July 27, 2011
My Home, Sweet Home

Wow. Have to take a minute to breathe, as it is one of the hardest blogs I will ever have to write. As you might know my lovely home - Oslo, Norway - has been terrorized. I cannot begin to tell you how devastating this all has been for us. As footballers, we like to say that football is more than life and death, but after this I cannot agree. The life of 68 innocent politically active children, and eight innocent people working for the government was taken away in a gruesome way. Football suddenly means so little now. I have spent this weekend in disbelief trying to read every article on the subject, without even beginning to understand how this could happen to our little, seemingly safe country. I have read the terrorist’s version of it all, but to be honest, I am not going to give him the time of day to even cite a single word. He does not have a face, he does not have a name, and he does not have a voice for the future of our country. He is simply a madman who is behind such a tragedy and deserves to be forgotten.

The focus remains on our loss. The loss of these innocent lives will not be in vain, and we will rise again. This is to honor those who have lost their lives, as they would have wanted that of us. I am so proud of the way we have stood together in all of this. I am so proud of our leaders and everyone involved in managing a country in grief. They have taken a stand to withdraw from hate, and to build on love.

“The answer to violence is more democracy, more openness, but never naivety!”
 -Jens Stoltenberg, Norwegian prime minister, after the terrorism

I have read and heard the stories of the survivors, and it is painful to hear what they had to go through. I cannot tell you how proud we are of those young men and women. After such a horrible experience, you are only supposed to see in a bad horror film, they condemn hate and encourage us to stay together and fight for the greater good of the nation. Not once have I heard talk about revenge, even in times where this easily could have been forgiven. In their situation I do not know if I had been strong enough.

I also want to thank the support we have gotten from around the world. It warms my heart to see that so many care. It doesn’t matter what nationality we are, what faith we carry, what color we have. We are all together in fighting evil.

I don’t know if I can write any more about this. It has just been so devastating to us all. I am an emotional soul, so forgive me if this blog has not made much sense.

Together we stand strong, now more than ever.

Woods

July 25, 2011
The End of WWC 2011

After talking about this WWC2011 for about a year now, it is about time to wrap it up. I have actually been feeling a little void after the WWC ended, and I believe that to be a good sign of some good quality soccer. And that brings me to what this blog is all about. Read More

I am not going to say anything else about Norway. We got knocked down, but we will rise again. I would much rather take this opportunity to give a massive shout out to all of our competitors out there. And a special thanks to Japan and team USA for finishing up the WWC in such a great way. Both teams played great soccer and the entertainment level was amazing. I was on the edge of my seat watching it.

This WWC has made me even prouder to be a female soccer player and the final game gave me so much motivation and inspiration. I know there are a lot of other players feeling the same way out there, so thanks for giving us that feeling. This Cup has truly been a victory for soccer around the world, and the way you have gained support in many ways around the globe has moved me. There is no critic that now can tell us that women’s soccer is dull. I will simply refer to the WWC and tell them to get a life. OK, maybe I will leave the last part out, but the odds are I will be thinking it. There are not many times in your life you get to be proud of competitors, or at least not many times you want to admit to it. You are too into winning and too proud to admit to that usually. But this is an exception. I truly am proud of all the teams that did a great job showing the world how to play soccer, and a special congratulation to Japan for taking home the gold for the very first time.

Thank you to Germany for hosting in such a professional and amazing way. Only four years until next time, can we raise the bar even higher? Until then enjoy your medals Japan, USA and Sweden. Well-deserved. It has been a pleasure following you on this journey. From one player to another.

Woods

July 18, 2011

What Happened?


“What Happened?” I think that is one of the most frequently asked questions I have gotten lately. With “how is your injury” being a close second. First things first: I have said that I have respected the medical opinion of me being injured, and I do, but truly I am fine. My opinion is still that I have not been injured and that the tests I have taken lately has proven that. Thanks for caring though. 

It is not as easy answering questions about what the heck happened to the Norwegian team during the World Cup. There is no hiding the disappointments with not even making it out of the group; one of the worst World Cups ever it has been said. Yes, it is true that we failed in every aspect of the game compared to the other nations. The results prove that! BUT, if you think this is a blog to kick the people who are already down, you are WRONG. Because I know what lives in these players and in this team.

I am reading the news now where one header after the other is saying that we are no longer amongst the best in the world. Based on what we saw in the World Cup, they are not far from the truth. The World Cup might have been a disappointment, but the players aren’t. I have the pleasure of playing with and against these players, and let me tell you, they are just as skillful as any American, French, or Swedish player. Their potential is good and so much better than they put out on display in the World Cup. Do not fear for us as a football nation just yet. We have it in us, but now are times to think about how to get that potential out. 

I am pretty sure that all of us who analyze the game are sitting with what we believe needs to change, and I am one of them. Of course, if I didn’t, I would not be caring as much as I should. Problem solving is a big part of the game, during a game, and after a game. Out of respect for the players and coaching staff, I will not be sitting here and criticizing their performance and abilities. There is no need for that, as I truly believe they are great players, but that their potential just wasn’t reached. It seems almost unfair to sit here and criticize when you know it is all so easy sitting on the outside looking in, but could I do the same if I was actually in the situation? I never got to answer that question, so to keep everything on the fair side, I choose to support the players by saying what is true about them - they are great players, and we will find the solution so we can show that to the world.  

So I am not saying I don’t know what happened, nor am I saying I know exactly what went wrong. I am saying I kind of know what happened; trust that we will be alright. 

Woods

July 16, 2011

WWC Final

I wanted to give a little shout out in this blog. When I saw that Japan made it through to the Final, I could not be happier about it. Not that it was thrilling to see our neighbors in the east lose out on that experience, but because one of my favorite players play for Japan.

I had the pleasure of playing with and being roomies with Japan's number 6 “Mizu,” and let me tell you that this girl is quality in every way. She is such a great person as well as player. She has amazing technical skills with the ball and reads the game at a high phase. It was so much fun playing by her side for FC Indiana (2009 season). Unfortunately, halfway through the season, she suffered a knee injury and had to operate. This kept her out of the game for quite some time, and let me tell you, if there is one person that did not deserve it, it was her. She was such a hard worker always with a smile and the right attitude towards things. So with her being in the World Cup now just makes me so happy for her. I know that all of us former FCI girls are cheering for her, maybe even the Americans on the team.

As for the game itself and the result, I do not really know who I am hoping to win. I am hoping that it will be a good game to watch and a good game to promote women’s football/soccer like so many games have been so far.

With that said, I have followed the growing love for the American team and women’s soccer in the USA during this World Cup. This kind of attitude should make an American proud to be an American. The players should be proud of their supporters and the supporters should be proud of their team. It even warms a Norwegian heart to all of the good reactions to the game. I think there are more nations with the same growing appreciation of the game, and besides Germany, who have done an amazing job hosting this WWC, we can also mention Australia. Seen a lot of good reactions to the game coming from there as well. These small (HUGE) things make me happy.

Good luck to everyone playing (and cheering) in the final. Hope for a great game.

A special good luck to Mizu

Woods

July 6, 2011

Thank You

This blog is really just a thank you to all of you who have supported me in these times. I am not hiding the fact that I was totally gutted when I got the news that I was not going to the WWC only days before departure for Germany. These are hard times, and I still feel I am frustrated at times even tough I have refocused and “moved on.” I am overwhelmed with the support I have gotten in these times, and I cannot express how much that has meant to me. What seemed so dark at the time is suddenly not so dark after all.

I have gotten support from people close, from people I didn’t know, and even people I didn’t think knew me. I take with me all the good words as I keep working to
bounce back. As athletes, we like to say that we thrive on upsets in life and that proving people wrong is what makes us better. This so we never admit to defeat. That is often the truth with me, but this time I have felt it as such a relief that I don’t have to take this on alone.

I have gotten a lot of remarks that the team is missing me out there, and it is personally good to hear. On one hand, it is so good to hear that people believe I can make a difference, but on the other hand, I would wish the team did so well that nobody notices that I am gone.

One thing I can tell you…it is a lot worse sitting watching a game than it is playing in the game. Nervewrecking.

Thanks again everyone. Your support is much appreciated.

Woods

July 5, 2011

Soccer players as role models

There is no hiding that I find ESPN’s coverage on the WWC impressive. I am on their website daily to catch up on their news and other fun stuff. First of all, I want to advise everyone to see their “HERoics” miniseries, where there are a lot of good stories. The one about Kelly Smith can in many ways be inspiring for a lot of people, and I have a lot of respect for her and the people helping her out. The inspiration for this blog, however, is the “Player Profile” section. I have seen everyone of them and one stood out a little more than the others. I saw the one with Hope Solo where she was talking about soccer players as role models. She was asking if a role model is someone who walks the line everyone wants them to walk or if it is someone who is strong in their beliefs and dare to be different.

More often than not, people who voice their opinion when it is not a popular one are regarded as a “trouble maker.” Their statements might be the most fair and honest, but if it is criticizing a popular belief, or even just a belief of a person of power, there is very little support to get.

There was not many days ago I told my friend that the belief I was grown up with, that honesty gets you the furthest in life, is not right. I personally feel you can tell me anything as long as it is the truth. I can handle and respect the truth. However, that is not what I find in all people.
I feel that in many situations, people cannot handle the truth. There is often a pride to be met in people that prevent them from understanding opinions and respect them as they are called. If you do not agree with things, you are expected not to express your opinion about it. If you show emotion that is negative, when your situation is negative, it is considered a controversy. Someone made a line and only the people who fit the description of the “line people” are role models. Or is it so?

Who is the role model? The one who only speaks out when everything is OK and never to step on anybody’s toes? Or the ones who dare to be themselves, good and bad, and who dare challenge the system when it is clear that the system is wrong?

Personally, I have the utmost respect for people who dare to be themselves and to express their opinion even when they know it is not a popular one. The people who have done that before me have been my role models, and I hope to be like them. I hope I am the one who speaks up if it is right, even though I get the world against me. The line can be a fine place to be, but it just isn’t the place for some of us. There are enough people following the flow. Isn’t it good that some people dare to be different?

Saying this, I do not feel that criticism ever should be voiced as trashing people. It should always be said with respect, but respect that it sometimes is said with effect. Live, breathe, and love the games, the ups, the downs, and the truth!

Woods

June 27, 2011

"Gutted"

So this is how it would end. With an injury? Well, it is not as easy as that. As the medical staff stands by their choice of not letting me go to the Women’s World Cup, I have been very open about my opinion that their choice was a wrong one. I am not crossing anyone by writing what I am as I have cleared my opinions with the people in question before going public with it. We agreed that they felt they had followed the right procedures, whereas I do not see the same thing. I will not go in detail about what has been said and done, as that has not been cleared with anyone. I will however say what has been clear from both sides. The injury they left me out with is in my left hip.

I got a hit in my knee the day before the U.S. friendly game that also affected my gluteus maximus. The medical staff was afraid that this hit had connection with my left hip complications and felt that the WWC came too soon and that my hip could not endure playing. I myself did not see or feel the connection between the injury to the gluteus maximus and my hip. Seeing how the knee and the gluteus maximus were fine only two days after impact, I felt like I should have gotten cleared.

I have to respect the decision and hope that they had the best intentions in deciding what they did. I have no reason to believe otherwise, but it is always hard to swallow news that you cannot play because of an injury you cannot feel yourself. I think this is the hardest part of it all. Of course it is sad to miss the World Cup, no doubt. This can be the best World Cup yet, and I don’t get to experience that. However, I love this game for the game itself. I can have just as much fun playing 5-a-side with friends as I would playing for 40,000 people. All the surroundings tend to “disappear” as I play anyways. If it doesn’t, then the game is not up to the standard I want it to, and things are not flowing. So, had I felt the injury, I could have understood it more. Since I don’t, it is harder to understand.

Once again I emphasize that I do respect the decision, but I don’t agree. There is no drama in this other than me being absolutely gutted about this. I felt knocked down to the point where I did not want to get up. But only after a few hours with my family, I realized I couldn’t let them keep me down. Not that they wanted to do that, but in my position it would be easy just to lay there. I know they want the best for me, and I know they want me back. So I can only look forward and train hard.

I wish all my teammates the very best. I will be cheering like anything for them. I am their biggest fan right now and have faith in that team! Go Norway

Woods

p.s. I am not trying to criticize anyone with this. They made their professional evaluation. I just don’t agree, even though I respect it.

June 25, 2011

Let Me Explain

Some of you might have noticed that my last blog was taken down. I was asked to do this by someone who had misread my views and my intentions within the contents of the blog. I took it down out of respect for those who felt that the contents were critical, but this was not the intention at all. So I have to respect myself by reposting them, as I would rather emphasize the true meaning of it, rather than accept that someone would misread it. I understand how people can misread any postings or opinions of individuals, but in this case I am a little disappointed that those who did misread it, did so. First of all you should know that when I write these things I do so with the utmost respect for my teammates and any association I should be representing.

I can truly say that, I, in any circumstances do not wish anyone anything bad. Sometimes you have different opinions and such, but this does not mean that you are trying to disrespect or criticize people.

My last blog was about the mental aspect about the game. I wrote how we as footballers/soccer players have to deal with the mental aspect of the game. I was talking about how to accept how a team is chosen, how the 11 best players do not only compose a team. The coaches have to consider tactics also. What players fit the best together, who are we playing, what formation do we want to play, what are our tactics offensively and defensively. We have different players that can fill different roles, and the tactics of the game will often determine who is playing when. I did not want to discuss politics, as I do not believe or wish to believe that it occurs in the Norwegian team or at Fortuna Hjørring. All players have at one point had to deal with politics, and we recognize that it is there at some point in our careers. However, as for my blog, I discard it a topic. I haven’t seen it, nor do I want to see it where I am at now.

I also talked about the expectations to new players having no experience from championships. By this, I wanted to state that I am (was) personally ready for what I was expecting regardless of the fact that I had never played in a World Cup before. This was a note to myself and anyone who was interested in how I think. I was ready!

Once again, I was sorry to hear that people had read this as criticism as it truly was not meant like that. It was meant to give the reader an insight in how we think regarding the tactics of getting picked vs. not getting picked, etc. There should have been no doubt that it was written about understanding that you sometimes do not get picked, but that you understand it and fight anyways.

I have the utmost respect for my teammates, opponents, and any association I should represent, so please keep this in mind when you read my nlogs.

If you feel anything is unfair or uncalled for, please let me know, so I can revise it. They are purely my opinions, but I would like them to be called as they are meant.

Woods

June 17, 2011

A Different Aspect of the Game (Part 1):

We played Germany last night as the first of our two last friendly games before the WWC. The next game is against the U.S. on Monday. We played a good game, but lost the game after three quick goals from Germany all in the 80 + minutes. We take with us good parts of the game, but also see that to go all the way we need to be fully focused for 90 minutes. I played the first 45 minutes, and I am feeling good before the World Cup. It was arranged before the game that I would play the first 45 minutes while Ingvild Stensland would play the last 45 minutes, and that is the other aspect of the game. Mentality!

This close up to the World Cup you do not necessarily understand or are happy about these 45/45 minute deals. If I am good enough I would like to play for as long as they find me good enough. It is training in playing for 90 minutes whereas playing for only 45 minutes can give you a false sense of your fitness level. I do however understand that these are the final games and preparations for the World Cup and this is their final chance to try out players, formations and systems, so I guess it is a good deal for the whole group that everyone gets to show what they are good for and not. But it is a crack for your self-esteem. And anyone who plays sports knows how vital self-esteem is. Knowing that you are played fairly and given the chances you are deserved. Don’t get me wrong, I am not losing any sleep over the fact that we are still
rotating players. I rather look at the positives. I got to start, and I did my job well. BUT… this is metal training for what is to come in the World Cup. We KNOW that it is not always the best and fittest players that get to play at any given time. It is all subject to tactics and sometimes, even politics. The coach's job is to figure out which 11 play the best as a team at any given time. Which players compliments each other’s in what way, who are we playing against, what is the game tactics, etc. All these factors play a role when they pick a team. It doesn’t help if you have done a perfect job in the past if your style of playing doesn’t fit into their preferred system. That is a fact that can be hard to understand and accept at times for players. You feel you should play when you are playing at a high level, and maybe even higher that most out on the field. That just isn’t the reality of things, and it is vital for a player to accept this, not only for themselves, but also for the team. Always put the team before yourself. It will benefit you in the end.


A  Different Aspect of the Game (Part 2):

It is not always easy as you have 21 competitive players in a team that all wants to play and all in their own way can defend their spot in the first 11. That is why I am already starting to prepare for situations where that can occur with me. I will not let it get me down! Politics on the other side is something I do not wish to talk too much about as those are scenarios you wish not find place. Hopefully they will not occur during the World Cup. By politics I mean that players are chosen for other reasons that what I have mentioned above. F.ex. Previous merit, difficulties for coaches to take out of the team due to external pressure, preferential treatment of players just because they like them more., more “experience.”  Scenarios I am not sure I could handle as well. It has nothing to do with the game. Once the coaches start with politics, the team has lost. So I am crossing fingers that it is not even close to that in our world. Let me elaborate on the “experience” part. I am not experienced you would say, as I have never been in a championship before. Let me tell you about my experience. I have played since I was four years old; I then played every single day of my life for hours at a time. I have played with boys. I have played with men. I have played with girls, and I have played with women. I have played for seven teams from four countries. I have played on youth national teams from I was 16 and played my way up. I have played in all positions on the team. I have played in finals, and I have played with the greatest expectations on me. I am 27 now. There is nothing in this upcoming World  Cup that I haven’t faced before. I am experienced enough to know that all the games live their own lives; all the tournaments are new to all the teams. It doesn’t matter if you can say if you have been in four WWC before if you are not ready to face this one. So don’t come to me and talk about merits giving you more experience. I am pretty confident that I have experienced more than enough to have the potential to do well, as well as any others here. To conclude this blog, there are many aspects to this game. One big aspect is the mentality of what goes on behind closed doors and how you react to it. I am proactive to the situation and declare myself ready for whatever might come. If it is right or not. I will stand by my team and together we will make it happen!

 National Team and the upcoming World Cup

The Norwegian National team started their preparations a long time ago, and soon it will all be put to the test. We haven’t had as many days in camp as many of the other nations have, but we have gotten individual follow-up and gotten to play good games for our clubs. I wrote a blog from the Algarve Cup, saying we have a lot to work on before we consider ourselves ready for the World Cup, and when the team met up earlier this month, it was obvious that many had taken this to heart.

The roster for the May camp consists of 26 names, so we know that some of us will not be joining the final roster as it will only contain 18 names. This allows for healthy competition, and I can assure you that everyone wants to make that roster!

In the media there has been a lot of talk about injured players, so I can imagine a lot of followers are wondering how that is going to affect the team. This is our take on it. The injured players are getting world-class treatment and are already in big progress, so if faith shall allow it they will be ready and fit for fight when the World Cup starts. If they are not ready, we are so lucky to have talented and dedicated players just waiting to get their opportunity to shine. We do however wish to have everyone fit for fight so we get maximal competition and can say that the best was picked fair and square. No excuses!

Our final roster is not going to be ready just yet. We have another camp May 17-19 where we play Finland. The roster for that game is out and can be found at www.fotball.no. You will find 24 names there, so this is yet another chance for us to prove ourselves worthy for the final WC roster. I am so excited about this opportunity and will do my best to make it there, and when I am there, do my best in every game! I do have the Cup Final here in Denmark only a day after the Finland game, but I am so motivated to do well for both the club and national team, so I am confident I will be able to perform in both games. Will be very exciting!

As a little side note … as I spend more time on Twitter, I also get a drift on what’s going on with other teams. I saw that the U.S. roster got announced earlier this week, and I was curious to also find some criticism I don’t fully understand. I understand that some people have doubts about the selection of midfielder Carli Lloyd. Well, I played against her in the Algarve Cup and found her to be a very good player. I think those who doubt are just wrong on this one. I am not going to debate more on this, but a team without her would be something that would raise my eyebrows! I guess you haven’t made it until you get haters.
---------------

In my last blog, I got as far as to tell you abut our good start with beating Finland 2-1 in the Algarve Cup. Well, it would come to show that the rest of the matches did not carry the same good feeling. The second team we played in Portugal was the USA. The USA came out aggressive and so did we. None of the teams could really settle any play in the first 20 minutes, and it went back and forth between the teams. Then after 20 minutes, it was downhill for Norway and a good climb uphill for the US. They took more and more over and won 2-0 in the end. Well deserved if you ask me. The US played up to their potential and came off as a very solid team, while as we have a ways to go before our potential is reached. Hate to loose, but (we) lost against a better team.

After the US game, there were two days until we met the very strong Japan team. We had analyzed Japan’s games against the USA and Finland, and we knew that this was a very strong team. They are all really hard working (players) and carry great possessing skill in their play. Our plan was to go out aggressively and deny them to ping the ball around too much. Again, in the first 20 minutes, we managed to do so and got to quite a few chances, but after 20 minutes, Japan took more and more over. This was by many means a closer game than against the USA, but once again I have to admit that their 1-0 win was deserved.

One win and two losses meant third place in the group, and we were to play Denmark, who made the same position. For me that meant playing most of my teammates. Exciting! Well, I was excited to see them, but the game itself was not very exciting at all. You could tell that players from both teams were tired and there was really no pace in the game. It was 6-6 in goal chances, but the game ended, 0-0, and the game was to be settled on penalties. Luckily, we won that, and I can avoid getting made fun of at training every day. Boring and bad game, but good result. I’ll take all the wins I can get. All in all, that left us with two wins and two losses. We were not pleased with that at all. Right now we are not performing well enough and not even close to our potential. Many of the players, me included, have been training hard lately, and you could tell that we are tired and not in top form. Luckily, that means that we have been training well and hopefully that will pay off when we are getting closer to the World Cup. After all, that is when we need to be in top form. We should not be too worried at this moment. We will come back stronger!!

Woods
---------------------