Cat Whitehill made her first appearance of the year at halftime of yesterday’s match against Italy. She injured her ankle before match play began in the Four Nations Tournament and has been recovering and working on her fitness.
In my article yesterday for ESPNSoccernet, I included a quote from Pia Sundhage about how the coaching staff is working with Cat on her fitness and pushing her to get more out of her game.
Cat graciously talked with me after practice this morning about her recovery and the extra workload. I have to agree with Pia that her attitude is great and she seems ready to do whatever she needs to do to contribute to the team.
You got your first minutes of 2008 yesterday. How did it feel to be back on the field?
To be completely honest, I was nervous at first. I was telling my dad last night that I don’t normally get nervous before games. I think the last game I was truly nervous was before the gold medal game at the Olympics. It was a different feeling. Once I calmed my nerves a little bit after the first 10 minutes, I felt a little bit better and it was fun to be out there.
You injured your ankle in China. Tell me about that.
Unfortunately, it was the practice the day before the first game. I went up for a ball against Tarp and I just landed completely wrong on my ankle. I’ve never actually sprained that ankle before and it took a little bit more than normal to recover.
I talked with Pia yesterday and she indicated that they were working you pretty hard on your fitness to get you back. How’s that going?
It’s tough. I’m doing a little bit more than everyone else. My legs are definitely feeling it, my brain is feeling it, but it’s good for me.
Pia said you had a great attitude about it.
(Laughs.) Well, good. You know, I might as well. I’m getting ready to hopefully play in the Olympics or Olympic qualifying first. Hopefully, I’ll make the Olympic qualifying team and hopefully after that, the Olympic team if we qualify. I want to work as hard as I can so that I can be the best Cat I can be.
What are you doing extra?
Basically, it is everything with a ball, which is really nice. So, they’ll play me a ball thirty yards ahead of me and I have to run catch it, cross it, and then run back to my spot for a minute or two minutes and then based on my heart rate is how long my rest is. I try and get my heart rate down as quickly as possible and then I do it all over again.
How are you legs for practice after doing that?
Well, they don’t feel refreshed. They definitely feel like they’ve been worked and I know that other people are tired and they come to me and are like, “I can’t imagine how you are feeling.” That’s okay. If I’m pushed through this, my body can take more than I expect it to. I’m learning that right now.
Issue 10 of Fair Game is on it’s way to the printer. It is so crammed full of all the best stories, interviews and photos from the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup, that we couldn’t find the space for this quick take with Cat Whitehill from the St. Louis match on what’s she been up to since she got home from China. Enjoy and keep your eyes peeled for Issue 10. It should be in your mailbox soon.
Are you glad to be back from China?
I’m very glad to be back. I’m glad to be back in North Carolina where it feels really like home. I’m back in a home that I bought four months ago that I haven’t actually lived in.
Did your husband Robert have it all decorated and livable for you when you got back from China?
I had it livable before I left, which was good. Robert tried to clean based on his standards so instead of decorating, I’ve been cleaning the whole time I’ve been back.
Did you get out on the pitch at all or did you just relax?
I totally relaxed. I did touch a soccer ball because Robert loves to juggle so we would just juggle in our backyard but besides that, I was taking a break. I needed it. I could feel my legs were tired and it was nice. It was refreshing.
How does this world championship fit in with your other two – bronze in the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup and gold in the 2004 Olympics?
The good thing is they’re really all the same color. (Laughs.) Every experience so far has been different. Even though I won a bronze in the World Cup in 2003 and a bronze in 2007, they were different experiences and we took a different path to get them. In 2003 we were in America and in 2007 we were in China. So right there you have a completely different lifestyle as you’re preparing for the games. I’ve learned a lot. From being the youngest on the team in 2003 to having over 100 caps in this one. I was more of a leader in this one. I’m going to treasure this one, just as much as the other two.
In regards to the Hope situation, are you guys close to getting that resolved?
You know, I think we all want that. I think we all want for everything to be resolved because we’re a team and we want to move forward. That’s our goal now. We want to move forward. We want to celebrate over these next three games and look forward to Olympic qualifying and hopefully for the Olympics and that’s our goal.
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