Hei fra Norge

 

Ping’s Pro Journey to Norway

Spring 2015:  I started the NWSL season in March where I left off last season as an amateur reserve with Ping - Dashthe Houston Dash. This year was a bit different because the World Cup fell right in the middle of the season. Erin McLeod, Dash and Canadian gk starter, would be gone for eight games. Eight games that would need an amateur call up. I came in very confident and had a strong preseason, but ended up with some competition and less call ups than I expected. When the World Cup players returned, I knew that my opportunity to play or be on the bench for the Dash was gone. Training was always a high level and I felt I was still improving, but I really needed to find game experience if I seriously wanted to get my pro career going. I could only promote myself to prospective clubs with my college highlights for so long…

Utilizing Resources: After over a year of working with an agent, investigating options online, a short trial in Sweden with a D2 club, and pressing contacts for opportunities one of my Houston Dash teammates came through with a critical contact.  She connected me with another Canadian goalkeeper, Erin McNulty (who played collegiately at Florida State and Penn State). She played for the Norwegian club, Arna-Bjornar, the previous season. The club was on summer break and needed a goalkeeper for the second half of the season. The club was interested in my abilities they saw in my highlight video, but had some doubts about my height, something I have heard time and time again. I was not willing to let their doubt get in the way or this opportunity slip by. I persisted via email and we agreed on a trial on Monday and I left for Norway two days later with enough clothes to stay until the end of the season in November. I was confident that if I could just get in front of the coaches, it would be worth the risk of packing up and paying for a flight to Norway.

view in Bergen

Picturesque Bergen

Hei fra Norge (Hello from Norway): I arrived Thursday evening in Bergen with just enough time to check into the hotel, grab dinner and head to training. The staff understood that I was jet-lagged and told me to participate in training as much or as little as I felt I could. The session consisted of a quick warm up with the goalkeeper coach and three twenty minute thirds against a local boys youth team. I was too anxious to get going so I jumped in for one of the thirds and it was just enough to shake out the nerves and jet lag. Friday was a full training session with the team and I felt much more like myself after a night of sleep. I felt I showed my abilities well, but still did not think they had the full grasp of what I could do.

Saturday and Sunday we were off from training and all I wanted to do was get back on the field to show what else I could contribute to the team. The girls took me to their team party on Saturday where I immediately felt like this was a team I could easily get along with (Side note: similar to Sweden, everyone speaks English, but I have learned to count to ten in Norwegian!). Sunday was a day of exploring. The town has 7 mountains, just a little bit of a change from Houston.

Mount Floyen 1 Mount Floyen 2

I took the rail to the top of Mount Floyen, wandered around the trails and enjoyed a coffee overlooking the city of Bergen.

 

 

 

 

Monday was back to training for my last two opportunities to impress the coaches. I felt confident that I had done well, but I was cautious to get too excited because of past experiences. After the second training session, I met with the coaches and my gut feeling about my play was confirmed. They offered me a contract to stay until the rest of the season!!! All of the time, training, stress, and sacrifice had finally paid off!

our stadium

My new office!

Reflection: I had been feeling extremely confident about my play before this opportunity, but was getting frustrated by my lack of opportunities for a contract. Coaching and training every day is what I love to do, but I was starting to question how long I could keep pushing mentally before I decided to put playing behind me. The morning I was offered the trial, I was reflecting on my playing career and realized that I would not be able to give it up until I had played in a game and experienced playing in another country. I especially knew that I was playing some of my best soccer and really believed that I could eventually play in the NWSL. All of my frustrations led me to find and write down these two quotes:

“The only way to making your dream your reality is courage. Fearlessness. The spirit to keep wandering through the dark until you see the light.”

“There’s an incredible clarity of mind that comes to you when you leave what is comfortable behind.”

Then, a few hours later, I was offered the trial. This opportunity could not have come at a better time. Picking up and flying to Norway, a long way from my friends, family and comfort zone with the Dash took a lot of courage. I am happy to say it has paid off and I feel like I am playing good soccer surrounded by great people in a beautiful city. More importantly, this experience has already pushed me as a person, so I cannot wait to see my growth outside of soccer over the next 4 months.

1st win

Celebrating with my new team after my 1st win!