When the United States Women’s National Team squares off against The Netherlands in today’s FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, many of America’s eyes will be paying attention.
It will be the same here locally. Columbus Express Soccer Club director of coaching Ty Smith will be hosting a local watch party at 10:30 a.m. today at YES! Cinema for the 11 a.m. showdown for all the CESC kids, past or present, and their families and also any child interested in CESC in the future.
It is no secret that soccer has gained interest in the past two decades, and a big part of the reason has been the success of the USWNT.
“Winning certainly helps. When the teams are successful, more people want to get behind it,” Smith said. “I think now, there is more of a culture of soccer followers and fans. My parents didn’t play soccer and didn’t have the soccer opportunities growing up. There are more generations of families where the parents have played, and now their kids are playing.
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“There is more access to the game now. It’s easier to watch the game. It’s easier to follow the game than I was a kid, where soccer was only on one channel, and that was it. It’s more accessible to our fans and our families to watch the game. People are getting behind it, especially when they are successful.”
At least two of Smith’s players, 10-year-olds Riley Sims and Avery Baker, have followed along with the USWNT in its quest for the cup. They both are fans of Carli Lloyd, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe.
“They’ve been very successful through this tournament.” Sims said. “They have a lot of good players on the team.”
Baker finds that watching the games also can help her become a better individual soccer player.
“I like to watch them because then I’ll know what to do in my next game if I ever get trapped in a corner and can get out of it. I try to use what they’re doing and try to put it into when I play soccer,” Baker said. “They’re playing really well. They pass the ball well and always find the right player to pass it to.”
Sims was quick to point out a stat in the quarterfinal matchup against France that the U.S. had possession of the ball for only 40 percent of the match.
“I like watching them play because they pass the ball very well,” Sims said. “They can win without having much possession. They keep their head up the whole time and know what they’re doing with the ball.”
Smith also saw a piece of the USWNT come to fruition.
While Smith was an assistant coach at Xavier from 2011-14, he watched a lot of club soccer nationally, and there was one girl in Cincinnati that stood out among the rest — Rose Lavelle.
“Rose was at a different level. She had so much confidence with the ball,” Smith said. “It was only a matter of time that the national team took notice for the youth teams because she was that good.”
Lavelle visited Xavier but decided on Wisconsin. She ended up being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the National Women’s Soccer League’s 2017 draft and now is a starting midfielder on the USWNT.
Another soccer star that has ties to Central Indiana is former Ben Davis and UCLA standout Lauren (Cheney) Holiday. She helped the U.S. win the 2015 World Cup, then retired from soccer later that same year.
“I think it has given hope and given a pathway to the youth players today to know that they can represent their country and play at the highest level and have something to inspire to be in terms of a soccer player and being a female athlete,” Smith said. “There are more opportunities now than there were when I was a kid. The female game has grown and expanded where there are so many different platforms for the girls to have an opportunity to play and an opportunity to be successful that it’s one of the key factors that the national team has had to have the success that they had.”
Smith said the accessibly and a chance for young kids to be more up close and personal with the soccer stars is one of the biggest factors.
“The kids can follow them on social media and watch videos of the players and say, ‘That’s who I want to be. That’s who I want to emulate,’” Smith said. “It’s super-important for any young athlete, male or female, to have strong role models to mold themselves like them. For our female players in the club, the national team girls are awesome, and that’s who I want my daughters to be like. They’re fantastic role models to have.”
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Today’s World Cup final coverage will begin with pregame at 9:30 a.m. on FS1 and moving to FOX at 10 a.m. The game will be on FOX beginning at 11 a.m.
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