Hi Sabrina. Hi. How are you? I'm good. How are you? Good. Thanks so much for coming on. No problem. Are you in Jersey right now? Yeah, we just got back. We were away for like 10, 11 days with three away games.

So we just got back last last night. You get a couple days to recharge now. Yeah, today and tomorrow are off and then we get going again on Wednesday. Wow. What's it like being on the road for several games in a row? I feel like that's very different than just traveling for one game. Yeah, it was a lot. Like you said, like, if it was like a one, if we were stationed at one area playing multiple games, it would be different, but it just felt like a longer strip ever because we

were, we went one place and had to travel to the next and the next and everything was either like a pregame, postgame or game day. So it was just so crazy. Yeah, it's a pretty like extra those many toothpaste on that trip. You can't cut away with one. I know. Yeah, we I've packed. Luckily they allow us to throw all of our toiletries in like a chess luggage. So that's the game changer. That's my way smart. When you know you made it, when you can bring all the toys

to your toiletries, not just so tough. Yeah. So you were born in New Jersey. How has it been being back like playing for Gotham? Like incredible. I tell everyone and I mean it from the bottom of my heart that when I was a little girl, I always dreamt of playing for my home States pro team. Even though I think at that time there wasn't such a thing, but I always wanted to become a pro and represent like my hometown. So, like when I got home, I was like,

I got out of college and was in the draft. I was hoping that I could get drafted to Sky Blue at that time. And ever since playing here in New Jersey has been like a dream come true. And no matter what, like all the ups and downs, regardless of anything that's happened, it's always been so like humbling to be able to play the sport that I wanted to at the highest level. That's so cool. Yeah, it must be just so rewarding to have a good time.

So, come full circle and be back there and play in front of your family and friends. So, I'm sure a lot of them come to the games and everything. Yeah, it's quite, it's quite incredible because like a lot of my coaches that I once had when I was younger or older players that I looked up to. Now I'm still like in the community with them. They're still coaching and now I'm a pro. And even like kids of players that I aspire to be like are now, like I

like playing soccer. And so everything is just so connected to like my community. And I mean, that's like a huge part of why I play. For me, while like competing on the field is obviously like an incredible part of the journey. I think an even more important part is being able to give back to the game and and use like the power that they gave me in terms of like my journey and

my growth and awareness and all of that to other people. So, that's that's something that like always keeps me going no matter what.

That's so amazing. And it sounds like you're you have such a nice community and you're a big part of it. What do you, is there something specific that you do? Like, do you coach on the side or do you do anything like in the community? Like with kids or anything?

Yeah. So, well, since I was little, like in high school, I started to do personal training and coaching with my twin sister actually. And then when we went to college every summer, we came back, we continued coaching. And then when I officially became a pro and got drafted here, I just continued that. And now I, yeah, I coach almost every day, do private sessions, group sessions. And I love like giving back to the kids.

Um, in that capacity. And then also like community services is like a huge part of my life. And it's like what I really enjoy.

Um, we started a players community outreach committee on Gotham, which is just player lead. And I currently lead that. And we just, we meet on a biweekly basis and come up with things that we can do to connect with the community.

Um, and because I grew up here and I know the ins and outs of every one and everything. And I feel super passionate about the topic. I, like, gladly lead it. And, um, try to get the team involved in community service activities whenever I can.

That's really awesome. I was going to say, like, I feel like it doesn't matter if you had like a good practice that day or a bad practice that day. When you, like, give back like that. It's

gives you a little bit of a different feeling of satisfaction. You know that you can go home without the end of the day and it feels like a good day.

Right. Yeah. I mean, especially I don't know if you guys follow like stats at all or anything. But I am a player in particular that has a necessarily like fulfilled

the greatest stats on the field since becoming a pro like I don't play much. Um, I'm playing time. Um, hasn't been great lately. I, I struggle and I compete.

Every day, even like make rosters. So like you said, like, if a training session doesn't go my way, or even if I'm not on the roster for a game, or not traveling with the team, or whatever, whatever the outside, uncontrollable factors are, I, like, the community aspect and giving back to players through coaching or through community service through the game and through my platform is, like, such a blessing.

You also love that. You find that it grounds you and that it helps, like, your mentality. If in situations where you say you don't travel for a game, or you're not on the roster, does it help you, like, get through those moments that might be tough otherwise.

Yeah. Um, for sure. And I've gone through a lot of ups and downs. Um, recently, like, I've, I've had to think a lot about that. Um, and I really do think that it does ground me. And I, it kind of gives me, like, let's see how I can put it. Like, it doesn't allow, it allows me to focus on my journey.

Through soccer instead of focusing on soccer as my end goal. So, like, if I'm completely focused on, like, the playing time and getting on the field and, uh, getting higher and higher in the soccer level, then all of those tangible, all of those, um, results are, like, external rewards or external factors that I have to reach for and then get disappointed.

Reach for to get disappointed or reach for and succeed. But what I found is if I can continue to focus on, like, the internal gratitude of playing and why I play, which is to give back to the community and do all those controllables and it, it completely grounds me. It's still not easy to not make a roster or not play. Um, but it's definitely much more rewarding to be grounded in those things rather than those external factors.

...