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What Happened When I Tried to Play Men’s Soccer

By Stephanie Labbé, The Players Tribune, 07/12/18, 12:00PM PDT

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Back in January, I emailed and called a bunch of the coaches I knew in men’s soccer to see if one of them would give me a shot. Not only did all of them turn me down, but most of them also told me that there was no way I was ever going to play for a men’s team.

When you’re the only woman playing on a men’s soccer team, and you also happen to be a goalkeeper, here’s how things go down: If you’re really, really lucky, your coach isn’t going to care if you’re from Venus or Mars. He’s not going to worry about things like if you prefer pink, blue or yellow, or whether or not you pee standing up.

But he will expect you to prove you’re just as talented as the male keepers on the team. And for you to finish every single rep —  probably more reps than you’ve ever done in any training session throughout your entire career. Somehow, you gotta keep up.