Just Women's Sports

The still-defending champions are facing a season as difficult as any in the college landscape.

Thankfully, Baylor has experience re-loading. For three straight years, the Lady Bears dominated the Wade Trophy for the national player of the year. Brittney Griner won in 2012, when Baylor won a national title, and again in 2013; Odyssey Sims followed in 2014.

The next season may have been Kim Mulkey’s most significant challenge in terms of replacing talent. And while Baylor continued to dominate the Big 12, they couldn’t find their way past the Elite Eight until 2019, when they finally reached the mountain top again, and claimed another NCAA title.

This year, Baylor not only needs to find a new rotation, but they’re also dealing with all the schedule irregularities that have begun to hound college basketball due to the pandemic.

Forward Lauren Cox and guards Te'a Cooper and Juicy Landrum were all drafted to the WNBA after combining for 45.1% of the team’s points per game and 49.4% of the team’s assists. Entering the season, senior guard DiDi Richards and junior forward NaLyssa Smith were expected to be the only full-time starters returning from last year’s squad that went 28-2 overall and 17-1 in the Big 12.

Lexie Brown is a guard for the Minnesota Lynx of the WNBA. Brown played college basketball at Duke University before being drafted by the Connecticut Sun in 2018 and traded to the Lynx in 2019. Below, she spoke with Just Women’s Sports about her experience in the WNBA bubble so far and how she sees her team advancing throughout the rest of the season. 

What are your thoughts on the WNBA's social justice efforts and the importance of dedicating this season to Breonna Taylor?

It's amazing. What has been going on in our country recently has really been going on forever. In these past few months, it was thrust into the spotlight because everyone was at home with the virus. I think it was a good opportunity for us to use our platforms to speak up and speak out. We’re not new to doing that. Female athletes in general, but specifically the WNBA, have always been at the forefront of social justice issues. 

On top of that, we have all of these televised games which we didn’t know were going to happen. We came into this bubble just thinking that we were all going to be together and that our voices would be stronger as one — we all wanted to share one united message. The fact that we’re all over TV and social media has been amazing for us in trying to share our message. 

They just added around 13 more games to the TV schedule, which is huge. It not only expands the platform, but it also shows that people want to watch you all play.

Exactly. And it's been so nice to see the support. There is some negativity, of course. But seeing how many people are happy to have access to our games is great. Whether it’s my team or any other team, it’s awesome to see people asking where they can buy jerseys or those orange hoodies that are everywhere. It’s nice to see that people do care about our league because, usually, we see all of the negativity and we just have to ignore it and push through. So, it’s been really nice to get some visibility this year. 

How do you think the league has handled all of the different logistics, both leading up to life in the bubble and now with games happening? 

I think they've done a great job. During the first day or two, when we were in our little quarantine, people were just getting used to the whole situation. And there were some things that went wrong, but anything that went wrong was fixed so fast, without any hassle. The staff members are all incredible. Everyone is so nice. Everyone is listening to directions. I think the WNBA did a really good job for as little time as they had to put this together. Obviously, you don't want to be in a bubble, but for someone that's living in a bubble, I'm very happy here.

Do you think it's hard to stay motivated during the season while living in such a different environment?

For me, personally, I'm super self-motivated. And I'm not really a person who is out and about all the time. If I'm at home, I'm usually at home with my family and we're just hanging out. So for me, this type of environment is very similar to one, overseas and two, how I am at home. I miss my friends and family, of course. And I miss our fans. I think that the hardest part for me is not playing in front of fans. But I'm in a situation where all I have to worry about is playing basketball and staying in shape, and that's an ideal situation for me.

Do you think that there is a bigger focus on recovery since there is less traveling for games? 

Absolutely. One of my teammates actually went down with an injury last night, so now we're down a player. Things change fast and we just have to take care of your bodies. The best thing for us is that we aren't traveling, we aren't sitting in airports all day or all night, we aren’t getting up at 6:00 AM to catch a flight. It's leveled the playing field. At the end of the season, we’re going to see who took care of their bodies the best and also who did the most work leading up to the season. I made it a goal of mine to come into training camp as one of the most in shape players on my team, and I definitely did that. I love working out and the fact that this is my job is so amazing to me because I get to mess around with all different types of workouts and positively influence my job. 

How has it been playing without fans? 

It's been so weird. In our first game, we were down and then we came back, but it just didn’t feel like we were making a comeback. It was so quiet. Everyone is going to have to adjust. Some players who aren't used to talking and cheering on the bench are going to have to step up. Our coach asked us, "Why are we starting so slow?" And I said, "It's just the environment." We have to create our own energy. Some teams are better at that than others. For me, I love our fans, so while it hasn’t necessarily been hard, it’s been sad to not see those familiar faces in the stand.  

You won your first game and lost your second. What are your thoughts on how the team has played?

Our energy has been a little up and down. We have so many new faces and a lot of younger players. We’re all adjusting and learning about each other. Our coach is used to having a veteran team, so I think she’s learning as she goes as well. It’s all going to be a process for us, but we all love each other. We have great chemistry off the court. Once we put it all together on the court, find our spots and get a rhythm, we’re going to be fine. 

  Every once in a while, the CBS broadcast will cut to a spectator that somehow found his way into Zions Bank Stadium for the NWSL Challenge Cup. On closer inspection, it’s former Reign head coach and current USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski. 

Often, Andonovski is seen writing in his sports notebook. While he may be journaling about the playground, sunset or the farm, it is much more likely that he is taking notes as he evaluates a roster for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. 

Before the Olympics were postponed, the likelihood of roster turnover was low given the one year gap between the World Cup and Tokyo. Teams can only carry 18 players at the Olympics, and it was widely expected that those 18 would be chosen among the 23 who won in France. 

The postponement of the Olympics has changed all that. Players for whom the Olympics would have likely been their last tournament with the national team are now another year older. Their spots are less secure. Someone like Alex Morgan, on the other hand, would seem to be a shoo-in; originally it was unclear whether she’d be able to come back in time after just giving birth in May. 

The extra year of preparation also gives the Challenge Cup added significance, as it may be the only opportunity for many national team hopefuls to play competitive games this calendar year.  

Heading into the tournament, the opportunity seemed perfect for someone like Mallory Pugh, an immensely talented player, still young, who looked to have apparently been left off the initial Olympic roster. Traded to a new team in Sky Blue FC and playing with a chip on her shoulder, there was a chance she could have played herself back into contention. Instead, an injury has forced her to miss out on the tournament. 

Megan Rapinoe, Tobin Heath, Christen Press and Morgan all opted out of the tournament, but their spots are all but assured. Ali Krieger, Emily Sonnett and Ashlyn Harris likewise won’t have it held against them that Orlando was unable to play. And while Kelley O’Hara, Becky Sauerbrunn and even Carli Lloyd were limited due to injuries, they can feel confident about heading to Tokyo, even if Lloyd will be 38. Tierna Davidson, on the other hand, has struggled with injuries since her final (junior) year at Stanford and could have used a strong showing to cement herself as the future of the defense. 

As Andonovski looks towards the future, my bet is he’s currently feeling a bit overwhelmed with the number of world-class goalkeepers he’s seen performing at the Challenge Cup. 

So far, Aubrey Bledsoe, who has brought into Andonovski’s first camp for friendlies against Sweden and Costa Rica, has been a brick wall for the Washington Spirit. Jane Campbell of the Houston Dash has also looked strong after being invited to a January camp alongside the three keepers who went to France. 

Renee Montgomery is a point guard for the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA. Following the police killing of George Floyd, Montgomery announced she was opting out of the upcoming WNBA season in order to focus on social reform. She spoke with Women’s Sports about what went into that decision, and how she plans to use her platform to drive real change. 

You announced that you are opting out of the 2020 WNBA season in order to focus on social reform off the court. What was the motivation behind your decision? 

As you know, there was a string of murders — Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and then George Floyd. Once George Floyd was murdered, you could see that America reacted. The world reacted. I reacted, too. I think we are all just tired. We are tired of seeing this. We are tired of the same story. We know how it ends. The movement happened because, like me, everyone is tired.

What prompted you to focus specifically on social reform during this time?

I started to think about all of the problems within the system. It's not just police brutality. We have problems in the prison system, too. And, then, I thought about the educational aspect of it. A lot of people are latching onto my story — they understand my decision because they know my story. That's why I want to go into education reform because I believe that if people know more, they will understand more, and they will be more sympathetic.

Were your coaches supportive of your decision to opt out? 

Absolutely. They were surprisingly supportive in that basketball is a business and I was talking to them about something that could upset their jobs. But they took it in stride. And they actually ended up making Juneteenth a paid holiday. They didn't only say that they were going to support me, but they actually acted on it.

A couple of other players have chosen to not play in the 2020 season for a mix of reasons, such as COVID and fighting for social reform. What do you think about other players choosing to opt out?

I love that athletes now have a choice on what they want to do. Whether they opt out for COVID reasons, or because they just don't want to leave family members, or because they have any other reason, it's the athlete's choice, and I'm happy to see that athletes now have that option. If you want to opt in and you want to play, that's your choice as well and, by all means, do that.

What more do you think the WNBA can do to support their women athletes and important movements like Black Lives Matters?

I think it’s important that they listen. Listen to what the players want to do. Listen to the ideas that the players have. A lot of the players in the WNBA are not new to taking a stand. We're not new to making a statement. So now the league needs to listen and follow the players’ lead.

Historically, the WNBA is a pretty progressive league. A lot of players fight on the forefront of different social issues and, this time around, players are sacrificing their craft for change. Why do you think that is?

I think Candace Parker is the one who told me that we're the majority of the minority in the WNBA. The league is 80% minority and, when it comes to sexual orientation, we have a lot of players in the LGBTQ community. So, we are the majority of the minority. I think understanding that and living that in our everyday lives makes us, as players, more vocal — it inspires us to take a bigger stand.

When you were making the decision to opt out, did you have any concerns that you would lose some of your platform by not playing?

ROB GRAY/ISI PHOTOS

Katie Stengel plays as a forward for the Houston Dash of the NWSL. She previously played for the Boston Breakers, Washington Spirit, and Utah Royals, as well as Bayern Munich in Germany and both the Western Sydney Wanderers and Newcastle Jets in Australia’s W-League. A true international journeywoman, we talked to Stengel about her multi-league career, how the NWSL has changed, and what she’s learned along her professional journey. 

This offseason, you were traded to the Houston Dash from the Utah Royals. How did this move come about? 

Well, I was expecting to go back to Utah this year. And then, all of a sudden, I got hurt and I texted my coach, asking if we could chat. She never called me back and I later found out she took another job. My assistant coach was supposed to reach out to me to catch me up on things. I never got that call either. Instead, I got a 30-second call from our General Manager who said, "Hey, I just want to let you know you've been traded. Thanks for everything. Okay, bye." 

You know this league - they don't really care. I didn’t know who to call or what to do. Not to mention, I was still hurt. So, I called the coach here in Houston and we talked about when I could come play. 

Obviously you’ve been in quarantine for a lot of your time in Houston, but how do you like the city so far? 

I love this city, it's so fun. There's so much to see and do. I’ve been to the rodeo at least 45 times. There’s bars and happy hours everywhere - it’s cheaper. People are Southern and have Southern manners. Everyone is friendly, but then also crazy. There’s parks and restaurants and coffee shops. It’s a good spot. I think I’m made for this city. 

Small sample size, but how does it compare to your other NWSL experiences? 

Houston's been my favorite in terms of it's a fun city. I get along with the players and I really like the coaching staff even though I’ve only been here for a little bit. Everyone always chirps on Houston, but it's actually been amazing.

You’ve played in Germany and for three clubs in Australia. You’ve also played for the Washington Spirit, Boston Breakers, Utah Royals and now Houston Dash in the NWSL. How have your experiences compared across different teams and leagues? 

Playing in D.C. was my first NWSL experience and I didn’t know what to expect. I thought everything was great, and I had fun. When I went to Boston, I thought, “Wow, this is a totally different experience.” We were in a real city and I thought the Plex as a facility was great. And then going to Utah, they put so much money into the program that it was great. I really appreciated that experience. And then here in Houston, I don't know yet. Each club is a little different, but I think the league is progressing on the whole. It’s hard to compare clubs at all because the league is just getting better and better each year. When I talk to my friends at the other clubs that I used to be at, they say everything has changed. 

Do you think Houston’s reputation is impacted by the fact that there’s not a lot of National Team players in the club? 

Oh, yeah. And because of that, the press never shows up which doesn’t bode well for the reputation of the team. People always wonder, “Oh, there must be a reason National Team players don’t want to be here.” But that’s not really how it is. As a club, Houston has come a long way the past couple years, and it’s much better now. Whenever I talk to the president of the club, it’s clear that there’s significant investment being put into the team. 

Talk to us about balling out in college.

I didn't ball out in college. I just kicked the ball harder than other people. 

You played for Wake Forest University. What was your recruiting process like? 

I went to high school in a small town in Florida and my club team wasn't that big. We went to a couple showcase tournaments just because we were close to Disney. I could barely afford to play for a big club, so my dad volunteered on the board at my local club and we got discounted rates. Wake took a risk on me when they saw me playing at Castle — one of the tournaments my club team got invited to. I was actually on a visit to Duke that weekend, which kind of makes me sick. When I visited Wake, we went to a men's soccer game and I loved how the whole school was a big soccer school. It was small and had strong academics, and I wanted to be in the ACC. So that worked out great, and the rest is history.

You came from a small club, Wake Forest took a risk on you. What do you remember from your freshman year? Did you have any idea you’d have the kind of career you did? 

We did really well my freshman year, which shocked people. I mean I'd never even heard of Wake Forest until I started doing more research when they reached out to me. Then we ended up winning the ACC tournament. My roommate was MVP because she saved three PKs in the final. I won an award for freshman players and it just took off. I remember thinking, "Oh, shoot. Maybe I am going to do well." I ended up doing much better than I thought I would and getting a lot of recognition, which I had never experienced before.

Was that a confidence boost for you?

It was a confidence boost. But it was also like, "Uh-oh. Now I have to perform." I can’t just be that girl who had a good freshman year.

Did you feel a pressure to perform after that during your next three years at Wake Forest?

I think the real pressure to perform didn’t come until senior year because I was just having so much fun playing with everybody. I was so excited about this whole new experience. Also, I think I found myself more during my sophomore year. I was more outgoing instead of shy, and I made friends with girls on the team and in all of the other sports. The whole atmosphere was so exciting that I didn't feel much pressure, per se. It was more just excitement.

Talk us through your junior and senior years at Wake Forest and your thought process leading up to the NWSL draft? 

During my junior year, I was with the U-20s and we had training camps all the time. I missed half of my season with Wake. Coming back from that was tough because you were constantly competing under the radar to earn playing time. We were good my junior year, but we fell apart in the NCAA Tournament. 

NCAA PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES

A member of the U.S. Volleyball and Beach Volleyball National team, Kathryn Plummer is the only player in history to have won FIVB World Championship medals in both beach and indoor. In 2019, Plummer was part of the US national team that won the Pan American Cup in Peru. An alum of Stanford University’s volleyball and beach volleyball teams, Plummer is a three-time NCAA champion and a recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award, which is annually given to the best American amateur athlete. Most recently, she played for the Italian professional volleyball team Saugella Team Monza. 

After graduating from Stanford shortly after winning your third NCAA championship title, you chose to join a professional volleyball team in Italy. What made you decide to play overseas?

For women’s volleyball, there's not much opportunity to play professionally in the United States as of now. The Italian professional volleyball league is very competitive – I knew I would be surrounded by the best players in the world. I wanted that challenge. 

Playing Italy was definitely a challenge. First of all, it’s a challenge in and of itself to be away from home: You're in a whole different culture, people are speaking a different language. You're being coached in a different language. Additionally, the process of transitioning from a collegiate athlete to a professional player is quite a process. From finding an agent to finally negotiating a contract there were various steps involved before I finally got to visit the team. Between the NCAA semifinal and the championship during my final season at Stanford, I squeezed meetings with four or five agents in my hotel room all while preparing for the national championship. 

With all this said,  I'm glad I got to go to play overseas. I'm young, and I want to learn new things.

Aleshia Ocasio is a professional softball player for Athletes Unlimited, a new, player-focused pro league coming to the Chicago metro area this August. A graduate of the University of Florida, Ocasio helped lead the Gators to the 2015 WCWS Championship. Below, she spoke with Just Women’s Sports about what it means to her to be a LGBTQ athlete, why she signed on with Athletes Unlimited, and the importance of using her platform to push for social change.

What does it mean to you to be openly part of the LGBTQ community in sports?

I think for anybody it is important to stay true to yourself, and understand that you are unique, and that what's normal in other people's eyes is not necessarily always the case. I feel like, more now than ever, people are normalizing being in the LGBTQ community because you look at history and you look at how it was taboo to even speak about being gay, lesbian, bisexual. So I'm openly bisexual and I'm proud to be in the community and to be playing a sport that is so open. There's a lot of representation in the game of softball as far as LGBTQ. I'm happy to be part of a sport that is open arms.

Do you think that being an athlete helped give you the confidence to come out and to be true to yourself?

I don't necessarily think so. I have a great support system. Before anybody knew, I told my parents, and that was it. They were so open. They were like, I love you. I don't care who you love. And I think that gave me the confidence to kind of be more open to living in my own truth. When you have a support system that welcomes you with open arms and unconditional love, I think that lays the foundation for you being comfortable with who you are.

How do you think attitudes towards LGBTQ athletes have changed during your lifetime?

So I came out openly in college and I don't necessarily remember anybody talking about being gay, being lesbian, as necessarily a bad thing. And I've known plenty of people that have been in the community growing up as well. It's never been something that was frowned upon. I just feel like I found myself growing up and figuring out who I was and what I liked and what drives me. So I feel, like I said, in softball, there's a wide community of LGBTQ athletes, and I'm just happy to be in a place that has open arms.

In a recent Athletes Unlimited video, you talked a lot about how there's a wide representation of LGBTQ athletes in softball but how there's also a lot of stereotypes. Can you speak to that?

I think that growing up, you look at softball, you look at basketball, and you automatically think, well, they're gay. Like that's the stereotype, no matter what you look like or even if you are straight. Cool, but, you know, there's always a stereotype there. Even in high school, I remember people coming up to me, "You play softball, so you must be gay." And at that time, I wasn't fully aware of who I was. So I'm like, you know, whatever. I never really fought against it. I was just like, "You know what? You think what you think." I know that there is a wide representation of both straight and LGBTQ women in the sport. And I hope that people are open to understanding that not only in softball are there LGBTQ representations, but in every sport, whether you know it or you don't.

I do see in the world that it's becoming more accepted. As I grow older, I realize that. I feel like people are starting to understand that every sport, including softball, has large representations of both straight and LGBTQ athletes. So I don't necessarily see the stereotyping as often as I used to. But like I said, in high school people would tell me I play softball, so I have to be gay.

How inclusive do you feel like softball is as a whole? What can it do to improve?

When I think of softball and inclusion, I automatically think how much equipment is needed in order to even play the game. So my head automatically goes to adolescent kids who don't necessarily have the means to buy these loads of equipment. We have the opportunity to play it, but some lower income areas don't necessarily have the funds in order to provide the equipment to play the game. I've had talks with multiple people throughout the past couple of weeks about diversity and inclusion. And I think it starts with our youth. I think we have to give them the opportunity to play these team sports that require so much equipment.

You look at softball and you see your one or two black players on a softball team. I hear people talk about it all the time, the tokens on the team. We have to be above average to be considered average on a team full of our white counterparts. We're stereotyped in our own community. We're on a team and we're looked at as the fastest. And some of these stereotypes aren't necessarily negative, because a lot of times we are the fastest, but we're put into a bubble of what we have to be because of the color of our skin. You see that a lot. I saw that a lot. I've heard that a lot. I've dealt with it a lot. But as far as inclusion, to get more diversity in the game of softball, I think it starts with our youth and giving them the tools in order to be able to play in the lower income areas. We have to focus on equity. We have to infiltrate those communities with the equipment, so they know that it's accessible.

Do you feel obligated as an athlete to use your platform to speak out about these issues?

I feel more than obligated. I feel like it's a priority to be able to, and it's a privilege to be able to use my voice, and I'm taking full advantage of it. Being a woman of color, being in the LGBTQ community, it is so important that I'm able to use my voice so that I can represent people who look like me and feel the way that I do. Having a platform as an athlete, it's so important to be the voice for people who don’t necessarily have one, so they can know they have somebody to look up to.

And I have seen a lot of people speak up in the softball community. A lot of our white counterparts are reaching out and they're educating themselves. I see a lot of talk on social media. I see a lot of forums and Zoom calls going on, but I just want to challenge everybody to remember that this isn't a sprint, it's a marathon. And we've got to have stamina to be able to create change. But I think now more than ever, the timing matters... As far as this movement and then Pride month, I think that they're both important. I feel that we're both communities that are lacking. So I'm running with my BLM. I'm advocating for my LGBTQ community. Right now, I feel like my calling is to educate people and to allow them to see the systemic racism and the underlying, the overt and covert racism that plagues our community as much as COVID does, as much as anything else does and even more so.

The PSG defender is on loan to OL Reign for the upcoming Challenge Cup, having flown home from France amidst the ongoing pandemic.

Haylie McCleney has been a member of Team USA Softball since 2013. She was a four-time All-American at Alabama, where she ended her career as the program’s all-time leader in batting average (.447), on base percentage (.569), walks (199), and triples (16). She spoke to  Women’s Sports about how she’s handling the Olympics’ postponement and what it means for the future of her sport.

Softball gets put back into the Olympics for the first time in years. And then Tokyo 2020 is pushed back. Walk me through that.

It was definitely better that it was postponed instead of canceled. Those two terms carry very different weights. I do think that we have a lot of really smart people in this world that are going to make health a priority at the Olympics, not only for the athletes, but for the fans and families that hopefully get to attend. I would have been a little bit nervous if we would have continued to go on tour and continue to compete and try to make the Olympics happen in a time where we're under a global pandemic. So there's a little bit of gratitude there.

Obviously from a completely selfish standpoint, there was an initial period of disappointment because your entire life is built around this week in July. I mean, I was supposed to get married after the Olympics, and now I have no idea when that is going to happen. Other players were going to move or buy houses or maybe retire and pursue a career outside of softball. All those plans have come to a halt.

But I think the more we just accepted the fact that it was going to be delayed, there were a lot of really cool opportunities and stories that came out of it. Most other Olympic athletes are waiting four years in between Olympic games. For softball, it's a little bit different. We've been waiting 12 years and now we're going to wait 13. So I don't think patience is lost on us at all as a sport. We've had to deal with the adversity of not knowing if or when we're ever going to be in the Olympics.

There has been some talk that the sport will be included in the 2024 and 2028 Olympics, but there’s no guarantee. Does that make this time even more important for the team?

For us, it's this Olympics or nothing because we don't know what the future holds. Some of us still could be playing in 2028, but that's if softball even gets back in. For us, it is critical that, for the survival of our sport, it needs to be in the Olympics. It needs to be talked about, it needs to be discussed. International softball needs to be covered not only in our country, but countries across the world. That's why I think that we are so scared of the Olympics being canceled. Our one and only shot could be taken away from us. And obviously we understand that the priority is people's health and safety and well-being. We do understand that. That doesn't make it any less difficult to think that the Olympics could still be cancelled if things do not get better. We're in a tough spot. For us, we might not be back, with or without next summer’s games. We don't know.

Your team was one of the first to name its entire Olympic roster prior to the cancelation. And it has since been determined that the 2020 roster will remain intact for 2021. How do you feel about that decision?

We're very happy with it. Very pleased with it. We had formed a bond as the Olympic roster, and softball is very culture driven and team driven. It's not necessarily always about talent, but it's about how a group of 18 can work together. And we were just starting to figure out that process when our tour was suspended. So I think it was the right decision by USA Softball. I think it was the right decision by the United States Olympic Committee to allow us to keep that same roster because we all earned the title of being an Olympian.

We're meeting every week and talking with each other and continuing to build some of those relationships. Before the postponement it was six months to prepare for six games and I really liked our chances. Now you're giving us 18 months as a unit saying, "Hey, this is our roster. This is what we're sticking with. It's up to you. Let's get better. Let's find a way to become closer. When we're given our opportunity, let's not waste it, let's make the most of it and go for a gold medal.” I really like our chances.

There are a few players on the Olympic roster, including Bubba Nickles and Rachel Garcia, who will return to UCLA in 2021 to play out their final college season. Do you think that having some teammates miss training leading up to next summer will affect the team?

They took 2020 off already so I think you don't want to take away from their college experience for two entire years. And I think having them play highly competitive college softball is going to help them and us in the long run. I don't think it's going to hurt them. They're still going to be involved in our team meetings. They are just going to basically be training at a different location is how I'm looking at it. What's good is that we did get to know them quite a bit. I mean Rachel has been on the team before. Dejah was on the team in '19 and we have gotten to know Bubba while we were on tour and training so much together.

So I don't think it's going to be an issue whatsoever. We're still trying to figure out as an organization what our tour even looks like. For us to be uncertain, it wasn't really fair for them to sacrifice another year of missing out on a college softball season when we weren't even sure what our training camps and schedule for training as a team is even going to be.

What happens now. Any talk about what training will be like leading up to 2021?

I'm still training completely on my own. So I'm at home. I'm not going to the gym. I'm not going to a park or anything like that. I'm trying my best to stay at home and still follow all of the guidelines. And I think the majority of the team is that way also. Some people are starting to get back into their facilities. I personally am not. I'm also in between houses right now. So it's a little bit more complicated I think for me. But yeah, I mean, we're used to this. We always train on our own. We're usually on our own for nine months out of the year and then go compete for three months out of the year. So it's not something that we are not used to. We are having team meetings every week, which I really, really enjoy. Just because it allows me to get to know my teammates a little bit more. We're actually doing mini TED talk Tuesdays where one person on the team presents for 10 to 15 minutes on something that they're passionate about outside of softball. It's been cool to hear what people are interested in. But as things start to open back up, I think you're going to start to see us kind of get back into that normalcy of what we've been used to for the past five, six, seven years of you're on your own training, do what you need to do, be ready when your report date is. And I have all the confidence in the world that everyone on the team is doing their best to stay ready to compete at a high level still.

You are playing for the Scrap Yard Dawgs this summer. Can you talk to me a little bit about the league you are playing in and can you give updates on what the summer games look like given the pandemic?

Team USA outfielder discusses the importance of the Tokyo Olympics, which will be the first in 12 years to include softball.

Alyse LaHue is the general manager of Sky Blue FC of the NWSL. Widely credited with turning around a club that had fallen out of favor, LaHue spoke with Just Women’s Sports about how she managed to change the culture and what comes next for Sky Blue. 

(Editor’s note: this conversation took place before the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent protests. Sky Blue FC released a statement on the issue here. For an earlier interview with LaHue about how Sky Blue was adjusting to the coronavirus, click here.) 

A lot of women’s sports are marketed towards younger kids, but you make a point of trying to bring in millennials and adults. Can you talk a little bit about that? 

We have a family friendly atmosphere within our games, and that's something I absolutely always want to maintain. But, at the same time, I'm all for the supporters groups who go out there and heckle the other team and provide a difficult arena to play in. Part of the excitement of going to soccer matches is the supporters section, right? It's the drums beating, it's the chants and the singing — that's part of soccer culture. 

Our supporters groups, for the most part, are not typically parents with soccer-playing kids. There are some, don't get me wrong, it's a whole spectrum of the rainbow in the supporters group. But for the most part it’s single soccer supporters — it's the adult who goes out and tailgates before the game, has a drink, and then comes in and chants. It's a whole experience. It's a family. And for us, I want to continue to develop that side of the game as we continue to bring more families into the stadium.

We always go back to the idea that we want Sky Blue to be the community's team and to represent the community, especially in this region of the world where we're basically the New Jersey/New York City team. You can’t find a more diverse area than where we're at. Our fan base needs to be representative of that and that means that we need to cater to all of those different fans. As a women's sports team with a really small front office and a limited budget, it can be difficult to reach all of those fans in big meaningful ways. But we've tried our best at the grassroots level to find ways to reach all of those groups and make sure we're not overly focused just on one.

You have been one of the first people to recognize and embrace the diversity of fans in women’s soccer. Why do you think it’s taken so long for others in the league to do the same? 

I think when you have more diversity in leadership, you're going to get different opinions at the table. Typically, our league has more or less looked one way. There is a prototype of who has owned the teams within our league, who has run the teams within our league. 

Truthfully, it's always been heterosexual white males, and there's nothing against them. We wouldn't have a league without them and their investment. But they look a certain way. 

And we know that diversity makes good business. You make better business decisions when you have more people at the table who are representative of the populations that you're trying to reach. Soccer is the world's game. It is a diverse game. And again, I go back to specifically feeling it here in New Jersey/New York City, a very diverse region. We need to be representative of that.

I'm constantly pushed by Julie Evans, my Director of Operations, to think through people of all abilities and what that means within our stadium. She has pushed me in so many different ways that I'm so grateful for. That's what you need around you — other people who are going to push you to say, "Have we thought about the closed captioning? Have we thought about making it a safe and friendly environment for folks with autism within our games? What can we do for them?" It takes diversity at the table and people with different backgrounds, beliefs and opinions to be able to embrace the fans, who all look different. 

Sky Blue FC has quickly transitioned from a club players were trying to get traded away from to a club where players are excited to join. Can you talk about how that transition happened and what the vision was like on your end? 

I appreciate that, first of all. I always say you can have a vision but you have to have a team around you that's willing to actually execute it. I always use the metaphor of picking up an oar. There can't just be one person rowing or the boat's going to spin in circles, right? You have to have everybody on both sides of the boat rowing. You have to have people who care. I can’t rely on the media to get fans out to our games. There has to be an effort from us on the inside. So, when I came in as GM, I started with having people around me who care as much as I do. I've always said this is a lifestyle, not necessarily a job. You have to believe in what we're doing, and believe in the diversity of our league, and believe in the opportunities for women's sports that aren't necessarily on the table yet. 

It was certainly a lot to do in a year, but at the end of the day it felt like there were just some really simple things that needed to be done to improve the club. I know it sounds naive from the outside, but I think this club lost track of listening to its fans and that, to me, goes such a long way. Listening to the fans was step A of the process. And I'm pleased with the progress we've made in the last year. There’s more to come. 

Do you think the club lost track of listening to its players, too? 

In a way, yes. You need the community to be a part of the fabric of the team. It can’t feel like this is the team of Alyse LaHue. It needs to feel like this is the Sky Blue family, and there are a lot of different people in the family. You need all of those people to have their voices heard. For me, it started with having all of the hard conversations, like, "I need you to get off of your chest all of the anger that you have towards this club, and I'm willing to hear you because I need to know what those things are." 

In the beginning, listening to the players’ exit interviews was absolutely crucial. The players really had three or four top concerns. So during the offseason, I started to think of how I can fulfill every single one of those top four things. That’s always the vision I start with: “How can I freaking do everything?” I’m never going to aim to fulfill just one of the four concerns. That’s not my standard. I always start with the biggest vision — the biggest, craziest thing and go, “Okay, how can we do it?” 

That’s awesome. In women’s sports, there are so many people who say, “Yes, but…” it’s exciting to hear you say, “Yes, and let’s go.” 

I like that. I might just steal that whole phrase to be honest. Instead of “Yes, but,” it’s “Yes, and let's go.” I think that's the point, right? “Yes, but there's a pandemic." I don't care. We're going to go figure out how to make a community with our fans right now and we're going to engage them digitally. 

You became interim General Manager of Sky Blue in April of 2019, and then you were seemingly “on trial” from then until September, when the job became official. What were your thoughts around some of the doubt that surrounded your initial promotion to GM? 

I like that, “On trial.” I never thought of it that way. To me, titles are just cute to have, but really the proof is in the pudding. It’s all about what you do, not even necessarily what you say. If I was an account executive, I would behave in the same way and be just as audacious. That's the most important thing to me. I was never worried about sort of being on trial or this or that, I just knew that I had big lofty goals. I believe that this club can be one of the best clubs in NWSL. I firmly believe that. I'm doing what I can to get us there, and I believe that, from there, we could be one of the best clubs in the world.

What’s next for Sky Blue FC? 

We have to be a destination club for players. It's what this area deserves. This is the New York City/New Jersey team. There's a grittiness, there's a pride behind that. It took me a while to figure the whole thing out, but I think I'm getting there and embracing it. This women’s soccer club in this region has to be a North Star. It has to be something that other people and other clubs want to emulate. I know that's an audacious statement if you look at where we were a year ago, but that's what I believe and that's what I'm trying to do.

The general manager Sky Blue FC talks changing the club’s culture, supporting a diverse community of fans, and the benefits of being audacious.

OL Reign forward Darian Jenkins discusses the ongoing protests against systemic racism as well as the upcoming NWSL Challenge Cup.

OL Reign forward Darian Jenkins discusses the ongoing protests against systemic racism as well as the upcoming NWSL Challenge Cup.

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You had an awesome career at Maryland. What initially drew you to the school?

Maryland wasn’t even my dream school at first. It was actually the last school I visited. When I was going through the recruiting process my dad made me visit all of the schools that were looking at me so I went to about 25 different schools. And I thought the campus was all right, didn't think anything was crazy awesome about it. But it checked all my boxes: big school, big sports team, big campus. It was when I met the team and Cathy, our head coach, that I realized I had to go there. I just fell in love with the culture.

What was it like winning a championship your freshman year?

It was pretty unreal. It was my dream. I mean, it's every little kid's dream, and it's even better than you expect it to be. Winning it my freshman year, I was like, "Oh, that was easy. I guess we're going to do it every year now." But unfortunately we didn’t win again. My freshman year it was all based on our seniors and their leadership. They were just absolutely incredible. That first year really paved the way for me and showed me how I wanted to be treated and how I wanted to treat others.

Although your team didn’t win another championship the last three years of your career, you came really close.

We always made it really, really close. I mean, I played in the national championship game again my sophomore and senior year. And as a senior we ended up losing the championship game in triple overtime. Although it was super hard to lose, I learned so much every single year from losing in the national championship or in the final four. I know for a fact that I am the person I am because of my experience at Maryland under Cathy, and I’m not sure that winning more championships would have changed that. Of course, it would have been icing on the cake.  

Losing in triple overtime your senior year must have left you feeling like you still had some unfinished business.  

Oh my God, 100%. After I graduated, I actually stayed and worked at the university under Cathy purely because I was like, "I am not done. I can't be done." I couldn’t understand why it had all happened the way it had because I felt like our senior class did everything right. We were the leaders we wanted to be. I kept thinking “Why didn't the good guys win?" Ultimately, I think it all made me a better coach. And then, after that it really pushed me into fighting to make the 2017 World Cup team because I was like, "I'm not ready to be done with lacrosse." So it had some positive effects.

What does it mean to you to be a professional lacrosse player for the WPLL? What’s your big picture vision for the league?

Considering myself a professional athlete is something that I would have never thought was possible, and I'm so grateful that I live in a time where I can really lay the foundation and be a part of paving the way to make lacrosse a powerhouse sport at the professional level. I want lacrosse, men and women, to be where basketball is, where baseball is, where football is. I want females and males in the sport that I love to be able to have this be their full time job. And I think that what it's going to take to get there is just exposure.

I think that that's really what the PLL [Premier Lacrosse League] did a great job at doing, especially getting their NBC Sports deal. Their social media coverage of last summer was absolutely out of this world. It was showing people lacrosse like they'd never seen it before. And I think that women's lacrosse has to do the same thing. We need to have the same innovation and exposure that they had. We don’t have to change the sport. We have the people. All the women involved are incredible. They’re so well-rounded and they know what it takes to scrape and claw at being a professional athlete. We all empower each other. Now we just have to bring the social media and the marketing and the TV exposure to our sport. We have to put these female athletes on a platform so that the most number of people can see them and know what great role models they are for the next generation.

You yourself have quite the social presence. You’ve honestly blown up! How did that come about?

I think that it just came really natural, and it also is something that I just genuinely enjoy. I'm an oversharer, I love connecting with people, and I think social media, when used positively, is just so powerful because it can connect you with so many people from all over the world.

We’re lucky at Maryland because we have so many youth programs that come and watch us and because we’re in such a hotbed for the sport. Cathy also does such a good job in encouraging us to be role models. That’s where I found my love for coaching, by connecting with players at camps and coaching them when I was still playing at Maryland. I think that created a little bit of a fan base, and then those people have just grown up with me, which is really cool.

How do you view the interplay between your athletic career and your personal brand?

I think it actually goes hand-in-hand with lacrosse as a sport, in terms of being creative. There's room for creativity in the shots you take and just the way that the game is changing, and growing, and moving fast. It's the same with social media. And I think that's why anything goes, because it’s a space that’s constantly changing and growing. And it’s so accessible to everyone, so why not share my experiences? I've been running weekly workouts and I've had 300 people join my live workouts. I've never worked out with 300 people in my life so it’s been cool.

Inevitably, there’s going to be trolls. How do you deal with them?

Trust me, there's plenty of those negative keyboard warriors out there. But my mentality is, if I connect with just one person, if one person can read or watch my posts and get some insight into what I've gone through, and if that helps them in turn, then it's worth it. Now, I might not be everyone's cup of tea. I might not relate to every single person. But I love what I’m doing, and so I’ll continue to keep growing. It really is genuinely what I am creating at the moment.

Do you think your playing style has changed from college to the professional level?

In college, your game develops as you grow as a team and as an individual. And you have the luxury of playing together with teammates every single day. Whereas now, at the professional level, we do not have very much time to get ourselves together with our teammates. In college I was more of an assister but now I am more of a goal scorer. With the US Team, I just slotted into that role just because we had ridiculous ball handlers on our team and I just wanted to get onto that team in any way, shape, or form that I could, and if that took me being a catch and finisher, then I was okay with that. That's how my game has evolved. I've learned what works for me and what doesn't. And I just think with being a little bit on the older side, especially in the pro league, it saves a lot to not be the one with the ball going to goal every single time.

How do you think lacrosse’s growth compares to other female sports professionally and internationally? Obviously, there's been a ton of talk about pushing for the sport to be in the Olympics. How does it get there?

Lacrosse is both the fastest growing sport and the fastest game on two feet. So for any young athlete that wants to run really fast and play a sport that's high-scoring, lacrosse is the one for you. I think it's just such a perfect combination of so many things we love. It has the same one-on-one play as basketball. You have to have the same hand-eye coordination as in field hockey, but it's on a soccer field. You shoot into a goal and it has contact like hockey. It combines so many sports that if you're an athlete you are going to pick it up quickly, and then if you really love it you're going to excel. And I think the best part about it is that it's just so quickly growing that I tell all my club girls, if you want to play lacrosse in college, there is a spot for you. There's so many college programs that are looking for people to fill their roster.

And playing professionally now is really cool, as is playing internationally for the World Cup. But I think getting this game into the Olympics is the most vital thing. There's about 27 women’s teams that compete at the World Cup, and 40 on the men’s side. So there's an international love for the sport, but I think that we need to make it more feasible for those who may not have the budgets to play. Ultimately, they are shooting for lacrosse to be in the Olympics by 2028. And in order to do that, they’ll have to go with this new Olympic format, where it’s six on six on a smaller field and there’s no draw after goals.

What are your own personal goals in the sport? Do you see yourself playing for many more years?

I want to play for as long as I can. I don't think I could ever see being without lacrosse in my life, but I have also developed a love for fitness and lifestyle and mindfulness coaching. So I could see myself, especially as I continue to grow my brand, just helping these young female athletes navigate the craziness of growing up. Being a female athlete is so unique. I think it's your superpower. But it's like, how are you going to be the best at your sport, be a complete bad-ass, but also not be catty, and not be jealous, and not be insecure but be self-confident? There's so much to navigate that I wish I would have had a strong female role model help me go through it. Now I hope to be that for someone one day.

I think that I will always work with people in some sort of regard, through leadership, through coaching, through fitness. And I just think growing my brand to help those middle school, high school girls that are just going through sport and looking for a good role model is my ultimate goal.