On the heels of a compelling World Cup and on the eve of the 2012 Olympics, Women’s Professional Soccer announced today that they are suspending the 2012 season – with plans (maybe hopes?) to return to play in 2013.

The news, for those who recall the end of WUSA in 2003 and promises of revival (remember months of static websites?), raises concerning questions about why it’s so tough to launch and sustain a women’s pro league. And whether this move is a stab at regrouping — or a last gasp for a troubled structure.

Why the suspension? The official blame is the “lengthy and expensive legal battle with a former owner” – meaning the ongoing tussle with magicJack owner Dan Borislow, whose league membership was “terminated” in October following rule-breaking and public remarks critical of the league. He, in turn, filed suit. And – yes – both sides are now battling it out in court.

In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, WPS CEO Jennifer O’Sullivan suggested that the problem, however, was bigger than Borislow. The league, she said, “has been faced with a series of challenges and difficulties throughout the past year” adding that “Mr. Borislow has been a lightening rod for those issues.”

O’Sullivan said Borislow had hurt the league’s relations with major sponsors, suggesting he was a factor in Puma’s decision to drop its sponsorship and that his manner had “a negative impact on other national sponsors.”

But one has only to look at WPS history to see a revolving door of teams. Weeks after the Los Angeles Sol played in the league’s first championship in 2009, the franchise folded. The Atlanta Beat and Philadelphia Independence came aboard, but the St. Louis Athletica shut down – as did the FC Gold Pride – right after winning the 2010 WPS Championship. The Chicago Red Stars bowed out of 2011 – and the Western Flash signed on.  No wonder it’s hard to build a following. (Never mind about the “reorganization” six months after the league launch in 2009).

It IS difficult work in a nation dominated by men’s sports that attract huge crowds, coverage, and sponsorship. But women’s soccer is really, really good. And the World Cup (yet again) showed how edge-of-your seat compelling it could be  – if only packaged and marketed right. Right?

Borislow is clearly being painted as the bad guy. But you have to wonder: How could the league get to the point where one recalcitrant owner could sink the whole enterprise? And are we hearing the whole story? Borislow may not be diplomatic, but magicJack player/coach Abby Wambach recently defended him to ESPN’s Julie Foudy.  The issue is clearly deeper than the financial strain caused by lawyers, pricey as that may be.

Cancelling professional soccer at this moment – necessary as it looked to the league’s governing board – is risky. If Borislow puts together compelling “friendlies” with top players (as is rumored) and/or other teams like the Boston Breakers find alternative competition for 2012, will WPS really restart in 2013?

If it does, sponsors, owners, players and fans need serious reassurance that leadership has – finally – found the secret sauce to building women’s pro soccer.

SOMETIMES YOU LOSE – AND IT’S OK. The Women’s World Cup championship game between the U.S. and Japan honored the rise and intensity of women’s soccer. The back story was compelling: The U.S. Team’s dramatic run-up with Abby Wambach’s YouTube-play-it-again (and again) headers versus the determination of a team whose nation hungered for a win in the wake of the tsunami. The game was memorable for being both gritty and elegant. It reflected best things about sport: A game played hard and well – and fairly.

THERE ARE OTHER COLLEGE SPORTS BESIDES FOOTBALL AND MEN’S BASKETBALL: The sex abuse scandal at Penn State is just the latest and most troubling reminder of the power gap between big-time sports programs and other teams on campus. The power dynamic is further skewed by commercial quests of big-time teams that – as in the cast of conference realignments – change which other colleges a team will play. The Big East, for example, beginning this year will stretch from San Diego to Providence – and it’s not just football and basketball players getting on planes and missing classes. It’s field hockey players, cross-country runners facing six-hour flights to away games. Might college sports need a new structure – one that separates big-time sports-entertainment ventures from the extracurricular activities of student-athletes who fully intend to stay all four years and earn a degree?

GIRLS CAN DO WHAT BOYS CAN DO: We saw Justine Siegal become the first female to throw batting practice at MLB spring training. The Olympic Committee (finally) voted to add women’s ski jumping in the next Winter Olympics in 2014. We saw high school girls, including Monique Howard playing football – on the defensive line — and saw girls and boys in Massachusetts competing for swim titles. In New Jersey, a boy wasn’t allowed to play on a high school field hockey team, but a co-ed field hockey team in Princeton is growing and USA Field Hockey now wants boys to join the sport. Rigid gender divisions may still rule in sports, but common sense (and budget pressures) are changing the landscape and revealing that – gasp – males and females can compete with and against one another (or in the same events). We don’t, in other words, need to start with gender as a hard dividing line (most especially in school and recreational sports).

THE WOMEN’S MARATHON RECORD IS STILL 2:15:25. The IAAF’s decision to change the rules by which women runners can compete for world record times in the marathon – and the decision to revoke and then reinstate Paula Radcliffe’s 2003 London Marathon record – reveals challenges ahead. Women being paced by men can run faster. It reflects the maturation of the sport to require particular courses (only loops) and conditions (women’s race separate) for an official world record. It’s a quest for uniformity in a sport that takes place out in the natural world. But what about other factors? Rain? Temperature? Winds? Crowds? Seeking a standard may make sense for record books (though eliminating mixed-sex races narrows the acceptable pool and, in real time, sends a negative social message by exaggerating the gap in male and female performance). We are far from the days when running the distance was the simple point. But the pacing issue still lacks resolution. Men may still have rabbits, and it’s helped spur records. Women can’t have male rabbits, but they do need female ones.  We now need women who are able and willing.

Nearly two weeks after an intense World Cup tournament and a riveting US-Japan final that captured international attention, Women’s Professional Soccer has settled back into its season.

On Wednesday, the Boston Breakers and the Philadelphia Independence met at Harvard Stadium for a league match in front of over 3,000 fans. Play, in other words, was back to “normal.” But weren’t players physically and emotionally drained from the drama of the tournament? And how do you embrace as teammates players you battled so fiercely in Germany?

Like all WPS teams, the Boston Breakers’ roster boasts international players, including Aya Sameshima from Japan and Rachel Buehler of the US National Team. What did I see on Wednesday night? Buehler and and Sameshima slapped hands and chatted throughout the game. But the experience has clearly left a powerful mark on both.

FairGameNews spoke with Sameshima and Buehler about play and emotions post World Cup 2011.

FGN: How do you transition from the intense rivalry of the World Cup competition to being teammates again?

RB: I really don’t think it’s that much different—we play each other all the time in the league so we are used to it. We really care about each other and I’m always asking them how they’re doing and if they’re feeling okay.

AS: I think it is great playing with these women. Yes, Japan won the World Cup, but I don’t think our team plays at the level of the U.S. yet. I love to come here and learn and play with some of the best and with the Breakers I get to do that.

FGN: What is if like to be back on the field after the World Cup?

RB: Obviously some of us are still incredibly emotional from the rollercoaster of the tournament, but I think this gives us a good opportunity to focus on something else and kind of get over it. This gives us the structure we need so we don’t constantly dwell on the disappointment of the loss.

AS: It’s unreal. I still can’t believe we won and I am so proud. It feels great to be out here playing again with women that I really like.

FGN: Do you think your big win changed the way your country views women’s sports?

AS: I’m not sure the effect it’s had on women’s sports in general yet, but the soccer team is definitely attracting more attention and interest. It was a big deal and I think it will bring big change to women’s soccer in Japan.

Top: Aya Sameshima; bottom: Rachel Buehler

Photo: David Silverman/DSPics.com

In case we thought that dig-deeper, push-harder, find-another-gear quality was American-made, we just discovered a made-in-Japan version every bit as awe-inspiring as the one we’ve seen from Team USA throughout this tournament.

It hurts to lose in PK’s, but give the Japanese team it’s due. I know Abby wanted a World Cup (and played like she did).

But today, those young women on a fourth-ranked team that no one would have imagined in the finals, the team with the pink swatch below their necklines, played as if there was no option but to win. Their nation simply had to have a victory. And they delivered.

It’s a story line we Americans understand.

Victories in our country are like fuel. We crave them. In our noisy culture, they are the ticket to relevance. Without the 1999 World Cup win, women’s soccer in this country would simply not be where it is. The interesting news is that this loss shows us that we’ve matured some. This team earned attention and respect — even though they did not prevail.

This tournament showed us a few things:

1. Women’s World Cup soccer – even hosted by a nation whose team lost early – can command a sell-out crowd and international media attention. (American teams travel well – and not just for men’s sports.)
2. Team USA captured and delighted America. And that’s a) in a country that treats soccer as an afterthought and b) even when the play was not on our turf. We’ve done a lot of growing since 1999.
3. Flopping is still a guy’s distraction. Sure, there was lots of flopping talk earlier in the tournament, but the final was straight-up play. Credit to both sides for making it about soccer, not acting.
4. Women’s soccer around the world is getting better. The number of upsets, close matches, and stress-inducing minutes of soccer reveals a quality of competition that should have every nation putting as much effort into supporting their women’s team as they do their men’s teams. And in some part, the US, with WPS deserves some credit for the excellent play across nations.
5. Women’s soccer is fun to watch. You don’t have to wait until the next World Cup to see it. Buy tickets to WPS and go support your team. (And, yes, you may be cheering for some of those Japanese players. It’s OK)

Yesterday as I was discussing the amazingness that is the US Women’s Soccer team, my male colleague said to me “the team is ok, but it just seems really overhyped.”

Overhyped? Hmmm….

Has the team received obsessive, around the clock media coverage?

Banked million dollar payouts?

Have they inked hundred million dollar endorsements?

And don’t forget the over-the-top celebratory parade if they win.

Really? Female athletes overhyped?

And (in case it hasn’t been announced everywhere) the Women’s World Cup Championship airs Sunday at 2pm on ESPN.

Suddenly, the story lines need tweaking.

Admit it: We had resigned ourselves to remembrances of the 1999 Women’s World Cup. Who didn’t watch grainy video highlights and years-later interviews with players and wonder if the Dawn of US women’s soccer and its Golden Age were one and the same?

There may be hundreds of little girls playing soccer in towns across America. We may have seen a professional women’s league born, die, and resurrected. But just because we could provide a living (sort of) and a showcase for the best women’s soccer in the world, could we – Team USA – contend? Really?

Was all the talk about a US underdog team just – well – to whip up interest? Did anyone believe?

The US-Brazil game offered some lessons, reminders — and raises some questions (is refereeing adequate?)

1.     Women’s USA soccer is as good as it’s ever been, despite the retirement of greats like Michelle Akers, Kristine Lilly, Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Brandi Chastain.

2.     Women’s soccer is riveting entertainment. It offers athleticism, talent, and intensity to rival any sporting event. Anywhere.

3.     Abby Wambach still rules. She’s clutch.

4.     Hope Solo IS the real deal.

5.     Refereeing in soccer is problematic. In such a low-scoring sport (unlike basketball or football), critical judgments can be game deciders. Team USA overcame the red card and the troubling call to redo the PK, but it does make you wonder: Are there enough eyes on the field to make calls accurately enough (remember the men’s World Cup?) Flopping is annoying, but it exists for a reason: Refs often can’t REALLY tell. Is it time for TV review in World Cup soccer?

6.     Stoppage time, it turns out, can be a lot more than a game of a keep-away on the way to the inevitable end.

By Katie Culver

I was so excited about my son’s first soccer season, that I volunteered my husband and I to share responsibilities as the team’s coaches. The complicating matter: I was 40 weeks pregnant.

My third child was born two weeks later, which meant that – along with rainouts – much of the season was a bust for me. Yes, I cheered from the sidelines, but it was frankly tough to watch my husband coach. As a former coach in high school and college, I was dying to get in there!

Being forced to watch from the sideline, however, reminded me what a powerful role coaches play – and made clear that we need more moms stepping up. Sure, I had to sit out the season, but the sidelines provided an alarming view.  It occurred to me that our children’s recreational sports reinforce gender inequity. Why?

1) The boys (plus sisters and parents watching) missed out on the valuable example of a woman coach—a competent woman at that—demonstrating leadership and skill in an area typically dominated by DADS.

2) I—completely willing and more than able—missed the opportunity to be involved in my son’s sport because I was fulfilling the stereotypical role of care-taker to the children on the sidelines. Now I know this makes sense—I had just given birth and was nursing my very fussy baby most of the time. However, with every single team we played being coached by a Dad (many of whom never played soccer!) it was clear that I had entered territory where women were not welcome. I was determined to change this.

The next spring, I again volunteered my husband and I as “co-head coaches.” I would bring a blanket and snacks for my three-year-old and strap baby TJ onto my chest in a baby carrier (yes, to coach in the sweltering heat!).

As a woman, particularly one wearing a baby and toting a toddler, I was an anomaly on the field. But my presence sent an important message to boys on the team, to my daughter, and to the spectators: Moms belong here!

It may stretch your comfort zone, but consider this a formal Mother’s Day invitation to get involved in sports with your kids — not on the sidelines, but on the field:

·         Don’t just bring snacks, volunteer to coach! NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! Why are Dads more inclined to coach a sport they never played? Does being a sports fan qualify them to be a coach? Well, yes, they believe so. Own that attitude. Plus just consider that coaching a team is pretty basic compared with the juggling and on-the-run problem-solving and strategizing that is part of your life. And coaching is FUN!!

·         Practice with your kids! Take them to a field to play soccer or lacrosse or to just run around. They will learn so much from you and respect you for making the effort to play sports (or just be silly!) with them. Both boys and girls need to see their moms engage in athletics to challenge the norms we associate with sports.

·         Get other moms involved. Take a leadership role in the local recreation league so you can help recruit moms to coach. Whether it’s setting league policy, organizing try-outs for placement, or planning community-building events, local sports boards need more moms to serve as leaders and organizers. How can we encourage older girls to, say, train to become referees if local leagues look like boys-only clubs?

Somehow, when Kristine Lilly announced her retirement from soccer last week, it felt real — and appropriate, both a rarity these days among professional athletes trying to figure out if it’s time to retire (or not).

Why is that?

Perhaps because she didn’t do it impulsively, but took several months after the end of the season to decide. And it was on her terms.

Last season with the Boston Breakers — and this year with the US team — she remained a factor and one of the most skilled players on the field. She had time to burnish her legacy and earn her records. She did it with poise and focus. She was not a showboat.

And unlike some female athletes who retired to start families, Lilly was already a mom. (Her daughter last fall at a practice at the Harvard fields played with trainers — mostly hide and seek, but soccer ball play, too!) The point: Lilly didn’t cut her sports career short because of some myth that motherhood and pro-sports don’t mesh.

Yet, she recognized that she was getting older. She’s 39. In May, she became the oldest player to score for team USA. Last spring she spoke with FairGameNews about starting what would become her final season with the Boston Breakers (Q&A here).

In short, Lilly is doing what most athletes talk about wanting to do — but struggle to carry out: Going out on top, at just the right time.

Last Friday, I spoke with Angela Hucles, a former Lilly teammate on the Boston Breakers, World Cup and Olympic teams. Hucles retired in October 2009 and now works in commercial real estate and is president of Dream Big! a new non profit that provides sports equipment and covers playing fees to poor and homeless girls. (Q&A with Hucles about her retirement here).

Hucles e-mailed over the weekend with her thoughts about Lilly’s retirement news. Here’s what she wrote:

I am very happy and proud of Kristine for making her decision on retiring from her soccer career.  She has given so much to the sport and to the teams she played on, and I feel very honored that I was able to play with her both on the professional club level as well as the US team.

Lil was my first roommate the very first time I was ever in a camp with the full women’s national team, and was also there to be my captain the first time I played professionally for the Boston Breakers.  She has always been there and that’s one of the things that make her and her illustrious career so special.  To be able to sustain excellence for that long…I truly don’t know many people in the world who are in her league.  I know she will be missed by her teammates, coaches and staff as well as the fans who have followed her for years.

Kristine Lilly walking off the field with teammates after practice, Spring 2010

Girls are playing basketball with a level of passion and skill – and in numbers — we couldn’t have imagined a few decades ago (and just think how many more will be inspired to play by UConn’s run on UCLA’s 1970s-era win streak!).

But a troubling fact remains: female athletes have an incidence of noncontact anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) injuries two to eight times higher than their male counterparts, according to American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM).

Girls and women who play in “pivoting” or “cutting” sports like basketball or soccer are particularly at risk. The problem is not just lost playing time, but long-term complications such as osteoarthritis at a younger than average age (think 30-40 with pain, difficulty walking stairs, etc.)

What can girls do?

Before the season starts, have a routine screening by a physical therapist (evaluations are covered by most insurance plans). Because girls are specializing in specific sports at younger ages they may not develop their muscles in a balanced way. A girl can appear athletic and strong but have neuromuscular imbalances. Screenings can pick up problems such as knee valgus (knock knee), core weakness, quadriceps or leg dominance – all of which may increase the risk of an ACL injury.

What can a screening show?

The screening should include the young athlete’s sports participation history, a comprehensive physical assessment of jumping and landing; strength, core/abdominal stability and strength, flexibility, speed, agility and endurance.

I do several general tests that involve jumping and hopping  — and I videotape them so I can break down movements. Jumping and landing tests are a quick, practical way to assess an athlete’s neuromuscular control, strength and alignment. Are they knock-kneed? Do they bend their knees? Are their knees over their toes? Does their trunk sway? Do they lose their balance? Do feet overpronate (roll in)?

In one test, for example, a girl jumps off a box to the ground and then jumps up again. I am looking for a “soft landing” and proper alignment. For a “soft landing,” girls should have a big hip and knee bend to absorb the forces and toe to heel rocking. For proper alignment, girls should be in an “athletic position” with feet under shoulders, and knees over toes, and weight evenly distributed.

This position is important because being in a vulnerable, non-athletic, position during play can cause a non-contact ACL injury. A girl vulnerable to ACL tears will land with the knee pointing inwards and almost straight and the foot pointing outwards with torso leaning forward.

What if there are problem areas?

The good news is that training programs (check out the PEP program) aimed at correcting neuromuscular imbalances can help prevent ACL injuries. Good training also increases body awareness, improves coordination and develops proprioception (that is, a better feel for how our body moves in space). The keys to prevention: focusing on good technique, proper alignment, and pre-positioning to help girls recognize and avoid vulnerable positions (see above).

There are specific exercises to strengthen hamstrings (single leg bridges, Russian hamstring), strengthen the core (planks, abdominal crunches, criss-cross sit-ups), and calf muscles (single leg toe raises). And in general, Pilates is a great rehab tool often used in treating athletes because it is a whole body, balanced, non-impact exercise program.

When should girls start?

It may be surprising, but studies show that starting training programs at an early age (10-11) before the onset of puberty leads to maximal benefit. However, I believe it is never too late to start. Not only can these programs possibly prevent an ACL injury, but they may lead to improved performance!

Wendy Farnen Price PT MS CPI STAR Certified Clinician has been a practicing physical therapist since 1994. Price, who specializes in orthopedics, oncology, women’s health and sports performance, is a training specialist and consultant for Oncology Rehab Partners and also has her own practice/pilates studio, Healthcore, in Woodbridge, CT. Wendy has presented at national conferences and been featured in magazines, newspapers and TV news programs. As a USTA tennis player and co-manager of her daughter’s travel soccer team, Wendy has a personal interest in preventing injuries in female athletes.

Angela Hucles, who retired just over a year ago, was a two-time Olympic gold medalist and Boston Breakers powerhouse who played with the team during both the WUSA and WPS eras. Hucles, a Virginia Beach native, was named the 2009 Humanitarian of the Year by the U.S. Soccer Foundation. I caught up with her recently to discuss her successful soccer career, her new job in commercial real estate as Client Services Associate at CB Richard Ellis in Boston, and her position as President of the Board for the newly-formed non-profit Dream Big! Oh, and, of course, her take on the US National team’s road to qualify for World Cup play.

FGN: You are one of the most successful female soccer players to ever play the game, earning 109 caps for the USA and scoring 14 international goals. What does it feel like to be a world-renowned athlete?

AH: Well, I don’t feel anything close to being world-renowned, even in the soccer circles, but I do feel good about what I was able to accomplish during my time playing soccer.

Angela Hucles scores

FGN: What influenced your decision to retire? How has your life changed since you stepped off the soccer field?

AH: It was definitely a variety of reasons, not just one that [drove] my decision to retire.  Ultimately, it was the feeling that I had telling me it was time.  On the outside, it may appear that my life hasn’t changed drastically, but internally it has been a whirlwind.  I am now working for a new company, living in a new place in Boston, and engaged.

FGN: The US team is having a bit of a challenge making it to the World Cup. Although they recently beat Italy in a critical game, were you surprised to see them fall to Mexico?

AH: Yes, I was a little bit surprised to see Mexico beat the US in the qualifying match. However, the parity in women’s soccer is becoming more and more present on the international level. One of the biggest challenges opponents of the US team face, is the ability of our women’s team to bounce back as well as the belief in the themselves to succeed. That’s a powerful combination when you have talented players taking the field. I have confidence in the US women’s team to get the job done in this last domestic qualification game vs Italy and is why they were able to pull out a win in the last game.

FGN: Your success in college at the University of Virginia, on the National Team and on the Boston Breakers has made you a household name among soccer fans. How do you think about the fact that you are a role model to so many people?

AH: I appreciate that others actually consider looking at my journey and experiences as an opportunity to learn. I enjoy and value learning from other people so if someone can [benefit from my example] I am glad that I can be helpful.  I always want to live my life in a way that I can be proud of.

FGN: Last year, the U.S. Soccer Foundation selected you as the Humanitarian of the Year. What motivates your involvement?

AH: I know that my successes have come, in part, from the help of others.  It is crucial to do your part in helping and giving back no matter what job you have or what you are doing.  It’s such a great part of life that makes the world better and more balanced.

FGN: What skills did you learn from soccer that you have used in your professional career? Has being an athlete given you any advantages in the workplace?

AH: For the most part, sports, and especially team sports, provide the best learning grounds for corporate America.  Learning how to multi-task, work with different personalities, pay attention to detail, and building a work ethic, is all learned through sports and is crucial to your success in the workplace as well.

FGN: How will you continue to support women’s soccer now that you aren’t on the field?

AH: There are numerous ways that anyone can give support to women’s soccer.  I’ve chosen to be a season ticket holder, whether or not I can make all of the games. I go to the ones I can.  I also continue to do public speaking and a little bit of individual soccer training.  I would like to start an annual clinic that also provides young girls and women an educational element as well.  After retirement, I knew I would stay involved in the sport in some capacity, but I am constantly redefining what that means to me.  One of the ways I am choosing to spend my time now is volunteer work in my community.  This is why I decided to team up with Dream Big!

FGN: You’ve just become president of the Dream Big! board. Why did you choose to be involved with this organization?

AH: Dream Big! provides some of the basic needs to be an athlete.  It makes it very hard to be taken seriously and to build up self-esteem when you don’t have the necessary equipment.  I like the philosophy and goals of Dream Big! [The organization helps low-income and homeless girls by providing the basic items necessary to enable them to participate in sports and physical activities]. Combining the philosophy with the enthusiasm of Linda Driscoll, it was a no-brainer for me.  I always have high standards and goals for the activities that I get involved in, so I hope to see this first year of Dream Big! off to a good start with lots of involvement both from the donor side as well as the groups that we will be helping.  It would be incredible to make Dream Big a national or even international organization!

Angela Hucles and Megan Wood