Brandi Chastain Quotes (35 Quotes)


    To be honest with you, I never looked at soccer as a sacrifice.

    So along with that is spending a lot of time with the ball. For me it was, I loved to juggle the ball in my front yard, and I always challenged myself - how many juggles can I get today? I think for players to get better, it's just about spending the time.

    Julie, Mia and I just met for a couple days, doing some work but really under the guise of having fun. We do events like the Women's Sports Foundation Dinner, where we get to not only do a good thing for the community but we get to hang out with one another again.

    After the '96 Olympics, we all started believing that this is bigger than we thought, and we were willing to do the work. We knew that it was up to us, the players, to make soccer successful.

    The thing I can say about Japan is they were progressive for a country that is very male dominant.


    Well there are two things: Number one is, make sure you always enjoy yourself, because when you enjoy yourself, you'll learn, you'll want more information, you'll push yourself.

    You have to be willing to accept the information, you have to be willing to work hard. You have to be motivated to go to practice with an open mind. You have to be willing to be criticized. Only you can do those things.

    Number one, it was a chance to thank my parents, because they passed away a couple of years ago. They gave me so much by giving me the opportunity to play soccer, and I wanted to share the story we had together.

    Ranting about politics is her hobby. It's what gets her going in the morning. It's like coffee to Julie. We let her go -- it's actually good comedy in the morning.

    Balancing on an unstable surface, I'm forced to use every muscle in my leg and all the muscles in my foot. It also strengthens my ankles, which is important considering the number of ankle sprains in soccer. You don't need to add the kick. At home I'll just balance on the disk for a minute. If my husband or son Cameron, 16 is around, sometimes they'll toss the ball, and I'll catch it instead of kick it.

    I think I'd like to be able to heal people's pain, whether it is hunger, loneliness or whatever.

    You'll be dedicated and that's what you should want to be in anything in life - whether it's sports or academics or your relationship. It all stems from finding that fun, that thrill, that excitement.

    Like anything else, you have to pay your dues and create a positive environment for people to want to come out and be a part of it.

    We are shaping young kids to be leaders in their communities and also to be healthier.

    I went to professional men's soccer games, the old North American soccer league at that time, and I used to be a ticket holder with my family and family friends. We would go every weekend and I thought it was great, but I just thought of it as recreation, as family fun.

    I create tension on the elastic band by moving away from the person who's holding it, and I maintain that tension while jumping up to head the ball. It works my legs and core while also working on balance. You feel it helping on the field when you're going up for a header or when an opponent is pulling or pushing to gain position.

    I was a part of Backyard Soccer, and I hear that I score a lot of goals in it.

    And then ultimately what I tell the kids is: coaches can give you information, they can give you guidelines, and they can put you in a position. But the only person who can truly make you better is you.

    Nobody ever told me that I'm in charge of what kind of player I can become, but there's no limit to what I can do if I really choose to push myself.

    When I got injured, I was out and it was a big deal. I missed two and a half years of college soccer, which I thought was the end of the world.

    When I was younger it was twice a day with a game on the weekend. Then when I got older, three times a day everyday in college and on the national team.


    I think soccer is more respected now than it ever has been. You can see that in the numbers of young kids who are playing and the numbers of people who are coming to watch.

    She's a people person. She's welcoming whether you just met her 30 seconds ago or you've known her 30 years. She makes you feel part of the group. She lets people kind of be who they are. Even though her political side tries to change people, every other aspect of her is free spirit and allows other people to be free-spirited.

    I was the kid who always liked to take the ball down to the school even in my free time, kick it against the wall, juggle it in the front yard and so it was kind of a perpetual state of playing soccer for me.

    By taking my hand from a stable surface and placing it on an unstable one the soccer ball, I'm working different muscles in my arm than I do with a regular push-up. And it really works my core. You need to keep your abdominals tight to be able to hold this position.

    So I'm still doing my best to stay in shape and hope that opportunity will come back to me.

    My parents and my grandfather on my mom's side would travel the earth. They went to Australia and China, and they went to probably every soccer game I ever played.

    I played mostly games like Asteroids and Pac-Man. Today, when I go into an arcade, the games are much more difficult and complex. I don't think I could even play some of the video games that are out there today.

    I have a 16 year-old son, so I'm now a soccer mom. I stand on the sidelines and I hear the things parents are saying, so I want them to understand what it is their kids are feeling in any sports environment.

    The process for our evaluation has been seven months and 160 training sessions and 20-some-odd games.... Our process sifted out that next level, the Olympic level. The four defenders that we started in the first two games are the most consistent performers we have at the highest level.... You saw the Brazil game where their quickness on the ball was remarkable. Our process tells us that the ones we started are our best defenders first and foremost.... What Brandi contributes is possession out of the back and leadership and a strong air presence.


    Even major league baseball has had times when fans weren't coming out to the games, and the leagues weren't as highly touted as they are today.

    I think there are a lot of things that soccer does in the communities that transcend the soccer field.

    And I remember how proud I was to put on my training jersey and go out on the field. Making it back to that environment was for me my greatest moment, because somebody had told me I couldn't do it and I never gave up on myself, the game and my teammates.


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