting to learn and be better allies and being sympathetic to our experiences. Just giving us a space that has made us feel comfortable in sharing, and not forcing us to overshare traumas. They’ve just been so good at balancing their want to learn more, but not push us and force us into uncomfortable conversations if we’re not exactly in the mood, because it’s a lot. It can be overwhelming. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. They’ve been great allies thus far. We’ve got some really good things that we want to roll out in our community here, that they’ve really taken in stride. Players are enthusiastic about the ways that they can help better our own Black and brown communities in the Seattle-Tacoma area. It starts with those small conversations and, if done well, then you can really start to see some action come into play, and it’s been incredible.

Is there anything else that you wanted to talk about, that I didn’t mention at all?

Just keep an eye out on the things that the Black players of the NWSL are working on. We’re still ironing out the details of making ourselves a legal entity and what we want to represent and stand for in the initiatives we want to set forth. But it’s going to be amazing when it’s all said and done, and we’re super excited to be in this generation that’s really starting it and hopefully setting the future up to be pretty awesome.

Kiah Stokes plays for the New York Liberty of the WNBA. A graduate of UConn, she won three national titles with the Huskies. She spoke with JWS about the Liberty’s struggles this season, how they’re building for the future, and the importance of the WNBA’s social justice platform.

You’re a verteran and a leader on the team. How have you rallied the team throughout what’s been a difficult season? 

It’s just tough because we don’t have a full roster. We had seven rookies, and then Sabrina [Ionescu] hurt her ankle so she hasn’t been around. It’s a lot of learning. I was fortunate that my rookie year we had great vets. We had Tina Charles, Swin Cash and Tanisha Wright. They know the game, they’ve been here, they’ve done everything that we want to do. I learned from them, but the biggest thing that I took from them is just to try to lead by example. So, coming to this team when I’m the second oldest person and third most veteran when it comes to years in the league, I wasn’t really ready in terms of being a leader. It was difficult for me, but the one thing I just tried to do was just play hard and do my job. And the coaching staff seems to like it. So I think I’m doing some things right.

This whole season has definitely been a learning process for everyone. Us older players call ourselves baby vets, because we’re vets compared to everyone else who’s a rookie, but in the league, this is my fifth season, Zahui’s in her sixth, I think Layshia’s in her seventh or eighth. But like I said, when I was a rookie, I had Swin Cash and Tanisha Wright who were 10 plus years in the league. So, we’re baby vets compared to them.

You have a new coach this season, Walt Hopkins, and a lot of new rookies. How has the team adjusted to the changes?

It’s been good. Our record doesn’t really show how good we can be, but like you said, it’s a new coach, new system, new everything. We’re in the middle of a pandemic. So, there’s a lot of things going against us. Everyone really wants to work hard. They show up every day at practice. It’s hard because we don’t have enough practice time to get the on court chemistry that we need. When you’re going against teams like Seattle who have been building this for years or Phoenix, although they have a new roster too, but they brought in superstars. But we’re getting there. The rookies, they’re super energetic, willing to learn. They’re easy to talk to. They don’t take things personally when you try to correct them or try to give them advice. I think that’s one thing that we’re super lucky on because a lot of teams have a lot of egos and we don’t have that, which is a very, very big blessing.

Now that you are almost done with the season, what are your thoughts on playing and living in a bubble?

Oh man, the bubble. I have a lot of complaints. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say all of them, but I will say the one good thing is we don’t have to travel for games, which has been amazing. My knees swell up when I fly, so I’m totally cool not flying. So that part has been really good. But it’s just hard because we can’t leave. We can’t do anything. We see the same people every day. It’s a lot. I don’t like being stuck in one spot. I don’t like Florida weather. It’s too hot. It rains all the time. I hate it.

But we still have a job, which I can’t say for a lot of people in America right now. So I’m trying not to complain, but it could be better, could also be worse. But this has never happened before. It’s all a learning process for everyone, and I know the league worked really, really hard to make this happen. I’m grateful for the opportunity and the job and just that we’re able to have a season. But bubble life is tough.

I talked to Sabrina when she went to see the doctors in New York, and I was just texting her, filling her in, just seeing how she was feeling. And she was like, “Bro, it’s so crazy. You don’t realize how isolated you are until you leave the bubble.” I was like, “Wait, what?” She’s like, “Yeah. You’re missing out on life.” I’m like, “Oh no.”

WNBA players joined the NBA in going on strike following the Jacob Blake shooting. I wanted to hear from your perspective how that all unfolded?

I guess it starts from the beginning. I think it was my rookie year or second year, us and Minnesota, we were the first teams to wear BLM tee-shirts to warm ups, and we got fined for all that. We’ve always been at the forefront of all that. And then like in the beginning of the season, Layshia Clarendon, she’s our oldest vet, and she is one of the head people on the social justice council, and so she is super passionate about this and her attitude about it makes us want to do more.

So when we all decided as a league to dedicate this season to Breonna Taylor, it was kind of a no brainer. And we’re lucky that there was a pandemic because there were no sports on TV forever. So, we knew we were going to have a platform. Off course, we get all the hate and the “Nobody watches you” comments. We don’t really care because the people that follow us understand what we do, and we’ll talk to anyone who will listen. And the fact that we’ve had a lot of games on TV and even us sitting out the game after the shooting, it just brings awareness. And I think that’s our whole thing is just bringing awareness to what’s going on. And it’s frustrating, the majority of our league is Black women and I’ve said this a million times, but the Black woman is the most disrespected woman in America. She’s sometimes forgotten about. So, we just want to keep bringing awareness and just the fact that there was another shooting with the police in the middle of the season. It’s tough and it’s draining.

And then that’s when it hits you, that we’re fortunate we have our jobs and we’re in a bubble and we’re safe here, but what if our family member was in that situation or what if a sister or a brother, or my father — it could be anyone that you know and love. It just hits home and it’s tough. So, while we’re here, yes, we want to win games, we want to work hard, we want to fight for the title and get the ring, but at the end of the day, life is bigger than basketball. So, we’re just trying to use our platform in any way we can just to bring awareness and demand justice.

How much discussion was there between players before sitting out games? Or was it a somewhat spontaneous decision?

There was a small discussion, and then once Milwaukee sat out, we were like, “Oh, it’s for sure. This is what we’re going to do.” It was tough though because our season is so short in general so we didn’t really think of the logistics of everything, like, okay, if we sit out now do we get the game back? Is it a forfeit? But at the time, we weren’t worried about that. We were worried about what’s right and what’s wrong. We just want to be seen and heard.

What has it been like being in the bubble while all of this is going on in the outside world?

It’s tough. It’s really hard because I feel like I can’t help in the ways that I want to. Just using our platform is all we can do right now. We had a meeting, and there were talks about players wanting to just go home after this because it’s draining emotionally and mentally and physically, but we decided if we’re here and we’re playing, we have a platform. We’re going to try to just do what we can, stay relevant, stay on TV, stay in the media. We need to keep the conversation going, because once the conversation dies down, people tend to forget about it. Especially in a hard time, everyone has short term memory and one day something goes viral, the next day everyone forgets about it. So we just have to stay relevant and keep the conversation going.

What more can the league do in order to amplify social justice messages? 

Besides having someone run for president? In all seriousness though, we’ve done a lot of voting initiatives because that’s how we can affect change by electing officials that we know and trust and believe in. People in their local markets are just reaching out, just trying to find people, make sure they vote, and know how to register.

I think we did a program here within the bubble to make sure all the players are registered to vote because there’s this stigma, “Oh, my one vote doesn’t mean anything,” but if a million people feel the same way then we’re out of luck. So, we’ve definitely just tried to reinforce how important voting is. Not only for president, but for your local officials, the Senate seats, because it’s a chain reaction, and that’s one thing that they really, really focused on because yes, we want to bring attention and awareness, but we need people in the positions who can actually make change. And that was the biggest thing I think that the league has done. And I think they will continue to do it as well.

What are you personally focused on during the rest season both on and off the court?

Off the court, just the same things with social justice. Just trying to have my voice be heard. On the court, I’m just trying to improve my game. It’s a contract season for me. So, I try to do my part to stay around in this league, but it is tough. And this season hasn’t been how he wanted it to go, especially record wise, but it’s one thing I just had to expand my game because the game is evolving.

And what would you say the team’s focus is for the last few games of the season? 

To perfect the little things. In film, the eye in the sky camera is the worst thing invented, because it shows literally every single mistake. You think in a game you’re doing things right, but then on film you’re like, “Oh, I should have been one more step this way. Or I should’ve cut now instead of then.” So we’re just focusing on the little things and our coach, he’s been great. He’s very positive and he understands the situation with the seven rookies and a pretty young team, but it’s just trying to do what you’re good at and do what you know how to do and just perfect that.

Jamia Fields is a forward for the Houston Dash of the NWSL. 

In the wake of the Jacob Blake shooting, we have seen a lot of athletes using their platforms to demand change. The Black players of the NWSL also released a powerful statement in response. Can you talk to me about what being a part of that statement means and your perspective? 

I think it shows that we’re moving in the right direction. It’s terrible that all these things had to happen, or continue to happen, to come together as Black players in the league to make a statement. But I understand that we’re making a movement together, for the Black athletes in the league and the Black community as a whole.

What was the league’s response to your statements?

I’ve seen a couple statements, but overall the league has been supportive with our statement. They don’t really have a choice because we put it out there. As a Black players union, our goal really is to just come together and have a voice. Hopefully, people support it. If they don’t, we can all keep continuing to learn, but the league has been responding well and we’re appreciative of that. They’re trying to push for change.

After the statements made by Hansen, what is the hope for the future of NWSL ownership and how do you think the league can continue to progress?

Well, yes, the statements — they were terrible. Those things can’t be said. They show zero support. Black players, in this league, and across multiple leagues from the WNBA at the forefront and the MLS… we deserve better. We deserve to be seen. We deserve to fight against the injustices that are happening. And that’s what we’re trying to do.

Does your team or the NWSL have any plans for social justice messaging during the Fall Series at all?

Well, we do have plans. We are trying to lead a few initiatives, and we are trying to really piggyback off of what the WNBA has done. Obviously we have to stand on our own, as our league and ourselves, but we see how the WNBA has progressed and handled fighting for change. We definitely, as a league, as a whole — we need to be role models.

What have you learned about the role that athletes have to play in national conversations around race and social justice?

Well, this world kind of revolves around sports in a way. I’ve just been very proud and thankful for how many men and women athletes have been taking a stand and using their platforms to just really catch the eyes of America, and be like, “Hey, I know we’re good at our craft, but these topics are more important. These topics deserve the attention ahead of our games.” Right? So I’m just really proud of the female and male athletes that have really pushed for this.

 Is there anything that you have personally been using this time to reflect on? 

I just think that I can figure out more ways I can help fight for change. I think all of us wish we just had the one answer that would correct everything. I have been doing a lot of reflecting on how I can continue to use my platform, use my voice, to push for change. Both in the league and in my community.

 What have the conversations been like between teammates while all of this is going on? 

A lot of conversations are happening. We all have different perspectives, we’re all raised differently, we’re of different races. But I think these conversations are important due to the fact that we have been raised differently and we are different. We should come together and see each other’s perspectives. There were a lot of conversations at the tournament, and now, here in Houston, we have been collaborating with the MLS a little bit, trying to figure out how our organizations can make a bigger impact on the Black and Brown community in Houston.

Was there anything else that you wanted to mention that I didn’t bring up?

In sports, our voices are so powerful. And so in these leagues, in these seasons, I keep highlighting the WNBA, and that needs to be pushed in our league because we’re not a minority Black league. The NWSL is predominantly white. We need to try harder with using our voices and our platform, know when our games are aired on TV we can use that platform to be able to show like “Hey, these are injustices that are happening, and we need justice to happen.” I’d just like to really highlight that point.