Truly at the Top of Her Game

(This is not the blog post intended for today, but when exciting news like this happens, it takes priority and the other post got bumped to tomorrow. Stay 'tooned!)

Anyone follow women's soccer? I sure do; men's, too. In fact, while I write here about football and basketball at times, my real sports love is soccer. And I know this woman very well.

Ella Masar - a friend of Curt's since middle school and they both played on the soccer teams at Urbana High School (Illinois.) He was the boys' captain, and she was the girls' captain their senior year. Curt has always acknowledged her talent and would quip that she could dribble circles around him. 

Ella was just added to the coaching staff of the United States Women's National Team. Yeah, the big one. The one that goes to the World Cup (2027) and the Olympics (2028.) She's one of the team's coaches!

Our whole family is celebrating the news. As Curt said, "Pretty incredible." That, for sure, as well as being very well deserved. She's an excellent player, a great coach, and a really, really good human being.

BreyerFest 2022 featured a Stablemate special run, Torlinie, who was a nod to soccer. I planned get one in honor of my love for soccer, but I never did. It's now at the top of my want list. That year I ended up writing two blog posts prompted by Torlinie but heavily featuring Ella. 

Sharing those now. Enjoy.

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In Which I Let My Inner Soccer Mom Out (February, 2022)

Curt and Cole played soccer all through high school, Craig coached youth soccer, and I follow both the men and women's USA teams. Truth be told, I am a HUGE soccer fan. 

So, when Breyer posted a photo of Torlinie, I popped his name onto the list of horses that I wanted to bring home from BreyerFest.

Torlinie is going to be named after my all time favorite soccer player, Ella Masar. 

Ella and Local Son Curt have been close friends since middle school. In high school they both made the boys and girls soccer teams and then as seniors, were captains of those two teams. They spent a lot of time on and off the pitch together and continue to be good friends to this day.

 

After playing soccer at the University of Illinois, Ella went professional and played for several US teams including the Chicago Red Stars.

Ella scoring on Olympic and World Cup champion Hope Solo during a Red Stars game.

Megan Rapinoe and Ella

During her time with the Red Stars, Ella invited Curt, Craig and me to Chicago to watch her play. She brought us back to the locker rooms where I was in soccer heaven -  Megan Rapinoe! Abby Wambach! It was so exciting to be around some of the top soccer players in the USA.

Brazilian National Team member Christiane was also playing for Chicago. Curt is fluent in Portuguese (he served as a missionary in Brazil), so they conversed a while in Portuguese after the game.

Ella was then called up to the Women's National Team with Rapinoe, Wambach, and Solo, and I was lucky enough to get to watch her play in a game against Germany. (Ella is in navy; I don't recall who #10 is for Germany.)

Ella (second from left) then went on to play on several teams in Europe - Paris Saint-Germain (France), FC Rosengard (Sweden), and VFL Wolfsburg (Germany).

Ella with me and Michael Murphy, another of my kids' friends, at Cole and Emily's wedding reception.

So! Now you have seen a side of me you probably did not realize was there. I don't show that side much, but  it was fun to write about Ella, someone I love, admire, and respect.

It is very fitting that Torlinie's name is going to be Masar. 

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Ella Redux (February, 2022)

Having just written a post about Torlinie and my favorite soccer player, Ella Masar, it was a surprise to receive some big news about Ella last night. She posted it on her social media accounts.

Assistant coach? Where? And then I saw the shield in the background.

She's coming back to the USA! And will be an assistant coach for the Kansas City Current! 

I see that the KC Current are playing her former team, the Chicago Red Stars, in Chicago in March. I may just go up with Curt and go to the game. (Rooting for KC, of course!) 

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Well done, Ella. Who'd have thought that the middle and high schooler that I used to give rides to soccer practice would go this far and become a coach of the United States Women's National Team??

I can't wait to see the next USWNT soccer match. But you know what? I won't be watching the game as much as I will be watching the sidelines for a glimpse of Ella.

Ole! Ole! Ole, Ella!!