ERFORMANCE P SOCCER CONDITIONING A NEWSLETTER DEDICATED TO IMPROVING SOCCER PLAYERS WWW.PERFORMANCECONDITION.COM/SOCCER Brandi Chastain - The Value of Soccer Conditioning Building on a Foundation for Worry Free Play Brandi Chastain led the Santa Clara University Broncos to two NCAA Division I soccer quarterfinal appearances before becoming one of the brightest stars of the US Women's National Soccer Team. She is probably best known for her game-winning penalty kick against China in the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup final. Brandi is currently the volunteer assistant coach at her alma mater. She is a member of the Capital One Cup Advisory Board. BGN INT PC: Let’s talk about your approach to physical conditioning as you moved up the ADV ladder to World Cup stardom.

BC: Most people know me from my national team days and did not know me as a young player. My approach to physical conditioning was the complete opposite when I was a kid. Soccer came easily for me; I felt comfortable with the ball at my feet and I could run. There was no singular focus on physical conditioning for me and how it would impact my game. When I got to the high school age and went through the physical changes young girls go through, I was about 30 pounds heavier than I am now. I did not know about nutrition and fitness was not a component of playing soccer—it was just a byproduct.

PC: How did the evolution of being well-conditioned for soccer occur? Brandi Chastain

BC: No one really every taught or told me how important physical fitness would be. I played for my dad most of my youth career, but my parents did not know much about fitness. I was always in the elite group for my age because I had an innate talent from all the time I spent with the ball. It was different from today where young soccer athletes train and lift in the gym. When I was 16, I went to my first youth camp and it all started to change for me. I had to put my foot on a line and was timed for the first time. The point was to elevate your heart rate and to train you to be more physically fit. That was a shock to me because I was mentally weak. When those moments happened between my first year and last years in college, I classify myself as a “mental midget” in the physical fitness category. I had two ACL injuries in college that I used as a crutch when the physical fitness started to get hard. I made excuses that my knee could not take it. When I started my collegiate soccer career at the University of California- Berkley, I soon realized it was not the place for me so I came home and transferred to Santa Clara University where physical conditioning was a huge part of the game. I also played with the national team at the same time and had national team experience. Conditioning was a huge part of the national team but it was my weakest part of my game. I quit the team my junior year at Santa Clara. My current husband, who was coach then, would say he kicked me off the team. This is a continued source of controversy; I did not go to practice for two days. I realized during those days that I gave up playing soccer, which had been the most important thing to me. I approached my husband and said I wanted to play and he had me come to practice. He told me years later that practice was supposed to be a 5 v 2 and 5 v 5 “fun” session, but he changed it to one of the most demanding practices and did not play with the ball very much. I never saw the back of anybody’s shirt; I ran out front in that practice. From that day on, I knew that it was all mental. I told myself to do it in order to improve the physical part of my game because fear inhibits the things that your body can do. Physical conditioning became my ally instead of being my opponent. PC: Did all this improve your confidence?

BC: Yes! I was confident before, but it changed because it empowered me to be more. I believe that strength and conditioning will not make better soccer players; they must play soccer to improve. Physical conditioning gives you a foundation where you do not worry about being tired in the 85th minute or having leg cramps in the second half. Being physically fit takes care of that for you. You still must be good at soccer, pass and shoot the ball and have tactical awareness. It is playing the game. It does not matter how many miles you can run, what your oxygen level is after you run a 300 or how much you can bench press. You could be the worst at that and still be a great soccer player! If you press that physical component, you build a foundation that allows you not to worry. That frees you to do the things at which you excel.

PC: What advice would you give younger female players on how to overcome fear?

BC: I do not think it is a gender question or needs to be gender-specific. You are the only person who prevents you from the things you can achieve. I went through a time after two ACL injuries and was out of college soccer for two years before I could appreciate what it meant to be on the field. I recognized that I needed to go out there every day and give my best. You do not float in and out of practice—that is disrespectful to you, your teammates and the game. My approach is to give honest work. Mia Hamm is an ex- ample and said it many times and Anson Dorrance wrote about it. Even if you do not want to, you go out there when nobody looks, when it rains and it is cold and muddy. You will feel that self-satisfaction in the end. It is the confidence nobody can give you. Kids can use that knowledge to empower themselves—they do not need to look at somebody else for that confidence. I spent hours with a soccer ball doing one touch over and over against a wall for hours. Nobody told me that I had to; I just knew that every time I touched the ball, I felt better and I was in charge of that. You can do great things if you take charge of your whole life! Be honest and do not pretend.

Net Links: The Capital One Cup advisory board includes former Division I college athletes and college sports broadcasters, all of whom embody everything the Capital One Cup represents—success, integrity, leadership and a commitment to excellence. The board will advise Capital One with a myriad of items related to the Capital One Cup program throughout the year. O

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