155 appearances, 64 goals, 43 assists, and two World Cups—Christen Press has indeed an unmatched US Women’s National Team legacy. With such feats, the veteran is the true epitome of a successful international career. But while her success reverberates through the halls of fame, you don’t know the struggle behind it.
“In high school and college, most of the top players were in youth,” said Press, “and I wasn’t,” during an exclusive chat with Sam Mewis on The Women’s Game podcast. Surprising as it may sound, Christen didn’t have a regular Joe’s start to her national team career. While her other peers were taking the divine route of getting into the youth national team camps, Press rather encountered frustration. It kept on building up and almost got to a point where she constantly kept herself through the wringer.
The forward kept asking just one question; “What I needed to do,“ facing the inability to understand why she wasn’t getting called up to attend the youth sessions. After all, the Los Angeles, California native knew that when you’re not in, you’re just not in! “Looking back, I don’t think very many people make the full team without going through the pipeline. Because once you’re in the pipeline, that level of development, training, and exposure is such an advantage.”
Scared that her international journey wasn’t kicking off like others, it almost made Christen feel as if she was a stranger trying to make it in a foreign place. And on top of that, when you know you have given your all to make it and still no outcome, boy oh boy what it does to your confidence. “I think for a lot of my adolescence and early adult career, I really felt like an outsider trying to get in.”
The post “Felt Like an Outsider”: Christen Press Makes Honest Confession While Recalling USWNT Call-Up Pressure appeared first on EssentiallySports.
