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Everything
we do on the National Team has a plan, and every ritual
has a meaning. The way we prepare for our games is mental
as well as physical. That’s why our team is famous
for the “USA Mentality.” While you don’t
want to get hung-up on non-essential details, everything
you do in your game preparation can contribute, or undermine,
your success. And the greatest example of this I can
think of is the 1999 Women’s World Cup.
We
walked through the shadowy tunnel at Giant’s Stadium
in New Jersey for the opening game and stepped out into
the bright sunlight. A huge roar burst from the capacity
crowd. The flashing of thousands of cameras exploded
before our eyes and the smell of the fresh cut grass
was heavy in the air. It was all finally happening.
As I stood there, arm in arm with Kristine Lilly, I
was flooded by a rush of anxiety. “Oh my God, I
have to perform,” I thought. I was paralyzed with
thoughts I had never had on a soccer field. “What
if I can’t hold up my end?” “What if
I don’t live up to the expectations of my teammates,
or myself?” I was overwhelmed by the enormity of
the game, the culmination of all the planning, training
and waiting. There was even talk that if the US team
didn’t win the tournament, the event would be a
failure, and not live up to its promise to prove women’s
soccer was worthy of attention. I actually began to
shake. It must have reverberated, because Joy Fawcett
whispered to me, “I’m nervous too.”
“Whew, I’m not alone,” I thought. “That
helps.”
But
I was still wound up. My heart ramped up to what felt
like 30 beats per second. The blood was pounding. Even
with my breathing exercises, I couldn’t calm my
huffing and puffing down. I thought I might have a heart
attack during the run in our warm up routine.
Sports
psychologist Colleen Hacker had told us we had to find
a way to filter out what we couldn’t control. We
had to ignore what everyone else wanted—the public,
the media—and focus on what we needed to do for
ourselves. Even though we were nervous and anxious,
Lil and I looked at each other with tears in our eyes.
We had done all the right things. We were ready. “You
don’t have to win to make this tournament a success,”
I told myself. “All you are responsible for is
doing your best,” I told myself, something I had
learned from being involved with the game my whole life.
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