November 23, 2021 • 47 mins
After years of not being a priority for the U.S. Soccer Federation, the Women’s National Team demands a change. USWNT player Kelley O’Hara opens up about her experience fighting for better pay and working conditions with her teammates. Kelley also shares with Meg and Mon her efforts to increase media coverage of women’s sports with her podcast Just Women’s Sports.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the beginning of my professional career, I was happy
to just be able to play. Like to me, it
wasn't about money. It was just like, I get to
do this as a job, and it's great that I
get paid, but I'm not that concerned about the money.
And that was me being naive and also young and
fresh out of college. So I think that as I
became more experienced, you began to realize how drastic it was,
(00:25):
and just that it was discriminatory. You know that this
isn't right. There's there's an issue here and we need
to fix it, and we need to be part of
fixing it. And if we don't do that, no one
else is going to do that. This is Sweat the Details,
a collaboration with Under Armour and I Heart Radio, a
(00:45):
sports and training podcast made for women by women that
puts our success in challenges at the front and center.
I'm Monica Jones. I'm a fitness coach, boxer, business owner,
and you a athlete and I'm Meg Bugs. I'm a powerlifter, author,
body positive the advocate, and mother. Every episode, Monica and
I will talk to athletes, trainers, and experts and learn
(01:05):
more about how the body of mind work together in
training and competition. Meg, get ready because today I'm ready. Yes,
we are talking with US soccer star Kelly O'Hara. She's
an Olympic gold and bronze medalist and a two time
FIFO World Cup champion. What a resume, right, I mean incredible.
She is just she's so impressive and like many legendary athletes,
(01:29):
Kelly fell in love with soccer at a very young
age and eventually found her way playing D one soccer
at Stanford and then with her first professional soccer team,
FC gold Pride. She currently plays within Washington Spirit and
the United States women's national soccer team. Yes, but pursuing
soccer professionally hasn't been an easy path, especially due to
disparities in working conditions and wages between men and women
(01:52):
soccer players in the US. Of course, Kelly and her
teammates have been raising their voices to achieve equality in
the sport. I'm looking forward to hearing more about their
fight and how we can all help to uplift women's
sports across the board. Yes, obviously we've had you know,
multiple conversations with powerful women on this show, but to
really bring it home with Kelly, and the action that
(02:14):
she and her teammates and other women in the sport
of soccer are taking is inspiring. They're getting together and
really taking action so far as going into court in
seeing through lawsuits that right there while being a professional
athlete and performing your best is something that I can't
even fathom, but I'm so thankful for. I mean, let's
(02:37):
be real, if women's sports actually received that same type
of visibility and support as men's sports, people would be watching.
It's that simple, This assumption that there's a lack of
interest when there's really never even been a solid attempt
to give women's sports an equal amount of pay and
an equal amount of support. It's just wild to me.
(02:58):
It's just mind blowing. But deep breaths. Yeah, it's it's
a vicious cycle, and it is going to be a
long climb. But I'm very, very excited that this this
conversation can reach more ears and that we can continue
to continue to push this conversation further and continue to
take action. Before we get to the interview, I want
(03:20):
to explain some acronyms that you'll hear Kelly use when
talking about equal pay. N W s l p A
is short for the National Women's Soccer League Players Association,
which is the union representing NWSL players. These players play
for soccer clubs and may or may not be in
the national team. Yes, we are back at it again
with the letters. Another union is the U S w
(03:43):
n t p A, the U S Women's National Team
Players Association, which represents national team players. These players represent
the US in international competitions such as the World Cup
and the Olympics, and may or may not be nws
L players. You'll also hear the term c b A,
which means collective bargaining agreements. This is a written legal
contract between an employer and a union representing the employees.
(04:07):
So I feel like we literally just passed the bar exam.
And I know these acronyms are hard to remember, but
we know the main idea is that these two unions
are helping women soccer players achieve better pay and working
conditions by negotiating better contracts for them. Absolutely, mon, what
do you say we get to our conversation with the
incredible Kelly O'Hara. Let's get it. What's up? Fam? I'm
(04:32):
literally sweating right now with excitement because we are here
right I mean I'm like, because we're sitting here with
two time FIFA World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist
Kelly O'Hara, and I always speak for everyone here and
listening that we are incredibly excited to have you here
on Sweat the Details. How are you, Kelly? I'm doing great?
And I also agree it's funny how like right before
(04:53):
you're supposed to start, it's like you're a little sweat going.
It's like a little bit of nerves or something. But yeah,
which is so funny. It definitely happens to feel on
that we had to let these armpits free today because yeah,
I know you came with the cutoff. We kept it
cool for the pre interview, but now I'm losing it
all right, I know I'm already sweating. I'm like, what
(05:16):
is happening? Well, I just want to dive right in
and start from the beginning. Can you tell us about
your journey as an athlete. What role did sports play
in your life growing up, and how did you first
get into soccer? Oh? Man, Um, I think sports played
a huge role in my life. I started playing soccer
when I was four. My parents were like, you're gonna
(05:38):
go play in Muppets Soccer in Puture City, Georgia, and
that was the first organized sporting event or practice I
guess I did as a kid, which is kind of
fitting that it ended up being the one that I
have progressed in and obviously become a professional and taking
it the farthest. So um, yeah, started when I was four,
(05:59):
and I did tons of sports growing up. You name it,
I probably tried it. I just like to be outside,
I like to play. I like to compete, even at
a very early age, and eventually soccer was the one
that became the number one. But up until I was
(06:19):
probably fourteen or fifteen, I did a ton of different
sports and and I do think that shaped me as
a kid, teenager and now as a person. And I
credit my parents because they're both very athletic, but they
also knew the benefit and the importance of going out
and playing and being active and the things that you
can learn sports and all that stuff. So very thankful
(06:41):
that they were just like, try whatever, do whatever. Oh
it's amazing. Did you always want to be a professional
soccer player or how did you realize that was the
career you wanted to take? Oh gosh, no, I definitely.
When I was in elementary school, I think I wanted
to be a librarian, and I like thought about I
liked I liked organizing things like the Dewey decimal systems,
(07:03):
like this would be lit to be able to do this,
you know, for the rest of my life. Um No,
I'm really glad I didn't. But shout out to all
the librarians out there. Um No, So I didn't. I
didn't even think about being a professional soccer player until
probably watching the ninety nine World Cup and seeing the
women win that. Um but even still, I didn't love
(07:29):
soccer as a kid. I really enjoyed it was one
of my favorite sports, but I wasn't obsessed with it
like I have become later on in life. So yeah,
I think until I was in college even and there
became a professional league that I could play in that
It wasn't until then I was like, oh, this is
a possibility that I could be a professional athlete in
(07:51):
the sense of playing in a league. You know. My
goal was always to play on the national team at
the highest level, to win World Cups, to win Olympics,
and to be a professional athlete in that at sense.
But yeah, I think it's really it didn't happen until
I had the ability to even think like, oh I
could go I could play in a league here in
the US and and be a professional athlete day in
a day. So like, it wasn't until really later on
(08:14):
you played, you said at four, but you had probably
years and years and years of playing soccer before it
really hit you that this was something that was a possibility. Yeah, definitely.
And I mean I almost quit soccer when I was
third team because I was just like, my schedule is
too busy. I don't have time for this, you know,
it's taking up two much of my time, being probably
a little diva like that. But again, I once I
(08:36):
sold the ninety nine World Cup, I think I was like, oh,
I want to play on the national team. Like, if
that's the highest level you can get, two, I want
to be the best and I want to get to
that level. Um. But the idea of being a professional
and what that meant or what that would end up meaning,
I don't really think started to sink into my head
until probably late in high school, maybe college. Wow. So
(09:00):
you went to your first FIFA Women's World Cup in
two thousand eleven, and then the following year, you made
it to the Olympics, which is wow. Can you tell
us more about those experiences, like, how was the experience
of representing your country at a high level international competition. Yeah? So,
I mean, like I said, I I think that seeing
(09:21):
the ninety nine World Cup made me think, oh, I
want to play on that team, and I want to
play for the USA, and I want to play soccer um.
But even before then Olympics it was held in Atlanta,
which I'm a Georgia girl, I grew up there, and
funny enough, my parents didn't take me to any of
the events. I just watched them on TV. But I
remember that was the first time I really watched I
(09:41):
think sports on television or that I can remember, and
in particular watched women compete. And it wasn't even the
soccer team. It was the gymnastics team that I remember
watching and just being in awe of and inspired by
and looking at them and being like, I want to
do that one day. And as I got older and
(10:02):
kind of went through the ranks in the youth national
team system with soccer, I think that's when I really
started to think, oh, I could maybe one day go
to a World Cup, go to an Olympics, and that
was the goal, um. But to then be able to
do it was extremely special and and it's it's cliche
(10:24):
to say, but a dream come true, you know, that
was what I thought about as a kid exactly growing up.
And so yeah, I mean it's hard to describe because
it is very special, and I think back then I
was more so like enamored with the idea. I was like,
I'm here, I get to do this. This is so cool.
I'm just part of it, you know, like, and didn't
(10:47):
fully which is a good thing, take on the weight
of the expectation of winning and that sort of thing.
It's interesting that I want a gold medal first, and
that was that was truly like a childhood dream, being
an Olympian and being a gold medalist, um. But then
to later go on and win World Cups. They're very different,
but again incredible in their own right and very thankful.
(11:11):
I've been able to be a part of so many
and so many successful tournaments. So it's a huge, huge
platform and like a huge amount of coverage. So what
are some lessons that you got from your first international
competitions that you now apply to your games? Like we
see on the media how teams will go overseas and
they will have to deal with time change. I have
(11:34):
to deal with practicing at a completely different time, Like
what are some lessons that you got from those competitions?
So the World Cup and the coach basically sat me
down before and said you're not going to see the field.
You're there to practice and support and be a cheerleader.
And I was like, whatever you need, I got you,
no problem. But I ended up getting subbed into the
(11:55):
third group stage game. We're playing Sweden and we were losing.
I got subbed in in the last fifteen minutes and
I still remember our strength conditioning coach coming down, Don Scott.
She comes down and her job was to tell who
was stubbing in to go warm up, and she walks
on the bench and she gets to me and she
stops and she's like, go warm up, and that means
(12:16):
you're probably going to go and there's a chance you're
gonna go in. And I remember being like, are you
sure you didn't pick the wrong person, Like you definitely
do not want me going in this game, Like you
need to go check with the coaches and make sure
I'm the one they want going in the game. Well,
they wanted me to go in, and I ended up
going in and played probably the worst soccer I've ever
played in my life. I didn't do anything right. Um,
(12:37):
it wasn't good, and we lost and thankfully were already through,
but still we went through a second which set us
up to play Brazil, which it just was a harder draw,
and I felt person responsible for coming in and not
doing well. And I remember after the game, I actually
got pooled for drug testing. And so the way it works,
(12:57):
you go to drug testing, everybody showers, leaves, you do
your drug testing, you go back in a separate bank
because everyone's already gone home because it takes a couple hours.
But before we left, I went back up to the
field because it was quiet. The lights were off, no
one was there, stadium was empty, and I remember standing
at the top of the steps right as you are
(13:18):
about to enter the pitch and just kind of looking
out and taking in that moment and telling myself, this
is a soccer field like any other soccer field you
played on. Yes, it's in front of millions of people
you know on TV and fans in the stadium, all
the stuff there's a lot of factors that are different,
but at the end of the day, what you're gonna
do on this field or what you were supposed to
do on this field is what you've done every single time,
(13:39):
and to remember that and you've been doing it for
so long and no matter how big the situation or
the game presents itself as it's just soccer and you've
been there before, so don't make the same mistake again
and getting too caught up in all the hype and
the pressure in the moment. And that was something that
(13:59):
change anged how I approached the rest of my career.
And I'm really thankful that I basically fell a flat
on my face and had the opportunity to take a
step back and figure out how I can make sure
it didn't happen again. And and so yeah, so I
think in all of that, I would say my biggest
thing is like when you're when you're training for something
and it's it's not even sports, it's anything. It's a test,
(14:21):
it's you're about to give a presentation in business. Like
you've done it before, you can do it again. And
there might be different factors that make the situation or
the moment feel very elevated. But at the end of
the day, stick to what you know, and I know
that you put in the work to do what you
need to do to be successful. So, um, that was
(14:41):
a long story to say that. That's basically I needed
to hear a player of your caliber say it was
not good because my direct quote was that was the
biggest epic fail of my life. And I said it
to a teammate and if she ever listens that she
would last. But um, yeah, that was that was my
be like that. Sometimes it'd be like that sometimes sadly,
(15:04):
I feel like everyone listening probably is like you're speaking
directly to me. I needed to hear this right now,
you know. Yeah, and you say it's an epic fail,
but you know the way that you twisted it into
being this pivotal moment for you, it sounds like maybe
it wasn't such an epic bill. I mean, I'm thankful, yeah,
thankful it happened when it did, and and thankfully you know,
like we didn't, we were still moving through. It wasn't
(15:25):
that big of a deal in terms of the grand
scheme of things. Um so yeah, but for you personally,
I'm sure it was huge. Oh my god. I thought
my I thought my career was over. And truthfully, the
coach I find out later was like planning on not
ever calling me back in after that. But yes, but
gave me another chance and thank god, and you know,
(15:47):
the rest is history. But yeah, it was. Oh yeah,
it was right on the edge of just really messing
it all up. So oh man, So I know you
did soccer in college at Stanford and then played professionally
and multiple teams across the country, including FC Goldpride and
your current team is Washington Spirit. Um, you've also played
(16:07):
different positions. How has your training regime changed as you've
gotten more experience and changed teams? Oh? Man, Um, it's
changed a lot. I feel like that has been something
that I am thankful I have had the ability to
pivot and change and find different things and continually be
(16:30):
looking at places where my game can get better, my
training can get better, or different strength auditioning, nutrition, sleep, recovery.
Like there's so many things throughout my career that I
just continually tweaked because in my mind, we're at the
top of our game as professional athletes. So this idea
(16:51):
of aggregation of marginal gains of can I get one
percent better in each area, that's going to give me
a ten percent gain on the rest of my competition
or all my current self. So the way I would
say in my career is that I've just constantly been
looking how do I tweak it? Where do I tweak it?
And that is also to say there was times when
(17:12):
I didn't approach it that way and I was like,
I'm going to do the same thing over and over again,
and I kept getting the same results, and eventually I
was like, oh, change something, And I'm thankful I've been
able to see that. But yeah, I'm down to try anything.
I'm always looking for the next thing that's going to
help me get a little bit better. And especially as
(17:33):
you get older, like just as a professional athlete, you've
got to do so many things right and really focus
on the details. What the details. It sounds cliche, but
it's true, Like and I wish I would have done
that as a younger professional truly, because you feel good
you do the same thing, and then when do you
wake up and you're like, I need to do a
(17:53):
laundry list of things to be ready to go to
practice today at the end of the day, Like if
you do them, you're able to continue to play at
a level that you want to play and then some.
So it's great to hear about your growth and love
for the sport. Kelly. Honestly, you're making me want to
pick up the soccer ball again. However, we know that
being a professional soccer player hasn't been just fun and
laughter for you. There are structural challenges you face, including
(18:15):
pay disparities between male and female soccer players, and you've
been really vocal about the issue. So now we'd love
to dive deeper into that. Here's some data, okay, God.
According to Major League Soccer data, the minimum salary for
a male player in the United States in a senior
team is around eighty one tho dollars. On the other hand,
(18:37):
the minimum salary for a female player in the National
Women's Soccer League can be as low as twenty two
thousand dollars. Yuck. The pay gap problem goes beyond the
league's and extends the national teams in the US women's
national team filed a lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation
denouncing a gender pay gap, which included women receiving smaller
(18:58):
bonuses for winning than men. When did you first find
out about the gendered paid discrepancy, and how did you
feel at that time. I think that I knew about
it as soon as I started playing professionally and even
before then. Um, but to be honest, in the beginning
of my professional career, I was happy to just be
(19:20):
able to play. Like to me, it wasn't about money.
It was just like, I get to do this as
a job and get paid. It's great that I get paid,
but I'm not that concerned about the money. And that
was me being naive and also young and fresh out
of college. So I think that as I became more
experienced and did it for longer and started to hear
(19:41):
things and also see things, you begin to realize how
drastic it was, and just that it was discriminatory. You
know that this isn't right. There's there's an issue here,
and we need to fix it, and we need to
be part of fixing it. And if we don't do that,
no one else is going to do that. I think
that's that's one of the biggest things that I've learned
through my career with this specific issue, is that you
(20:03):
can complain all you want about something you can you know,
talk about it till you're blue in the face. But
if you're not willing to put in the time and
the steps and the plan to say how do we
go from point A to point B, no one else
is doing it for you. And so I think that
is what I came to learn, and I'm thankful for that,
and I think that's what has allowed us as national
(20:26):
team players to finally take the step to take this
to court and to make it have to hold up there.
So yeah, it's it's been a journey if you will
strengthened numbers though for sure, you know, it's like when
we stop commiserating and we start putting that plan together,
there's there's incredible things that can happen from that. Yeah.
(20:48):
I actually was talking to something on the phone today
and um, she said, UM, I always tell people like,
don't tell me the floods coming or the floods here,
like start building arc, you know, And and that hit
me because it's I mean, it's applicable in so many
areas of life, and I fully believe in that, and
I think we all get sometimes caught up in talking
about the flood as opposed to being like, how are
(21:11):
we going to build the arc and I do think
there's power in the collective, their strength and numbers for sure. Yeah.
So you know, in your fight for equal pay, where
where have you seen the greatest change? Where are you?
You know? Where are you getting stuck in this issue? Um?
We're definitely getting stuck on the on the dollars issue.
I will say that if you follow the legal battle closely,
(21:35):
we settled with US Soccer on working conditions. So if
the guys are flying Charter every time they travel as
a team and we're flying I love Southwest, but like
Southwest and have a layover, why is that happening? And
we have gone to a place where we do have
equal working conditions in US Soccer has agreed to that.
(21:56):
So that issue has been sorted out, which is great.
And there's certain things that have changed immensely in my
career from when I started to now how we operate
and some of the things that we're given and how
we're taken care of. But again that that's only one
piece of the puzzle in this legal battle, and it
(22:19):
took a lot to get there. There's some change, Yeah, definitely, definitely,
we appreciate it. Constant fight for change, Yeah, Yeah, for sure,
for sure. So I know that you mentioned, you know,
the equal working conditions, that's where you're kind of seeing
the change. But what about the salary. How does the
salary budget and allocation money work in the NWSL. What
are some obstacles that you're facing with the current compensation system. Yeah,
(22:42):
so what's interesting is that the way it's set up
right now is the end of cell p A negotiates
their c B A U s W and tp A
negotiates our c B A and the way our CBA
is currently set up and it's over it expires at
the end of this year, so we're actually currently in
cb negotiation in which it's no secret because US Soccer
has talked about it publicly said some things that disacreed with.
(23:04):
But the way it works is right now, national team
players are allocated to a team, and the national team
is paying their salary while also paying for you know,
when we come in for games that sort of thing um,
And there's a sixteen man roster that is also paid
a salary by US Soccer. So right now, if you're
(23:28):
an allocated player in the league, you actually don't fall
under the end of a cell p A UM, which
in my opinion, I personally would like to see it
be separate. It would be you play for your end
of a cell team, you're paid by your end of
a cell team. You play for US Soccer, you're paid
when you go in to um US soccer games, that
sort of thing. But that's not how it is right now.
So right now, I think we're in a very interesting
(23:50):
place where we have the end of a CELPA is
negotiating their first c B A and we are negotiating
a new CBA. And I think if we can find
a place where one helps the other, I think that's
the best case scenario. But CB negotiations are very difficult,
and uh, we'll see if that happens. I'm hopeful. I'm
always hopeful, even when it bites me. The ass, gotcha, alright,
(24:13):
So let's let's flip it just a little bit. Another
very important thing we want to talk about is, you know,
we have a lot of major athletes that have sat
out of international competitions to protest in equities. In your opinion, Kelly,
what needs to be done to move the needle towards
gender equality and soccer and in sports in general. I
think my biggest thing with gender inequity in sports is
(24:39):
the coverage and the visibility. If that can change, I
think it could do incredible things for women's sports. For instance,
four percent of media coverage goes to women's sports, which
is why I got involved with Just Women's Sports. It's
a digital media company that just covers women's sports, and
(24:59):
I know, oh how important visibility is and coverage exactly.
So besides the pay, what are you know some other
aspects that you hope to change to even the playing
field for women and men soccer players, Just the treatment
of players and the professionalism that surrounds it, whether it's facilities, um,
(25:22):
how we travel, just in general, Like, there's there's just
a different level to professionalism that in my mind, some
teams do it, which I think is great and within
the league, but others are just still so far behind.
And I've been a part of both, and it feels
really good to show up to work in the morning
and feel like a professional athlete. And it changes how
(25:44):
you're able to train and approach the game. Yeah, the
perseverance there is so key, Yes, absolutely, alright, So let's
talk about college soccer players, Like, what would you recommend
to college soccer players who are thinking of going pro.
So the way college soccer is set up right now
is they play their season in the fall and then
(26:06):
um winter and spring is kind of like off slash,
just really lifting and a little bit of training. But
I would recommend that they put in the time and
effort to prepare properly for what professional soccer will actually entail,
because I do think there's a big jump from from
college to the professional game in terms of time spent
(26:29):
on the field, um, the level, the just having to
take care of yourself and not being in a college environment,
which most college athletes have a great set up, and
it sometimes is a big drop off from college to
professional sports in terms of what you're offered. I just
remember when I was thinking about going pro or trying
(26:50):
to get drafted in my college coach Paul Ratcliffe called
me and it was like, you're too small. You need
to lift at least three times a week, be in
the gym on your own, like you need to be
working with the strength condition coach, and put in the
time because I want you to show up as prepared
as possible to preseason with my to be professional team. UM,
(27:11):
committing yourself to it even more than you are as
a student athlete student that you've got school to attend to,
But when you become a professional, like this is your
only job and you need to be ready to perform
day in and day out. So there's a lot of
variables that go into making sure you can do that
when you say this is your only job, and then
the pay reflects that you should have two or three
(27:32):
other ones, just like, yeah, I don't know, it's true,
it is true. Hopefully one day it can be the
only thing you have to worry about. You don't worry
about anything else, But yeah, do you have any advice
for these athletes, whether you know any level high school
college pro um that are trying to advocate for positive
changes in their teams and institutions like you're doing, how
should they go about it? I mean a lot of
(27:54):
it is it's kind of like brainstorming and strategizing and
figuring out what is possible and how can I be
part of the solution as opposed to just talking about
the problem. Yes, absolutely, I know anyone who's listening right
now will feel so much empowerment to actually do that,
because sometimes we just need to hear it from someone
(28:14):
who look up to and it's much easier said than done,
and it takes a lot of effort and can be
very difficult and at times very scary. Um But at
the end of the day, you know, I don't think
any great thing has come from like sitting on the
sidelines and just hoping somebody also do it. You know, absolutely.
So you're now the host of Just Women's Sports podcast
(28:36):
shout out to Just Women's Sports. Could you tell me
more about that project? You know, what have you learned
from doing this project and your interviews with other female athletes? Yeah,
I have loved it. It's been incredible. I've gone to
talk to some amazing humans and athletes. And I want
women's sports to have equal coverage, have the best coverage,
(28:59):
you know, and and to just go from where we
are now to where I think that it's going to go.
And part of that is the media coverage is the
visibility piece. And so when I got put in touch
with the founder of JWS, Hailey Rosen, who's also a
Stanford soccer player, she was a little bit after my time,
but I just kind of picked her brain and heard
(29:19):
what she was thinking. And this was very much so
when it was in its infancy and kind of still
an idea, but she was starting to put the framework
together and one of the pieces she really wanted to
go after was having a podcast, and and starting with one,
but then you know, bringing in more and I love
listening podcasts, and she was like, well, do you want
to host it? And I said, I don't know if
(29:41):
you know this, but I've never hosted a podcast. I
don't know why you would offer me this because I
don't know if I'm even good at it. But she
eventually convinced me of it. And and I'm really glad
that I got the opportunity to kind of get in
on the ground floor um with her and JWS and
be a part of building something. And they're already doing
so well and and I think, um, you know, becoming
a really big mover in the space of covering women's sports.
(30:03):
And and I'm glad that I got to be like,
you know what, I know this is an issue. I
know this is problem, and I know that if this,
we need to improve this to get where I want
to see women's sports be. And and I was able
to be like, yeah, I'm gonna put skin in the
game and like put in the work and the effort
to be a part of this. So it's been great.
I love that. Amazing we can relate. These conversations have
(30:24):
been I mean, yeah, the conversations I've been able to have,
Like I always come away with just being like, man,
that was so cool, Like I'm so inspired and sometimes
like there's no way this could be more interesting than
the last, or like different than the last. But then
every athlete has such interesting perspectives, such different journeys. It's
(30:47):
been also of that. Well, we're having a moment of
that right now. It definitely well, Kelly, you're incredible. I mean,
you're a professional soccer player, business owner, podcast host, I
mean list goes on what strategies do you have to
juggle several responsibilities while growing in your sport? Oh my god,
(31:08):
um a lot? Like no, truly, Like here's the thing,
Like you gotta take care of yourself if you want
to do anything beyond what is just in your very
small orbit or like your day to debt, you know.
And for me, taking care of myself is paramount in
my in my career, at my job. Like I'm a
(31:28):
professional athlete, my body is should be a temple. Sometimes
it's not but it typically is and like this is
what does the work. But on top of that, in general,
like if you don't take care of yourself, you're not
gonna be able to take care of anyone else. So
I think that for me, I'll say, yeah, I just
make sure that I sleep, eat well, drink enough water,
(31:48):
and try to be able to juggle all these things
schedule accordingly. But then I also feel like I do
a good job of when I need the time space
and like to recover and decompress, Like I set boundaries
and I'm just like I'm not available, like I can't
do this. I'm you know, I say no. So I
think that saying no is sometimes just as great as
(32:09):
saying yes. A lot of times. I love that, and
we just put basic needs fronts. You were hearing this
from it FAM. All right, Kelly, what's next for you
in your career? You have any upcoming projects or games
that you'd like to share with our listeners. Um So,
currently playing with the Washington Spirit. And you see, if
(32:31):
you are a DC local like Monages, you come out
to a game, um and if you do, say hi,
and we're closing out our season, so we're coming up
on playoffs, which it's a very tight table right now
and we're trying to clar away with enough points into
that so to be able to be in the nd
CL playoffs, which will take place in November. Um, we
(32:53):
have two games coming up with the national team, and
I'm in the middle of October which will be fun.
And then yeah, I'm looking forward to to Sember. That's
my off time. Maybe do a little vacation, a little travel,
but like you said, things never stop, so I'm constantly
on the move doing things, but also trying to get
enough sleep at night. So that's that's what's on the
(33:14):
priority day. Big takeaway. Yes, I love it under armours.
Sweat the Details will be back after a short break.
Welcome back to Sweat the Details. I think it's time
we play a little game. How about that? Love yea,
(33:35):
So this is a part of the show. We love
to just ask our guests some fun like rapid fire questions.
So for today's game, we're playing goal stretching. Now I'm
just gonna get ahead. I was trying not to like
yell into the mic. Is this like okay, okay okay.
So basically, so it's just gonna be like based on
(33:56):
things related to your passion for soccer and game day routines.
So we're just gonna ask you question and then you
just kind of answer first thing that comes to mind.
We may have like a question of why. Your answer
was that I can do that pregame ritual. Pregame ritual.
I have a whole stretching routine that I go to
and then activation routine, so pretty much that and then
whoever's DJ's bumping tunes and that that always gets me
(34:19):
in a good headspace. And I usually meditate as well,
either on the way to the game or which is
like if you're busting or at the stadium. Um, when
I get into locker room, I'll meditate, which like for
five ten minutes max. But I like to just I'm
I have enough energy, um, and I get amped well
(34:41):
beyond what I need to be. So for me, it's
like bringing it back. Yeah, yeah, like like coming down
a little bit so that I'm just super focused and
calm and just like ready to go. I love how
like different all of us are. Like I'm I'm definitely different.
I'm like I have nervous energy, but I need like
I need craziness beforehand. Yes, I don't know like I
(35:04):
have to because it's too much like I don't know,
I get ahead. Yeah, I used to be that way
for sure. When I was younger, I was like, yeah,
like let's go, but way more chill. I probably need
to tune it down a bit. Maybe that's where I'm like,
where that's the miss I got it. I'm writing that
day now. I found that when I was like so amped,
I was more tense and like muscularly. It just didn't
(35:27):
work out like I would like tweak things. So it
was just like, oh, like, let's go, Like I'm so
nervous and so excited. Way more chill, calm, collect chill vibes.
I'm gonna try that next time. Yes, chills all around,
all right. Favorite goal that you've ever scored? Um, I
scored in the semifinal of the World Cup and that
(35:51):
was pretty sick and I think it was my It
was my first goal with the national team, which was
kind of funny, but yeah, that was probably the biggest
school I've ever scored for sure made special. Yeah. Um,
we were winning one zero against Germany. I think it
was probably like the seventy nine something like that. Very
late in the game, I had subbed on not even
(36:13):
five minutes earlier, and Jill Ellis, are coach at the time,
was like, you're going in there. You're in the defense,
and I was like yes, ma'am. And then I found
myself in the box because I was playing winger and
we like how to play where Abby got the ball,
played in to Cling, Cling, played it Carly, Carly got
endline and like just put it across the goal and
I just like almost like Karate kicked it into the goal,
(36:35):
which is beautiful, cald it and and it was just
I was insane because that was that goal made it
be like, Okay, well, oh my god, we're going to
the World Cup final again. Oh my god, you gotta
put something. Everyone's like, oh my god. It was like,
how did Kelly just score? Yeah, like what Kelly never
scores and like literally never scores. So um, Karate kicks
for the win. Best way to celebrate a win. I mean,
(36:58):
a beer's a nice post game. I I feel like
I used to do that more in my twenties. Now
I'm like water sign um, but honestly relaxing. Yeah, yeah,
just I mean I'm down for like pizza and chill
and depends on how big the win is, Like I'm
thinking just weekend, week out with the league. Honestly to me,
(37:20):
in season, we win and I'm like I'm already thinking
about next week, how can I recover? How can I
be ready for practice this week? That sort of thing.
So um, but if it's a big win like a
World Cup or an Olympics, like it's get the champagne out,
the beer, let's let's party, it depends on the men. Yeah, okay,
yeah makes sense, all right. Last one favorite soccer player
(37:44):
growing up. My favorite soccer player growing up was probably
Julie found She was a winger, and because I actually
didn't really know much about Stanford growing up, but like
I knew that she was smart or like had gone
to a good school and so and I was, as
a kid really big and I was like into school
and um, cared about that sort of thing. So it's like, oh,
(38:05):
like be like her, you know, good at soccer but
also smart. So yeah, probably really about beautiful. I love that,
all right. You've you've survived dark. Yeah it hasn't been
really nice. It has been. Um, it's it's refreshing. You
are incredible in all forms. Were so thankful to have
had this conversation with you, Kelly. Thank you. That's very kind. Well,
(38:28):
I've really enjoyed it, so thank you guys for having me. Yes,
can you share a little bit about where everyone can
find you online? Yeah, I'm on the Graham Kelly O'Hara. Um,
i am on Twitter. I don't think I've opened Twitter
and literally months, so um, maybe don't go there. Um.
And then I host Just One Sports podcast, so go
follow Just One Sports and go download some of the
(38:51):
podcasts and listen to them because there are some great conversations. Awesome. Well,
thank you so much, Kelly. This has been such a
great conversation and hopefully we'll get to chat agains soon. Definitely,
thank you guys. I appreciate it. Meg. My mind is
blown right now talking to Kelly about all things, one
(39:13):
her greatness on the field, and two being a pioneer
for equal pay in professional sports in general for women
is a job in and of itself. So I'm just
thinking about the moments where she talked about even going
into court and that kind of mental battle, emotional battle,
and her ability to still be growing and grinding it
(39:35):
out and continuing the conversation. I'm just I'm so thankful
to be able to shared that energy with her. Yeah,
I I feel fired up. Like, you know, as a woman,
you know that this is probably an issue across sports everywhere,
but to hear firsthand, it's very frustrating. Um, it just
seems like every conversation that we've had, I just realized
(39:55):
more and more just how different, you know, women's sports
are treated and value. And I'm so incredibly thankful for
women like Kelly who are constantly fighting the system demanding
equal rights. It's so inspiring and will hopefully encourage, you know,
younger generations to recognize their own worth and shoot for
goals that you know, they may have never seen as possible.
(40:17):
If when we had another few hours to chat, I
want to keep on chatting with her. Kelly Is She's
such a phenomenal woman, she said earlier. Um that you know,
it's a very passionate overpay situation when she, you know,
just got into professional sports. And I feel that on
the greatest level, like I'm just happy to be here
turns into now I literally can't even afford to be here,
(40:40):
and that's painful. You know. We think about it from
a level of like women in corporate America or just
in any situation of work. But then it goes into
I am using my body day in and day out,
you know, sacrificing my safety to put on the best
and most entertaining show for the fans, and the people
were truly passionate, and I'm seeing very very little for it,
(41:01):
and it's like, you know, what do I have left
after that? So, you know, my heart goes out to
women in professional sports who are feeling that same struggle
that many of us do in our everyday lives. Yeah,
you know, and she also spoke about coverage and visibility
and how that definitely needs improvement. What did she say?
A four percent for person of media coverage goes to
(41:24):
women's sports, Like, are you kidding me? They're not covering,
they're not giving visibility to women, so they just assume, Okay,
well they don't have this coverage, so they don't deserve
equal pay. And it's just absurd to me. It's completely outrageous,
and I'm so glad that she's out there fighting and
hopefully other people are getting an encourage. Now. You know,
it could be you're in high school or you're in college,
(41:44):
maybe you're not at that pro level. But look at
your organization around you and be just be more aware
what is happening around you. Are you just being complacent
to what it is? Or is there something that I
could do? Could I speak up? Could I team up
with the teammate and use our voice. It's rough, but
I know that this conversation and the ones that we
continue to have and continue to put women on a
(42:05):
platform that can really reach more women and even the
men that are supportive in that way, is definitely going
to be a game changer. So I'm so happy for
that conversation. On the other hand, are you working on
over there? I want to hear about your goals moving
into this week and this portion. Y'all we talk about
our goals and do check ins on where we are
(42:26):
with them, and you know, just try to speak on
how we can continue to support one another. So Meg,
what you got going on? Well, Um, I am on
my last day of recovery today. I've been doing a
lot of stretching, some mobility stuff in the garage. Nothing
where I'm like lifting weight, just because I'm telling you, like,
i could barely walk up my stairs. But now that
(42:48):
I've stretched and I've kind of slowly started getting back
into it. I think tomorrow I'm going to get under
the bar and we're gonna see what happens this week.
I'm excited. I think I'm gonna focus on dead left
and bench press as I get back into things first,
because those are obviously my favorite. I love it. That's
about where I am right now. And um, I've had
some people. Thank you to everyone who has sent me
(43:11):
a d M and been very encouraging since I was
kind of like not online very much. And I did
get some really sweet messages that we're telling me, um
that they just wanted to check in and see how
I was doing, and they were so proud um of me,
you know, and under armour and they just felt so
happy and excited for the representation, and so that kind
of got me pumped up. That's kind of where I
(43:32):
am now. And yeah, yeah, I mean I was talking
to my coach about you today. It was my first
session back in the gym since our shoot, and I
was like, Meg was in here throwing that weight around
like it was pillows and I still amped up from it.
So good job to you, Meg, Because recovery is just
(43:54):
as important, just like Kelly was saying, it's freaking amazing.
I've just gotten through. I can't believe I'm saying this.
I just got through the best and most manageable period
I've ever had in my life. And I understand that
it's been a over a year of working on you know,
sinking my cycle and doing the hard work of trying
to sit down when I need to doing more recovery
(44:16):
than work, doing the right kind of work for the
right phase. And it feels so good to be there,
and now I just want to get back into this
phase of putting in the right kind of work. I
am a month out from my fight, and this month
I want to pick up the skill and the tenacity
(44:36):
and the heart that it takes. And that doesn't require
for me to necessarily do more. It requires for me to,
you know, in the moment, be more and stay focused.
So thank you to everyone who is also Yeah. I mean,
it's that grows more and more meaningful to me as
I get older, is you know, being more in the
moment and creating and engaging in quality moments, quality sessions,
(45:00):
quality sets over feeling like I need to do all
of the sets just for the sake of doing it,
because it's expected. So thank you, so you, Meg, and
to everybody else who has been out here cheer me on.
Those of you, you know, really supporting me and my
hopes to get closer with those who have been affected
by cancer and you know, really trying to bring my
(45:22):
best fight forward. It's it's meant the world to me,
Um and shout out to the sweat the details, behind
the scenes production staff team. You a y'all have given
us life the last week. Cannot say it enough. Being
a part of this team is absolutely a blessing. It's
been so incredible. So y'all keep up with us, keep
(45:44):
up with all of us, because we are living our
best life together and we want you on this vibe absolutely. Well,
that's it for this week's episode, but don't forget to
join us next week when we talk about goals and
benchmarks and how we can set ourselves up for success
with creating real listic objectives for our training. All of that,
thank you for joining us Fit fam. If you liked
(46:05):
what you heard on the show, subscribe for free or
follow the show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast,
or wherever you listen, and don't forget to leave that
five star rating and review. Please do five star, five star,
five star. You guys. Until next time, Stay inspired, stay motivated,
and remember to always sweat the Details. Bye bye. If
(46:37):
you liked what you heard on the show, subscribe for
free or follow the show on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple podcast or wherever you listen, and don't forget to
leave a five star rating and review. Sweat the Details
is a collaboration with under Armour and I Heart Radio.
Our show is hosted by me Monica Jones and me
Meg Box. Our executive producers are just strip Stein, Just Sell,
(46:57):
Louis Archfald, Molly Sosha and Maya. Our producers are Kelly
and Tole, Layla Cadrian, Emma Osborne and Alejandra Arrivalo. And
our sound editor and engineer is Sarah gibel Leska. Keep
up the latest news in women's fitness by following under
Armour at under Armour Women and at under Armour
In the beginning of my professional career, I was happy
to just be able to play. Like to me, it
wasn't about money. It was just like, I get to
do this as a job, and it's great that I
get paid, but I'm not that concerned about the money.
And that was me being naive and also young and
fresh out of college. So I think that as I
became more experienced, you began to realize how drastic it was,
(00:25):
and just that it was discriminatory. You know that this
isn't right. There's there's an issue here and we need
to fix it, and we need to be part of
fixing it. And if we don't do that, no one
else is going to do that. This is Sweat the Details,
a collaboration with Under Armour and I Heart Radio, a
(00:45):
sports and training podcast made for women by women that
puts our success in challenges at the front and center.
I'm Monica Jones. I'm a fitness coach, boxer, business owner,
and you a athlete and I'm Meg Bugs. I'm a powerlifter, author,
body positive the advocate, and mother. Every episode, Monica and
I will talk to athletes, trainers, and experts and learn
(01:05):
more about how the body of mind work together in
training and competition. Meg, get ready because today I'm ready. Yes,
we are talking with US soccer star Kelly O'Hara. She's
an Olympic gold and bronze medalist and a two time
FIFO World Cup champion. What a resume, right, I mean incredible.
She is just she's so impressive and like many legendary athletes,
(01:29):
Kelly fell in love with soccer at a very young
age and eventually found her way playing D one soccer
at Stanford and then with her first professional soccer team,
FC gold Pride. She currently plays within Washington Spirit and
the United States women's national soccer team. Yes, but pursuing
soccer professionally hasn't been an easy path, especially due to
disparities in working conditions and wages between men and women
(01:52):
soccer players in the US. Of course, Kelly and her
teammates have been raising their voices to achieve equality in
the sport. I'm looking forward to hearing more about their
fight and how we can all help to uplift women's
sports across the board. Yes, obviously we've had you know,
multiple conversations with powerful women on this show, but to
really bring it home with Kelly, and the action that
(02:14):
she and her teammates and other women in the sport
of soccer are taking is inspiring. They're getting together and
really taking action so far as going into court in
seeing through lawsuits that right there while being a professional
athlete and performing your best is something that I can't
even fathom, but I'm so thankful for. I mean, let's
(02:37):
be real, if women's sports actually received that same type
of visibility and support as men's sports, people would be watching.
It's that simple, This assumption that there's a lack of
interest when there's really never even been a solid attempt
to give women's sports an equal amount of pay and
an equal amount of support. It's just wild to me.
(02:58):
It's just mind blowing. But deep breaths. Yeah, it's it's
a vicious cycle, and it is going to be a
long climb. But I'm very, very excited that this this
conversation can reach more ears and that we can continue
to continue to push this conversation further and continue to
take action. Before we get to the interview, I want
(03:20):
to explain some acronyms that you'll hear Kelly use when
talking about equal pay. N W s l p A
is short for the National Women's Soccer League Players Association,
which is the union representing NWSL players. These players play
for soccer clubs and may or may not be in
the national team. Yes, we are back at it again
with the letters. Another union is the U S w
(03:43):
n t p A, the U S Women's National Team
Players Association, which represents national team players. These players represent
the US in international competitions such as the World Cup
and the Olympics, and may or may not be nws
L players. You'll also hear the term c b A,
which means collective bargaining agreements. This is a written legal
contract between an employer and a union representing the employees.
(04:07):
So I feel like we literally just passed the bar exam.
And I know these acronyms are hard to remember, but
we know the main idea is that these two unions
are helping women soccer players achieve better pay and working
conditions by negotiating better contracts for them. Absolutely, mon, what
do you say we get to our conversation with the
incredible Kelly O'Hara. Let's get it. What's up? Fam? I'm
(04:32):
literally sweating right now with excitement because we are here
right I mean I'm like, because we're sitting here with
two time FIFA World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist
Kelly O'Hara, and I always speak for everyone here and
listening that we are incredibly excited to have you here
on Sweat the Details. How are you, Kelly? I'm doing great?
And I also agree it's funny how like right before
(04:53):
you're supposed to start, it's like you're a little sweat going.
It's like a little bit of nerves or something. But yeah,
which is so funny. It definitely happens to feel on
that we had to let these armpits free today because yeah,
I know you came with the cutoff. We kept it
cool for the pre interview, but now I'm losing it
all right, I know I'm already sweating. I'm like, what
(05:16):
is happening? Well, I just want to dive right in
and start from the beginning. Can you tell us about
your journey as an athlete. What role did sports play
in your life growing up, and how did you first
get into soccer? Oh? Man, Um, I think sports played
a huge role in my life. I started playing soccer
when I was four. My parents were like, you're gonna
(05:38):
go play in Muppets Soccer in Puture City, Georgia, and
that was the first organized sporting event or practice I
guess I did as a kid, which is kind of
fitting that it ended up being the one that I
have progressed in and obviously become a professional and taking
it the farthest. So um, yeah, started when I was four,
(05:59):
and I did tons of sports growing up. You name it,
I probably tried it. I just like to be outside,
I like to play. I like to compete, even at
a very early age, and eventually soccer was the one
that became the number one. But up until I was
(06:19):
probably fourteen or fifteen, I did a ton of different
sports and and I do think that shaped me as
a kid, teenager and now as a person. And I
credit my parents because they're both very athletic, but they
also knew the benefit and the importance of going out
and playing and being active and the things that you
can learn sports and all that stuff. So very thankful
(06:41):
that they were just like, try whatever, do whatever. Oh
it's amazing. Did you always want to be a professional
soccer player or how did you realize that was the
career you wanted to take? Oh gosh, no, I definitely.
When I was in elementary school, I think I wanted
to be a librarian, and I like thought about I
liked I liked organizing things like the Dewey decimal systems,
(07:03):
like this would be lit to be able to do this,
you know, for the rest of my life. Um No,
I'm really glad I didn't. But shout out to all
the librarians out there. Um No, So I didn't. I
didn't even think about being a professional soccer player until
probably watching the ninety nine World Cup and seeing the
women win that. Um but even still, I didn't love
(07:29):
soccer as a kid. I really enjoyed it was one
of my favorite sports, but I wasn't obsessed with it
like I have become later on in life. So yeah,
I think until I was in college even and there
became a professional league that I could play in that
It wasn't until then I was like, oh, this is
a possibility that I could be a professional athlete in
(07:51):
the sense of playing in a league. You know. My
goal was always to play on the national team at
the highest level, to win World Cups, to win Olympics,
and to be a professional athlete in that at sense.
But yeah, I think it's really it didn't happen until
I had the ability to even think like, oh I
could go I could play in a league here in
the US and and be a professional athlete day in
a day. So like, it wasn't until really later on
(08:14):
you played, you said at four, but you had probably
years and years and years of playing soccer before it
really hit you that this was something that was a possibility. Yeah, definitely.
And I mean I almost quit soccer when I was
third team because I was just like, my schedule is
too busy. I don't have time for this, you know,
it's taking up two much of my time, being probably
a little diva like that. But again, I once I
(08:36):
sold the ninety nine World Cup, I think I was like, oh,
I want to play on the national team. Like, if
that's the highest level you can get, two, I want
to be the best and I want to get to
that level. Um. But the idea of being a professional
and what that meant or what that would end up meaning,
I don't really think started to sink into my head
until probably late in high school, maybe college. Wow. So
(09:00):
you went to your first FIFA Women's World Cup in
two thousand eleven, and then the following year, you made
it to the Olympics, which is wow. Can you tell
us more about those experiences, like, how was the experience
of representing your country at a high level international competition. Yeah? So,
I mean, like I said, I I think that seeing
(09:21):
the ninety nine World Cup made me think, oh, I
want to play on that team, and I want to
play for the USA, and I want to play soccer um.
But even before then Olympics it was held in Atlanta,
which I'm a Georgia girl, I grew up there, and
funny enough, my parents didn't take me to any of
the events. I just watched them on TV. But I
remember that was the first time I really watched I
(09:41):
think sports on television or that I can remember, and
in particular watched women compete. And it wasn't even the
soccer team. It was the gymnastics team that I remember
watching and just being in awe of and inspired by
and looking at them and being like, I want to
do that one day. And as I got older and
(10:02):
kind of went through the ranks in the youth national
team system with soccer, I think that's when I really
started to think, oh, I could maybe one day go
to a World Cup, go to an Olympics, and that
was the goal, um. But to then be able to
do it was extremely special and and it's it's cliche
(10:24):
to say, but a dream come true, you know, that
was what I thought about as a kid exactly growing up.
And so yeah, I mean it's hard to describe because
it is very special, and I think back then I
was more so like enamored with the idea. I was like,
I'm here, I get to do this. This is so cool.
I'm just part of it, you know, like, and didn't
(10:47):
fully which is a good thing, take on the weight
of the expectation of winning and that sort of thing.
It's interesting that I want a gold medal first, and
that was that was truly like a childhood dream, being
an Olympian and being a gold medalist, um. But then
to later go on and win World Cups. They're very different,
but again incredible in their own right and very thankful.
(11:11):
I've been able to be a part of so many
and so many successful tournaments. So it's a huge, huge
platform and like a huge amount of coverage. So what
are some lessons that you got from your first international
competitions that you now apply to your games? Like we
see on the media how teams will go overseas and
they will have to deal with time change. I have
(11:34):
to deal with practicing at a completely different time, Like
what are some lessons that you got from those competitions?
So the World Cup and the coach basically sat me
down before and said you're not going to see the field.
You're there to practice and support and be a cheerleader.
And I was like, whatever you need, I got you,
no problem. But I ended up getting subbed into the
(11:55):
third group stage game. We're playing Sweden and we were losing.
I got subbed in in the last fifteen minutes and
I still remember our strength conditioning coach coming down, Don Scott.
She comes down and her job was to tell who
was stubbing in to go warm up, and she walks
on the bench and she gets to me and she
stops and she's like, go warm up, and that means
(12:16):
you're probably going to go and there's a chance you're
gonna go in. And I remember being like, are you
sure you didn't pick the wrong person, Like you definitely
do not want me going in this game, Like you
need to go check with the coaches and make sure
I'm the one they want going in the game. Well,
they wanted me to go in, and I ended up
going in and played probably the worst soccer I've ever
played in my life. I didn't do anything right. Um,
(12:37):
it wasn't good, and we lost and thankfully were already through,
but still we went through a second which set us
up to play Brazil, which it just was a harder draw,
and I felt person responsible for coming in and not
doing well. And I remember after the game, I actually
got pooled for drug testing. And so the way it works,
(12:57):
you go to drug testing, everybody showers, leaves, you do
your drug testing, you go back in a separate bank
because everyone's already gone home because it takes a couple hours.
But before we left, I went back up to the
field because it was quiet. The lights were off, no
one was there, stadium was empty, and I remember standing
at the top of the steps right as you are
(13:18):
about to enter the pitch and just kind of looking
out and taking in that moment and telling myself, this
is a soccer field like any other soccer field you
played on. Yes, it's in front of millions of people
you know on TV and fans in the stadium, all
the stuff there's a lot of factors that are different,
but at the end of the day, what you're gonna
do on this field or what you were supposed to
do on this field is what you've done every single time,
(13:39):
and to remember that and you've been doing it for
so long and no matter how big the situation or
the game presents itself as it's just soccer and you've
been there before, so don't make the same mistake again
and getting too caught up in all the hype and
the pressure in the moment. And that was something that
(13:59):
change anged how I approached the rest of my career.
And I'm really thankful that I basically fell a flat
on my face and had the opportunity to take a
step back and figure out how I can make sure
it didn't happen again. And and so yeah, so I
think in all of that, I would say my biggest
thing is like when you're when you're training for something
and it's it's not even sports, it's anything. It's a test,
(14:21):
it's you're about to give a presentation in business. Like
you've done it before, you can do it again. And
there might be different factors that make the situation or
the moment feel very elevated. But at the end of
the day, stick to what you know, and I know
that you put in the work to do what you
need to do to be successful. So, um, that was
(14:41):
a long story to say that. That's basically I needed
to hear a player of your caliber say it was
not good because my direct quote was that was the
biggest epic fail of my life. And I said it
to a teammate and if she ever listens that she
would last. But um, yeah, that was that was my
be like that. Sometimes it'd be like that sometimes sadly,
(15:04):
I feel like everyone listening probably is like you're speaking
directly to me. I needed to hear this right now,
you know. Yeah, and you say it's an epic fail,
but you know the way that you twisted it into
being this pivotal moment for you, it sounds like maybe
it wasn't such an epic bill. I mean, I'm thankful, yeah,
thankful it happened when it did, and and thankfully you know,
like we didn't, we were still moving through. It wasn't
(15:25):
that big of a deal in terms of the grand
scheme of things. Um so yeah, but for you personally,
I'm sure it was huge. Oh my god. I thought
my I thought my career was over. And truthfully, the
coach I find out later was like planning on not
ever calling me back in after that. But yes, but
gave me another chance and thank god, and you know,
(15:47):
the rest is history. But yeah, it was. Oh yeah,
it was right on the edge of just really messing
it all up. So oh man, So I know you
did soccer in college at Stanford and then played professionally
and multiple teams across the country, including FC Goldpride and
your current team is Washington Spirit. Um, you've also played
(16:07):
different positions. How has your training regime changed as you've
gotten more experience and changed teams? Oh? Man, Um, it's
changed a lot. I feel like that has been something
that I am thankful I have had the ability to
pivot and change and find different things and continually be
(16:30):
looking at places where my game can get better, my
training can get better, or different strength auditioning, nutrition, sleep, recovery.
Like there's so many things throughout my career that I
just continually tweaked because in my mind, we're at the
top of our game as professional athletes. So this idea
(16:51):
of aggregation of marginal gains of can I get one
percent better in each area, that's going to give me
a ten percent gain on the rest of my competition
or all my current self. So the way I would
say in my career is that I've just constantly been
looking how do I tweak it? Where do I tweak it?
And that is also to say there was times when
(17:12):
I didn't approach it that way and I was like,
I'm going to do the same thing over and over again,
and I kept getting the same results, and eventually I
was like, oh, change something, And I'm thankful I've been
able to see that. But yeah, I'm down to try anything.
I'm always looking for the next thing that's going to
help me get a little bit better. And especially as
(17:33):
you get older, like just as a professional athlete, you've
got to do so many things right and really focus
on the details. What the details. It sounds cliche, but
it's true, Like and I wish I would have done
that as a younger professional truly, because you feel good
you do the same thing, and then when do you
wake up and you're like, I need to do a
(17:53):
laundry list of things to be ready to go to
practice today at the end of the day, Like if
you do them, you're able to continue to play at
a level that you want to play and then some.
So it's great to hear about your growth and love
for the sport. Kelly. Honestly, you're making me want to
pick up the soccer ball again. However, we know that
being a professional soccer player hasn't been just fun and
laughter for you. There are structural challenges you face, including
(18:15):
pay disparities between male and female soccer players, and you've
been really vocal about the issue. So now we'd love
to dive deeper into that. Here's some data, okay, God.
According to Major League Soccer data, the minimum salary for
a male player in the United States in a senior
team is around eighty one tho dollars. On the other hand,
(18:37):
the minimum salary for a female player in the National
Women's Soccer League can be as low as twenty two
thousand dollars. Yuck. The pay gap problem goes beyond the
league's and extends the national teams in the US women's
national team filed a lawsuit against the US Soccer Federation
denouncing a gender pay gap, which included women receiving smaller
(18:58):
bonuses for winning than men. When did you first find
out about the gendered paid discrepancy, and how did you
feel at that time. I think that I knew about
it as soon as I started playing professionally and even
before then. Um, but to be honest, in the beginning
of my professional career, I was happy to just be
(19:20):
able to play. Like to me, it wasn't about money.
It was just like, I get to do this as
a job and get paid. It's great that I get paid,
but I'm not that concerned about the money. And that
was me being naive and also young and fresh out
of college. So I think that as I became more
experienced and did it for longer and started to hear
(19:41):
things and also see things, you begin to realize how
drastic it was, and just that it was discriminatory. You
know that this isn't right. There's there's an issue here,
and we need to fix it, and we need to
be part of fixing it. And if we don't do that,
no one else is going to do that. I think
that's that's one of the biggest things that I've learned
through my career with this specific issue, is that you
(20:03):
can complain all you want about something you can you know,
talk about it till you're blue in the face. But
if you're not willing to put in the time and
the steps and the plan to say how do we
go from point A to point B, no one else
is doing it for you. And so I think that
is what I came to learn, and I'm thankful for that,
and I think that's what has allowed us as national
(20:26):
team players to finally take the step to take this
to court and to make it have to hold up there.
So yeah, it's it's been a journey if you will
strengthened numbers though for sure, you know, it's like when
we stop commiserating and we start putting that plan together,
there's there's incredible things that can happen from that. Yeah.
(20:48):
I actually was talking to something on the phone today
and um, she said, UM, I always tell people like,
don't tell me the floods coming or the floods here,
like start building arc, you know, And and that hit
me because it's I mean, it's applicable in so many
areas of life, and I fully believe in that, and
I think we all get sometimes caught up in talking
about the flood as opposed to being like, how are
(21:11):
we going to build the arc and I do think
there's power in the collective, their strength and numbers for sure. Yeah.
So you know, in your fight for equal pay, where
where have you seen the greatest change? Where are you?
You know? Where are you getting stuck in this issue? Um?
We're definitely getting stuck on the on the dollars issue.
I will say that if you follow the legal battle closely,
(21:35):
we settled with US Soccer on working conditions. So if
the guys are flying Charter every time they travel as
a team and we're flying I love Southwest, but like
Southwest and have a layover, why is that happening? And
we have gone to a place where we do have
equal working conditions in US Soccer has agreed to that.
(21:56):
So that issue has been sorted out, which is great.
And there's certain things that have changed immensely in my
career from when I started to now how we operate
and some of the things that we're given and how
we're taken care of. But again that that's only one
piece of the puzzle in this legal battle, and it
(22:19):
took a lot to get there. There's some change, Yeah, definitely, definitely,
we appreciate it. Constant fight for change, Yeah, Yeah, for sure,
for sure. So I know that you mentioned, you know,
the equal working conditions, that's where you're kind of seeing
the change. But what about the salary. How does the
salary budget and allocation money work in the NWSL. What
are some obstacles that you're facing with the current compensation system. Yeah,
(22:42):
so what's interesting is that the way it's set up
right now is the end of cell p A negotiates
their c B A U s W and tp A
negotiates our c B A and the way our CBA
is currently set up and it's over it expires at
the end of this year, so we're actually currently in
cb negotiation in which it's no secret because US Soccer
has talked about it publicly said some things that disacreed with.
(23:04):
But the way it works is right now, national team
players are allocated to a team, and the national team
is paying their salary while also paying for you know,
when we come in for games that sort of thing um,
And there's a sixteen man roster that is also paid
a salary by US Soccer. So right now, if you're
(23:28):
an allocated player in the league, you actually don't fall
under the end of a cell p A UM, which
in my opinion, I personally would like to see it
be separate. It would be you play for your end
of a cell team, you're paid by your end of
a cell team. You play for US Soccer, you're paid
when you go in to um US soccer games, that
sort of thing. But that's not how it is right now.
So right now, I think we're in a very interesting
(23:50):
place where we have the end of a CELPA is
negotiating their first c B A and we are negotiating
a new CBA. And I think if we can find
a place where one helps the other, I think that's
the best case scenario. But CB negotiations are very difficult,
and uh, we'll see if that happens. I'm hopeful. I'm
always hopeful, even when it bites me. The ass, gotcha, alright,
(24:13):
So let's let's flip it just a little bit. Another
very important thing we want to talk about is, you know,
we have a lot of major athletes that have sat
out of international competitions to protest in equities. In your opinion, Kelly,
what needs to be done to move the needle towards
gender equality and soccer and in sports in general. I
think my biggest thing with gender inequity in sports is
(24:39):
the coverage and the visibility. If that can change, I
think it could do incredible things for women's sports. For instance,
four percent of media coverage goes to women's sports, which
is why I got involved with Just Women's Sports. It's
a digital media company that just covers women's sports, and
(24:59):
I know, oh how important visibility is and coverage exactly.
So besides the pay, what are you know some other
aspects that you hope to change to even the playing
field for women and men soccer players, Just the treatment
of players and the professionalism that surrounds it, whether it's facilities, um,
(25:22):
how we travel, just in general, Like, there's there's just
a different level to professionalism that in my mind, some
teams do it, which I think is great and within
the league, but others are just still so far behind.
And I've been a part of both, and it feels
really good to show up to work in the morning
and feel like a professional athlete. And it changes how
(25:44):
you're able to train and approach the game. Yeah, the
perseverance there is so key, Yes, absolutely, alright, So let's
talk about college soccer players, Like, what would you recommend
to college soccer players who are thinking of going pro.
So the way college soccer is set up right now
is they play their season in the fall and then
(26:06):
um winter and spring is kind of like off slash,
just really lifting and a little bit of training. But
I would recommend that they put in the time and
effort to prepare properly for what professional soccer will actually entail,
because I do think there's a big jump from from
college to the professional game in terms of time spent
(26:29):
on the field, um, the level, the just having to
take care of yourself and not being in a college environment,
which most college athletes have a great set up, and
it sometimes is a big drop off from college to
professional sports in terms of what you're offered. I just
remember when I was thinking about going pro or trying
(26:50):
to get drafted in my college coach Paul Ratcliffe called
me and it was like, you're too small. You need
to lift at least three times a week, be in
the gym on your own, like you need to be
working with the strength condition coach, and put in the
time because I want you to show up as prepared
as possible to preseason with my to be professional team. UM,
(27:11):
committing yourself to it even more than you are as
a student athlete student that you've got school to attend to,
But when you become a professional, like this is your
only job and you need to be ready to perform
day in and day out. So there's a lot of
variables that go into making sure you can do that
when you say this is your only job, and then
the pay reflects that you should have two or three
(27:32):
other ones, just like, yeah, I don't know, it's true,
it is true. Hopefully one day it can be the
only thing you have to worry about. You don't worry
about anything else, But yeah, do you have any advice
for these athletes, whether you know any level high school
college pro um that are trying to advocate for positive
changes in their teams and institutions like you're doing, how
should they go about it? I mean a lot of
(27:54):
it is it's kind of like brainstorming and strategizing and
figuring out what is possible and how can I be
part of the solution as opposed to just talking about
the problem. Yes, absolutely, I know anyone who's listening right
now will feel so much empowerment to actually do that,
because sometimes we just need to hear it from someone
(28:14):
who look up to and it's much easier said than done,
and it takes a lot of effort and can be
very difficult and at times very scary. Um But at
the end of the day, you know, I don't think
any great thing has come from like sitting on the
sidelines and just hoping somebody also do it. You know, absolutely.
So you're now the host of Just Women's Sports podcast
(28:36):
shout out to Just Women's Sports. Could you tell me
more about that project? You know, what have you learned
from doing this project and your interviews with other female athletes? Yeah,
I have loved it. It's been incredible. I've gone to
talk to some amazing humans and athletes. And I want
women's sports to have equal coverage, have the best coverage,
(28:59):
you know, and and to just go from where we
are now to where I think that it's going to go.
And part of that is the media coverage is the
visibility piece. And so when I got put in touch
with the founder of JWS, Hailey Rosen, who's also a
Stanford soccer player, she was a little bit after my time,
but I just kind of picked her brain and heard
(29:19):
what she was thinking. And this was very much so
when it was in its infancy and kind of still
an idea, but she was starting to put the framework
together and one of the pieces she really wanted to
go after was having a podcast, and and starting with one,
but then you know, bringing in more and I love
listening podcasts, and she was like, well, do you want
to host it? And I said, I don't know if
(29:41):
you know this, but I've never hosted a podcast. I
don't know why you would offer me this because I
don't know if I'm even good at it. But she
eventually convinced me of it. And and I'm really glad
that I got the opportunity to kind of get in
on the ground floor um with her and JWS and
be a part of building something. And they're already doing
so well and and I think, um, you know, becoming
a really big mover in the space of covering women's sports.
(30:03):
And and I'm glad that I got to be like,
you know what, I know this is an issue. I
know this is problem, and I know that if this,
we need to improve this to get where I want
to see women's sports be. And and I was able
to be like, yeah, I'm gonna put skin in the
game and like put in the work and the effort
to be a part of this. So it's been great.
I love that. Amazing we can relate. These conversations have
(30:24):
been I mean, yeah, the conversations I've been able to have,
Like I always come away with just being like, man,
that was so cool, Like I'm so inspired and sometimes
like there's no way this could be more interesting than
the last, or like different than the last. But then
every athlete has such interesting perspectives, such different journeys. It's
(30:47):
been also of that. Well, we're having a moment of
that right now. It definitely well, Kelly, you're incredible. I mean,
you're a professional soccer player, business owner, podcast host, I
mean list goes on what strategies do you have to
juggle several responsibilities while growing in your sport? Oh my god,
(31:08):
um a lot? Like no, truly, Like here's the thing,
Like you gotta take care of yourself if you want
to do anything beyond what is just in your very
small orbit or like your day to debt, you know.
And for me, taking care of myself is paramount in
my in my career, at my job. Like I'm a
(31:28):
professional athlete, my body is should be a temple. Sometimes
it's not but it typically is and like this is
what does the work. But on top of that, in general,
like if you don't take care of yourself, you're not
gonna be able to take care of anyone else. So
I think that for me, I'll say, yeah, I just
make sure that I sleep, eat well, drink enough water,
(31:48):
and try to be able to juggle all these things
schedule accordingly. But then I also feel like I do
a good job of when I need the time space
and like to recover and decompress, Like I set boundaries
and I'm just like I'm not available, like I can't
do this. I'm you know, I say no. So I
think that saying no is sometimes just as great as
(32:09):
saying yes. A lot of times. I love that, and
we just put basic needs fronts. You were hearing this
from it FAM. All right, Kelly, what's next for you
in your career? You have any upcoming projects or games
that you'd like to share with our listeners. Um So,
currently playing with the Washington Spirit. And you see, if
(32:31):
you are a DC local like Monages, you come out
to a game, um and if you do, say hi,
and we're closing out our season, so we're coming up
on playoffs, which it's a very tight table right now
and we're trying to clar away with enough points into
that so to be able to be in the nd
CL playoffs, which will take place in November. Um, we
(32:53):
have two games coming up with the national team, and
I'm in the middle of October which will be fun.
And then yeah, I'm looking forward to to Sember. That's
my off time. Maybe do a little vacation, a little travel,
but like you said, things never stop, so I'm constantly
on the move doing things, but also trying to get
enough sleep at night. So that's that's what's on the
(33:14):
priority day. Big takeaway. Yes, I love it under armours.
Sweat the Details will be back after a short break.
Welcome back to Sweat the Details. I think it's time
we play a little game. How about that? Love yea,
(33:35):
So this is a part of the show. We love
to just ask our guests some fun like rapid fire questions.
So for today's game, we're playing goal stretching. Now I'm
just gonna get ahead. I was trying not to like
yell into the mic. Is this like okay, okay okay.
So basically, so it's just gonna be like based on
(33:56):
things related to your passion for soccer and game day routines.
So we're just gonna ask you question and then you
just kind of answer first thing that comes to mind.
We may have like a question of why. Your answer
was that I can do that pregame ritual. Pregame ritual.
I have a whole stretching routine that I go to
and then activation routine, so pretty much that and then
whoever's DJ's bumping tunes and that that always gets me
(34:19):
in a good headspace. And I usually meditate as well,
either on the way to the game or which is
like if you're busting or at the stadium. Um, when
I get into locker room, I'll meditate, which like for
five ten minutes max. But I like to just I'm
I have enough energy, um, and I get amped well
(34:41):
beyond what I need to be. So for me, it's
like bringing it back. Yeah, yeah, like like coming down
a little bit so that I'm just super focused and
calm and just like ready to go. I love how
like different all of us are. Like I'm I'm definitely different.
I'm like I have nervous energy, but I need like
I need craziness beforehand. Yes, I don't know like I
(35:04):
have to because it's too much like I don't know,
I get ahead. Yeah, I used to be that way
for sure. When I was younger, I was like, yeah,
like let's go, but way more chill. I probably need
to tune it down a bit. Maybe that's where I'm like,
where that's the miss I got it. I'm writing that
day now. I found that when I was like so amped,
I was more tense and like muscularly. It just didn't
(35:27):
work out like I would like tweak things. So it
was just like, oh, like, let's go, Like I'm so
nervous and so excited. Way more chill, calm, collect chill vibes.
I'm gonna try that next time. Yes, chills all around,
all right. Favorite goal that you've ever scored? Um, I
scored in the semifinal of the World Cup and that
(35:51):
was pretty sick and I think it was my It
was my first goal with the national team, which was
kind of funny, but yeah, that was probably the biggest
school I've ever scored for sure made special. Yeah. Um,
we were winning one zero against Germany. I think it
was probably like the seventy nine something like that. Very
late in the game, I had subbed on not even
(36:13):
five minutes earlier, and Jill Ellis, are coach at the time,
was like, you're going in there. You're in the defense,
and I was like yes, ma'am. And then I found
myself in the box because I was playing winger and
we like how to play where Abby got the ball,
played in to Cling, Cling, played it Carly, Carly got
endline and like just put it across the goal and
I just like almost like Karate kicked it into the goal,
(36:35):
which is beautiful, cald it and and it was just
I was insane because that was that goal made it
be like, Okay, well, oh my god, we're going to
the World Cup final again. Oh my god, you gotta
put something. Everyone's like, oh my god. It was like,
how did Kelly just score? Yeah, like what Kelly never
scores and like literally never scores. So um, Karate kicks
for the win. Best way to celebrate a win. I mean,
(36:58):
a beer's a nice post game. I I feel like
I used to do that more in my twenties. Now
I'm like water sign um, but honestly relaxing. Yeah, yeah,
just I mean I'm down for like pizza and chill
and depends on how big the win is, Like I'm
thinking just weekend, week out with the league. Honestly to me,
(37:20):
in season, we win and I'm like I'm already thinking
about next week, how can I recover? How can I
be ready for practice this week? That sort of thing.
So um, but if it's a big win like a
World Cup or an Olympics, like it's get the champagne out,
the beer, let's let's party, it depends on the men. Yeah, okay,
yeah makes sense, all right. Last one favorite soccer player
(37:44):
growing up. My favorite soccer player growing up was probably
Julie found She was a winger, and because I actually
didn't really know much about Stanford growing up, but like
I knew that she was smart or like had gone
to a good school and so and I was, as
a kid really big and I was like into school
and um, cared about that sort of thing. So it's like, oh,
(38:05):
like be like her, you know, good at soccer but
also smart. So yeah, probably really about beautiful. I love that,
all right. You've you've survived dark. Yeah it hasn't been
really nice. It has been. Um, it's it's refreshing. You
are incredible in all forms. Were so thankful to have
had this conversation with you, Kelly. Thank you. That's very kind. Well,
(38:28):
I've really enjoyed it, so thank you guys for having me. Yes,
can you share a little bit about where everyone can
find you online? Yeah, I'm on the Graham Kelly O'Hara. Um,
i am on Twitter. I don't think I've opened Twitter
and literally months, so um, maybe don't go there. Um.
And then I host Just One Sports podcast, so go
follow Just One Sports and go download some of the
(38:51):
podcasts and listen to them because there are some great conversations. Awesome. Well,
thank you so much, Kelly. This has been such a
great conversation and hopefully we'll get to chat agains soon. Definitely,
thank you guys. I appreciate it. Meg. My mind is
blown right now talking to Kelly about all things, one
(39:13):
her greatness on the field, and two being a pioneer
for equal pay in professional sports in general for women
is a job in and of itself. So I'm just
thinking about the moments where she talked about even going
into court and that kind of mental battle, emotional battle,
and her ability to still be growing and grinding it
(39:35):
out and continuing the conversation. I'm just I'm so thankful
to be able to shared that energy with her. Yeah,
I I feel fired up. Like, you know, as a woman,
you know that this is probably an issue across sports everywhere,
but to hear firsthand, it's very frustrating. Um, it just
seems like every conversation that we've had, I just realized
(39:55):
more and more just how different, you know, women's sports
are treated and value. And I'm so incredibly thankful for
women like Kelly who are constantly fighting the system demanding
equal rights. It's so inspiring and will hopefully encourage, you know,
younger generations to recognize their own worth and shoot for
goals that you know, they may have never seen as possible.
(40:17):
If when we had another few hours to chat, I
want to keep on chatting with her. Kelly Is She's
such a phenomenal woman, she said earlier. Um that you know,
it's a very passionate overpay situation when she, you know,
just got into professional sports. And I feel that on
the greatest level, like I'm just happy to be here
turns into now I literally can't even afford to be here,
(40:40):
and that's painful. You know. We think about it from
a level of like women in corporate America or just
in any situation of work. But then it goes into
I am using my body day in and day out,
you know, sacrificing my safety to put on the best
and most entertaining show for the fans, and the people
were truly passionate, and I'm seeing very very little for it,
(41:01):
and it's like, you know, what do I have left
after that? So, you know, my heart goes out to
women in professional sports who are feeling that same struggle
that many of us do in our everyday lives. Yeah,
you know, and she also spoke about coverage and visibility
and how that definitely needs improvement. What did she say?
A four percent for person of media coverage goes to
(41:24):
women's sports, Like, are you kidding me? They're not covering,
they're not giving visibility to women, so they just assume, Okay,
well they don't have this coverage, so they don't deserve
equal pay. And it's just absurd to me. It's completely outrageous,
and I'm so glad that she's out there fighting and
hopefully other people are getting an encourage. Now. You know,
it could be you're in high school or you're in college,
(41:44):
maybe you're not at that pro level. But look at
your organization around you and be just be more aware
what is happening around you. Are you just being complacent
to what it is? Or is there something that I
could do? Could I speak up? Could I team up
with the teammate and use our voice. It's rough, but
I know that this conversation and the ones that we
continue to have and continue to put women on a
(42:05):
platform that can really reach more women and even the
men that are supportive in that way, is definitely going
to be a game changer. So I'm so happy for
that conversation. On the other hand, are you working on
over there? I want to hear about your goals moving
into this week and this portion. Y'all we talk about
our goals and do check ins on where we are
(42:26):
with them, and you know, just try to speak on
how we can continue to support one another. So Meg,
what you got going on? Well, Um, I am on
my last day of recovery today. I've been doing a
lot of stretching, some mobility stuff in the garage. Nothing
where I'm like lifting weight, just because I'm telling you, like,
i could barely walk up my stairs. But now that
(42:48):
I've stretched and I've kind of slowly started getting back
into it. I think tomorrow I'm going to get under
the bar and we're gonna see what happens this week.
I'm excited. I think I'm gonna focus on dead left
and bench press as I get back into things first,
because those are obviously my favorite. I love it. That's
about where I am right now. And um, I've had
some people. Thank you to everyone who has sent me
(43:11):
a d M and been very encouraging since I was
kind of like not online very much. And I did
get some really sweet messages that we're telling me, um
that they just wanted to check in and see how
I was doing, and they were so proud um of me,
you know, and under armour and they just felt so
happy and excited for the representation, and so that kind
of got me pumped up. That's kind of where I
(43:32):
am now. And yeah, yeah, I mean I was talking
to my coach about you today. It was my first
session back in the gym since our shoot, and I
was like, Meg was in here throwing that weight around
like it was pillows and I still amped up from it.
So good job to you, Meg, Because recovery is just
(43:54):
as important, just like Kelly was saying, it's freaking amazing.
I've just gotten through. I can't believe I'm saying this.
I just got through the best and most manageable period
I've ever had in my life. And I understand that
it's been a over a year of working on you know,
sinking my cycle and doing the hard work of trying
to sit down when I need to doing more recovery
(44:16):
than work, doing the right kind of work for the
right phase. And it feels so good to be there,
and now I just want to get back into this
phase of putting in the right kind of work. I
am a month out from my fight, and this month
I want to pick up the skill and the tenacity
(44:36):
and the heart that it takes. And that doesn't require
for me to necessarily do more. It requires for me to,
you know, in the moment, be more and stay focused.
So thank you to everyone who is also Yeah. I mean,
it's that grows more and more meaningful to me as
I get older, is you know, being more in the
moment and creating and engaging in quality moments, quality sessions,
(45:00):
quality sets over feeling like I need to do all
of the sets just for the sake of doing it,
because it's expected. So thank you, so you, Meg, and
to everybody else who has been out here cheer me on.
Those of you, you know, really supporting me and my
hopes to get closer with those who have been affected
by cancer and you know, really trying to bring my
(45:22):
best fight forward. It's it's meant the world to me,
Um and shout out to the sweat the details, behind
the scenes production staff team. You a y'all have given
us life the last week. Cannot say it enough. Being
a part of this team is absolutely a blessing. It's
been so incredible. So y'all keep up with us, keep
(45:44):
up with all of us, because we are living our
best life together and we want you on this vibe absolutely. Well,
that's it for this week's episode, but don't forget to
join us next week when we talk about goals and
benchmarks and how we can set ourselves up for success
with creating real listic objectives for our training. All of that,
thank you for joining us Fit fam. If you liked
(46:05):
what you heard on the show, subscribe for free or
follow the show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple podcast,
or wherever you listen, and don't forget to leave that
five star rating and review. Please do five star, five star,
five star. You guys. Until next time, Stay inspired, stay motivated,
and remember to always sweat the Details. Bye bye. If
(46:37):
you liked what you heard on the show, subscribe for
free or follow the show on the I Heart Radio app,
Apple podcast or wherever you listen, and don't forget to
leave a five star rating and review. Sweat the Details
is a collaboration with under Armour and I Heart Radio.
Our show is hosted by me Monica Jones and me
Meg Box. Our executive producers are just strip Stein, Just Sell,
(46:57):
Louis Archfald, Molly Sosha and Maya. Our producers are Kelly
and Tole, Layla Cadrian, Emma Osborne and Alejandra Arrivalo. And
our sound editor and engineer is Sarah gibel Leska. Keep
up the latest news in women's fitness by following under
Armour at under Armour Women and at under Armour
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