Subscribe
Community
Believe in the dream
Olympic, World Cup champs visit St. Mary's Youth Soccer
Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN
Abby Wambach, left, and Briana Scurry, gold medalists and current Washington Freedom teammates visit with players from St. Mary's Youth Soccer on Monday.
|
E-Mail This Article
Before women's soccer was an Olympic sport, eventual two-time gold medalist and eventual one-time World Cup champion goalie Briana Scurry created a self-written note that read, "I have a dream, Atlanta '96."
Although many people didn't believe in her dream at such a young age, Scurry did. Her parents and family did and, in 1996, Scurry in fact helped lead the United States of America's women's soccer team to a gold medal.
The aspect of believing in one's self was one of the main messages that Scurry, and current Washington Freedom teammate Abby Wambach, wanted to deliver to hundreds of kids during the last day of the St. Mary's Youth Soccer Street Session on Monday at Chancellors Run Regional Park.
"I am always trying to deliver inspiration," Scurry said while travelling in between various question-and-answer sessions with the kids. "…You never know when someone is going to see you do something special that will touch them for the rest of their lives."
Scurry has done plenty of special things with her long list of accolades, and along with Wambach –– who recently scored her 100th career goal to go along side a 2004 gold medal –– each wanted to perform specially in a different way on Monday.
"You never know what moment will put things in perspective and make you say, ‘You know what? I can do this,'" explained Wambach. "You never know when that moment will happen for another human being. So, you try to put yourself out there every time, so maybe, potentially, you're there. If one person buys into that idea in my entire career, then I am doing something right."
The Street Soccer sessions take place over the three-month course of the summer every Monday free of charge. In only its second year of existence this summer, the street sessions have grown in immense numbers as each and every field, including baseball outfields, are used to support the number of games played each week.
Stephanie Broadhead, the street session's main curator, was excited to have world-renown athletes talking to the young kids of the program.
"I mean, having Briana and Abby here, it is the best day of my life," Broadhead admitted. "It is a thrill. They are pioneers of women's soccer and have done so much to promote women and women in soccer. … I don't know how I will ever be able to top this.
"The kids come out here voluntarily every week because they like it, and they have fun," Broadhead continued. "…And at the end of the year it is awesome to treat them to something like this because it gets them excited about continuing to play the sport."
The session supports players from early grade school up through high school, and two members of the Leonardtown High School girls soccer team, rising senior Kylie Oosterink and rising junior Lauren Donovan, were in attendance for the special event.
"I am not going to lie," Oosterink explained, "I was so nervous when I first met [Scurry and Wambach]. But, they are simply amazing. I remember growing up and watching Abby and Briana play soccer and then looking at my mom saying, ‘I want to be like that.' They are my idols as I grew up."
"I can't believe that they would actually come here," Donovan said. "It is such a small town, but it is really good that they keep in touch with their fans. I think it is cool how they come out to interact with everyone and take questions."
The Raiders are coming off of a Class 4A state championship crown last fall.
As the question-and-answer session ended, and night started to fall over the park, Scurry and Wambach signed autographs and took pictures for the entire crowd that had gathered in front of them, sending kids off with not only pictures and autographs, but smiles and aspirations.
"It is just not going out and playing games," Wambach said of being a professional athlete. "You have to take all that comes with the job, and this is part of the responsibility. … It takes a special person to put all of the pieces together and become a true icon, to become someone that people truly look up to and to become someone that deserves to be looked up to."
