check back in and let KLSA be part of your summer plans!

Win or go home. It¹s playoff time and it¹s that simple. And don¹t you just love the simple things in life? Leave it all on the field; play like there¹s no tomorrow; it all comes down to this ­ if you play sports you hear these clichés often but when it¹s playoff time you have to take them to heart. If you lose, your season is over and if you¹re like me, you¹ll bury the loss somewhere in the ³Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda² section of your memory bank; however, if you win you¹re one step closer to championship glory and a cherished memory that you¹ll recall over and over again. I¹ve been on both ends of the spectrum and I can attest that the winning end is a lot more fun.

I was fortunate to have played in four Connecticut State Championship games for Wilton High School. And I was unbelievably fortunate to have won three of the four games. Yes, there was onethatgotaway. It was my junior sea- son and I remember sitting on the bench after the game with my head down, feeling awful. I was heckled by opposing fans throughout the game, which didn¹t bother me until the final whistle blew. So there I was on the bench, downright inconsolable, when the hecklers came by and said ³good game.² That made me love playoff competition even more. Onthefield, along the sidelines and in the stands, everyone was invest- ed in the game. And my hecklers turned out to be good sports, which brings me to my next point: Playoff competition reveals character. Good sportsmanship between fans and players is important but when it comes to the action on the field, how players handle pressure often determines their team¹s post- season success.

My coach at the University of North Carolina was great at handling post-season pressure. His mannerisms and tone never changed. If he was nervous I never knew it – he made me and my teammates feel like we just needed to go out there and execute to win the game. Under his composed de- meanor and guidance, my teammates and I won four NCAA Championships.

Therefore, my advice to playoff-bound coaches it to keep composed, stay positive, and make sure your team enjoys the experience. Your players¹ nerves will be in overdrive so the composure of you and your coaching staff will be very important. Let your players know that as long as they give their best they needn¹t worry about the game’s outcome.

My advice to playoff-bound players

­doing my best to avoid the aforementioned clichés ­ is to believe in your preparation, work together and (sorry, it¹s unavoidable), leave it all out on the field. When it¹s all said and done, you¹ll either have the story of a hard fought loss or the glory of a well-earned win. Your best effort may very well turn hecklers into supporters.

Boston, Ma.

I am sad to hear the news about the WPS suspending operations.  I am sad for many reasons.  I am sad for all the players that won’t be able to play, I am sad for all the young players that dream of playing professional soccer, I am sad for all the employees of the teams and league that don’t have jobs, I am sad that our society is lacking once again in seeing the importance of female professional soccer and I am sad that my daughter Sidney and other families and fans won’t have the opportunity to go to Breakers games this summer!

I was part of the WUSA when it folded and that hurt.  I am not playing in the WPS anymore but this still hurts.  Yes I know its business and there are probably somethings that I don’t understand about the business side but it is such a good product, the game itself, so why can’t it sustain?  I wish I had the answers and I wish someone had the answers.  We had a lot of great investors and people in the league trying to make it happen so I thank them.  I thank all the fans that helped support the league and the volunteers that put their time in.  Unfortunately we need more, more from everyone.  More from the fans, more from the investors and more from the players.  Soccer is a great sport I know that and many of you know that but the majority of our country doesn’t see that yet!  It is our jobs as players, fans, coaches, and investors to continue to sell the game somehow.

Anson Dorrance my coach at the University of North Carolina and for the U.S.  Women’s National Team use to always say to us, “sell the game.”  At the time he was saying that to me, I was clueless and like whatever.  Little did I know that every time I stepped out on the field or talked to people about soccer,  I was selling the game.  It didn’t take much to do it, play my best, and tell people about soccer, the sport I love!

So now we are here again, with women’s professional soccer on hold.  What to do now?  Well go back to what Anson once told me, “Sell the game.”  Find a way to educate people about soccer, play it with your heart and reach people and show them why this is such a great sport.  Give more than you have and make a difference bigger than your self.  Keep soccer in peoples minds, make them see what they are missing, make them love what you love.  Sign an autograph for a young girl and make her smile!

This year we are celebrating Title IX, 40 years since the legislation was past.  Title IX states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of , or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.”

Yes we have come along way but we still have to continue to exercise our rights!  I believe there is a place for women’s professional soccer in our society and I think we need more women’s professional leagues out there.  Young girls need to see women doing what they want to do.  If they don’t see it, how can they want to achieve it.  We have to keep moving forward with our fight to have the opportunities.

One thing we can do as fans is support women’s teams wherever you are.  Go out and buy tickets and bring your daughter and your daughters friends with you so they can see women doing things that they love.  This is a set back but we shouldn’t give up.  I love the game of soccer, I will continue to teach and promote the game the best I can.  Please do a small part to continue to promote soccer and other female sports, not for me but for the young girls out there that need to see their dreams in action!

Always Believe,

Kristine Lilly

Hi everybody,

I am part of a new team, Children’s Hospital Boston!  Yes I have turned in my cleats and now I am lacing up the running shoes to run the Boston Marathon!
You have supported me throughout my career playing soccer and now I need your support on a new venture.

Three years ago I went to Children’s Hospital Boston to visit a young girl by the name of Nora!  She continues to live a teenagers life while fighting cancer.  Her strength and smile out shined any pain or procedures that she endured while I visited with her.  I hopefully have put a smile on hers and others kids faces but I always leave the hospital wishing I could do more.  Well now I can and so can YOU!  I am running the marathon with one of my closest friends Jodi Sorrells.  Together we are raising money to help the kids and their families at Children’s Hospital Boston. We can’t do it alone!  I need your help!  Donate today and help make a difference.  My goal is to finish the marathon and raise $13,000!

I have spent my life playing soccer and impacting young people’s lives, now I want to run for Children’s and keep impacting young people’s lives!
Thank you in advance for giving and helping me reach my goal!

Click on link to donate today!  http://howtohelp.childrenshospital.org/bostonmarathon/page/Kristine-Lilly.htm

Always Believe,

Kristine Lilly

Win or go home.  It’s playoff time and it’s that simple.  And don’t you just love the simple things in life?  Leave it all on the field; play like there’s no tomorrow; it all comes down to this – if you play sports you hear these clichés often but when it’s playoff time you have to take them to heart.  If you lose, your season is over and if you’re like me, you’ll bury the loss somewhere in the “Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda” section of your memory bank; however, if you win you’re one step closer to championship glory and a cherished memory that you’ll recall over and over again.  I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum I can attest that the winning end is a lot more fun.

I was fortunate to have played in four Connecticut State Championship games for Wilton High School.   And I was unbelievably fortunate to have won three of the four games.  Yes, there was one that got away.  It was my junior season and I remember sitting on the bench after the game with my head down, feeling awful.  I was heckled by opposing fans throughout the game, which didn’t bother me until the final whistle blew.  So there I was on the bench, downright inconsolable, when the hecklers came by and said “good game.”  That made me love playoff competition even more.   On the field, along the sidelines and in the stands, everyone was invested in the game.  And my hecklers turned out to be good sports, which brings me to my next point:  Playoff competition reveals character.  Good sportsmanship between fans and players is important but when it comes to the action on the field, how players handle pressure often determines their team’s post-season success.

My coach at the University of North Carolina was great at handling post-season pressure.  His mannerisms and tone never changed.  If he was nervous I never knew it – he made me and my teammates feel like we just needed to go out there and execute to win the game.  Under his composed demeanor and guidance, my teammates and I won four NCAA Championships.

Therefore, my advice to playoff-bound coaches is to keep composed, stay positive, and make sure your team enjoys the experience.   Your players’ nerves will be in overdrive so the composure of you and your coaching staff will be very important.  Let your players know that as long as they give their best they needn’t worry about the game’s outcome.

My advice to playoff-bound players – doing my best to avoid the aforementioned clichés – is to believe in your preparation, work together and (sorry, it’s unavoidable), leave it all out on the field.  When it’s all said and done, you’ll either have the story of a hard fought loss or the glory of a well-earned win.  Your best effort may very well turn hecklers into supporters.

Boston, ma

It’s my favorite time of the year! Fall is here and the leaves are changing and the weather is warm with a chill in the air, I Love it!  Yes it has been a month or so since I have last written to you all.  I have had a good excuse, I had a baby!  Yes I had a baby girl in September and she is perfect!   Now I have two precious girls and daddy has a house full of girls, good luck to him!

So I have finally felt like myself again.  I have adjusted to the lack of sleep a newborn brings and my body is feeling better!  This second pregnancy was a bit tougher than the first in every way, but I’m back and I finally went out for a jog the other day!  It felt so good to exercise and sweat a bit.  I took my 3 year old out for the run.  I pushed her in the stroller as I ran.  She talked the entire run and wanted at one point to run with me.  So I let her and she was soon right back in the stroller.   I am looking forward to exercising more and getting it back in my routine.  I went to Catz for the first time the other day too and that was great.  Not only to work out but to see all the people there, Marc, Tracey, Ash, Andrew and the rest of the crew!  Thanks for the first work out back Marc and Ash, it was great and I am a bit sore.

Besides taking care of the baby and my 3 year old, I have been up to a couple things.

1.  I went out to the Cape, Yarmouth to do a clinic for Cooperative Bank of Cape Cod.  It was great, I was out teaching soccer with Leslie Osborne, the Captain of the Boston Breakers and three guys from the Revolution!  It was a nice afternoon and fun to be around soccer and kids.
2. I just got back from a trip to UNC for Mia Hamm’s Golf Tourney.  Lots of fun!  I got to play some golf and see a lot of old friends.  It is so nice down in Chapel Hill and fun to go to some of my favorite places; Peppers Pizza, and 411.  Carla thanks again for putting up the Heavey family, we had a blast!
3. I did a phone interview with Whole Foods for their magazine.  We talked about exercise and eating right and some things I love about Whole Foods, like their pre cooked meals and produce! Yummy!
4. I went Apple picking with my friend Jodi and her family and a short visit to ct. to see my nieces and nephews!
5. Many visits to the Dr’s for Jordan and for mommies checkups and all is good!

So far that has been my fall.  Busy with the kids and getting my feet back on the ground.  I’m looking forward to more workouts, a clinic in ct, a speech at Dartmouth and a clinic hopefully in Boston.  I am also working with Coerver and will have a great video coming out in the future.  Check out www.coerver.com and see all the amazing training they do.  I look forward to the partnership we have started together!

Soon I will share a goal I have for next year!

So check back in!

Always Believe,

Kristine Lilly

Boston ma.

Hi everyone,

The last time I wrote to you all, the U.S. lost in the finals of the World Cup.  I am sure that those players are still a bit heart-broken about it.  Although they did thrill us and make us proud that loss can last for a while.  I remember losing in 2003 and 2007 in the semi’s and those lingered for sometime.  The only good thing is that they have the Olympics in just under a year so they have something to shoot for and win!

Well since then I have been busy, running individual lessons, gone on a short break to Lake Winnipesaukee  and seen my dr a bunch.  I am 11 days out from having my second child and I am losing patience.    This last month is tough because you really can’t do a whole lot and you just get anxious to meet the little one.  So I have been trying to stay busy by doing individual sessions and I just started helping part-time with the Dana Hall Soccer Team.

The preseason for Dana Hall started today and the girls did a great job for the first day.  It brings me back to all the days of preseason  that I was a part of and how much I loved it!  I am looking forward to being a part of the coaching staff there, even though it will be limited with the arrival of the new baby.  The head coach Steph will do a great job and I am excited to help her out.

I am tweeting and that is something I thought I would never do but now it is a part of my every day routine.  Even if I don’t send any messages I am being updated with news and following people to keep me up to date on everything going on.  It is an amazing tool and if you never did it you aren’t missing anything, but when you are in it, you get a bit consumed sometimes.  So if you are consumed in tweeting or checking tweets, follow me: kristinelilly.

College soccer season has officially started.  My Alma mater UNC won their first game!  My friend Coach Kelly at University of Tennessee is 2-0!  I’m sure those of you following your schools are excited for the fall season and keeping tabs on your team!  I’m looking forward to UNC coming to Boston College in October and seeing my team live in person.  So check out who is playing in your local area and go watch them play.  If you want to continue to grow as a player it is important to train but also important to watch the game at a higher level as well.

Hopefully by the next time I write to you I will be a proud parent of a little boy/girl.

Hope everyone enjoys their last week or so of the summer and getting ready to buy some back to school clothes and supplies, was always fun for me.  Parents I bet your are excited for the kids to go back to school so you have some down time to yourselves.  My daughter will be starting school for the first time this fall, so we are excited for her and she is very excited too!

Take care

and

Always Believe,

Kristine Lilly

click on link below and help raise money for Breast Cancer!!!!!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270782813445&ssPageName=STRK%3AMESELX%3AIT

Boston, Ma.

I bet like all of you, I am sad that the US lost the World Cup final, but what a display they put on for us!  It is tough losing a game like that no matter what, extra time, and pk’s.   I feel for the girls and it will take some time for them to get over the pain of the loss, but the country was so proud!

There are always positives that you can take from a loss and one of them is seeing the reception and support the US got throughout the whole World Cup.  I just saw them on Good Morning America and I know they were in pain still but they came out with big smiles to greet the fans and share with the american people and thank them for their support.  The good thing is that they have an Olympics to prepare for in a year so they do get back out on that field to represent our country again and make us proud.

The final was the most watch soccer game on ESPN!  So I am guessing we have a lot more fans out there for women’s soccer after that game and that is great.  More young girls are probably kicking the soccer ball today then they did a month ago and that is impact.  So when you have the chance to support soccer do it. We continually want to grow as a sport and reach people and show them our beautiful game.  The WPS has started games up again, so if you have a team in your area go out and support them.  I know the Breakers have a home game on Sunday at Harvard Stadium, so come watch some great soccer!

Overall the World Cup was a huge success I think.  ESPN did a great job covering not only the US team but all the World Cup teams.  They had great stories on different players from the different countries that brought us closer to all the teams.  The analysts were great.  Not only did they have the American analysts but brought in other women that had played for the countries in the World Cup to give us a more personal taste from their homeland psyche.  All in all it was so nice to see soccer on for the past month and cheer on our US team.  Now we will focus on the WPS, the MLS and gear up for the fall sports coming our way.

Sports have been a part of my life since I can remember and this is the first time I was a fan watching the World Cup and I enjoyed it.   Yes there may have been a moment or two where I was like, that would be fun to be out there but that soon past.  I couldn’t be happier in retirement and waiting to have my baby in 6 weeks!

So we all will remember the great moments of this World Cup and there were so many and hold on to the fight and determination the US women showed and know that sometimes things just don’t work out the way we want,  but there is always tomorrow.  I know there are a lot of  young girls out there that want to be the next Abby Wambach or Christie Rampone, or play in a World cup final, and that is something the US women did on their quest to be World Champions, now that is something positive!

Always Believe,

Kristine Lilly

Boston ma.

Well I had an amazing trip to Germany to see the US play Colombia.  It was so fun to watch the girls live and see them win!  I was lucky to have gotten an invitation from the White House to join the delegation for that game.  It was great, I went with Nancy-Ann DeParle, who is the assist to the President,  Philip Murphy who is the Ambassador to Germany and a soccer fan, and Ned Alford who it the General Consul to Germany.  I flew in the morning of the game, took a nap and then got ready for the game.  I got to wave to the girls during warm up.  I also got to see my friend Mia Hamm and some other soccer folks who were there.  The stadium was packed and the atmosphere was so great.  Germany is putting on a great World Cup and now I am looking forward to the knock out round.  I flew home the next day after the game.  I think I was in Germay for 23 hours!   Short but sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO USA!!!!!!!!!!!

This weekend I am heading back home to do my camp in Wilton, my hometown. I always love going back home every summer to do this and teach the kids soccer.  It is always lots of fun and nice to be home where I grew up playing the game.  If you are interested in attending there are still spots available, sign up now!

I have also recently gotten into Twitter.  I have been posting comments about the World Cup and what I am up too.  So if you are interested in following me go to twitter: kristinelilly.

I have also been updating my Facebook page as well.  Kristine Lilly Soccer Academy.  so check it out!

I am also doing camps with Mia Hamm, and Tisha Venturini Hoch. our camp is called TeamFirst Soccer Academy.  You can follow us on Facebook: Team First Soccer Academy and Twitter: Teamfirst_Mia9.  We do camps all around the country, maybe we can come to your neck of the woods!!!!!!!!

Big games this weekend.  The Quarterfinals: Saturday: England vs France and Germany vs Japan and Sunday: Sweden vs Australia and USA vs Brazil

Check them out on ESPN OR ESPN2.

Always Believe,

Kristine Lilly