U.S. Women's Football Player Sees Sport Growing in United States

By Sara Feuerstein, Washington File

Defender Cat Whitehill shares experiences, advice, predictions about sport

Football fans worldwide enjoyed the unique opportunity to interview one of America's leading ladies in sports, U.S. women's football player Cat Whitehill, in a recent webchat.

In the online question and answer session sponsored by four U.S consulates in Germany, Whitehill discussed topics ranging from her opinion on European and American attitudes toward football to her predictions for the World Cup and advice for aspiring young players.

"I started playing soccer when I was five years old and have been playing soccer ever since!" Whitehall said. Americans long have referred to what the rest of the world calls "football" as "soccer" to distinguish the sport from American football, a very different game.

Whitehill has played in several prestigious international tournaments as a seven-year member of the U.S. Women's National Team, scoring two goals at the 2003 World Cup and earning a gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics.

"Soccer has really grown in the past ten years. Lots of kids are playing the sport and parents are beginning to understand," said Whitehill, regarding the new trend of U.S. football players continuing the sport past childhood.

She theorized that football has been more popular in Europe in the past because Europeans "play it more and understand the game better." But, she added, "It is encouraging to see how more and more people [in the United States] are becoming interested, and I believe that in the next ten years, soccer will become even more popular," she added. (See related article.)

Whitehill identified one area where Americans could learn from their European counterparts: "I wish Americans knew how to cheer! I love going to EPL [English Premier League] games and just watching the fans get into the game and chant."

When asked to predict contenders for the women's 2007 World Cup in China, Whitehill replied, "The great thing about women's soccer today is that there are so many teams that are contenders for the World Cup in 2007. The parity in women's soccer is so much greater than it ever has been because of the time and effort other countries are putting into their women's programs."

In November, the U.S. women's team will play in World Cup qualifying rounds. Whitehill said she looks forward to the training. "We are very excited about coming together as a team and trying to become even better than we have ever been," she said.

She also offered advice to aspiring players. "I would make the same [recommendation] for any young girl who wants to play at any level. Just keep working hard and keep having fun."

Whitehill addressed young European players looking to play for American universities, advising them to try participating in big tournaments hosted in the United States. She added that some American coaches are going overseas to scout international players.

"It is exciting to see some of the international players come over here and help make college soccer more competitive," she said, noting that some talented players from Sweden, Germany and Japan currently are playing for American universities.

Similarly, Whitehill would consider playing abroad if the opportunity arose. "I think it would be really fun to play with other players from different countries so I can learn more about soccer."

The transcript of the webchat with Whitehill and more information about Sports in America are available on the USINFO Web site.

To learn about other upcoming webchats, visit webchat station.

For related information on football in the United States, see "American Support for Football Steadily Growing," "Scoring Young as an Athlete and a Student" and "Americans Face Talented Opponents in World Cup Football Tournament."

Source: U.S. Department of State

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