Foudy - Choose to Matter

For my kids,

IZZY AND DECLAN

BECAUSE YOU CAN.

Editorial Director: Wendy Lefkon

Executive Editor: Laura Hopper

Illustrated by DeAnne Williamson

Design by Winnie Ho and Margie Peng

Photographer credits:

: Sideline Sports Photography 2016

: Linda Cuttone

Copyright 2017 Julie Foudy

All rights reserved. Published by espnW, an imprint of Disney Book Group. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

For information address espnW, 1101 Flower Street, Glendale, California 91201.

ISBN 978-1-368-00994-2

I have always thought,

Wouldnt it be fun to write a book?

Not a let-me-tell-you-about-all-the-things-I-have-overcome book (from a middle class white kid in suburban Orange County, Californiahmmm).

Definitely not an Xs and Os sporty book.

And certainly not a look-at-just-how-perfect/cute/adorable-I-am book.

(I JUST BURPED.)

Nope. The book I have always wanted to write is for the teenager starting her journey, or the woman at a critical fork in her journey. It is for every person, wherever you may be on your path, who needs a little nudge. Who needs a little courage. Who needs someone to tell them they can do it. Because you can.

This I know: Life doesnt just happen. You happen to life. You dictate what you want out of life. And good things follow. So many of these life lessons were taught to me by a bunch of amazing, funny, strong women on the U.S. Womens National soccer team. They taught me the value of being courageous, dreaming big, growing daily, and finding joy in all we do. They taught me the value of acting instead of reacting. We all need those types of friends and people in our life. Theyre the people who push us to feel more, and be more. People who encourage us to take off the label of what you think you should be, and instead just be the person you want to be: label-free. And we need those types of examples in our life so we are inspired to push ourselves forward.

In honor of what Ive been preaching to our Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy (JFSLA) girls for years:

I did. To Disney Publishing (gulp).

I said we need a book for teen girls and young women that speaks to them authentically. Not princess-ey, not sparkly, just reala book about finding your voice, thinking differently, and empowering others. A book that chats with incredible, silly, grounded women with diverse backgrounds who share their journey of growth so that other young women can live courageously as well.

And what do you know? Disney Publishing actually said, YES. To which I thought, Oh dear lord. Then I took a deep breath, smiled, and thought, Well we might as well rock the heck out of this first one before they change their minds.

So we summoned a group of amazing women to come chat with mefeet up, shoes off. #SockTalks we call them (thankfully, not a scratch-and-sniff book). I spoke with the following women:

This book is about getting comfortable when youre uncomfortable, choosing to matter, and, equally important, being authentically you. This book is a road map to help you unleash your most courageous self. There is a method to the madnessor at least I like to pretend there is. I, along with the incredible women involved in this book, tell stories, share lessons, and pass on some insight and wisdom. My goal in all of this is to make you laugh, make you think, make you excited to embrace life and make you eat more donuts. But before we jump in, heres a little bit on how the book is structured.

When I stopped playing for the U.S. Womens National Team after the 2004 Summer Olympics, I met with a small group of friends to discuss how we could merge some of our biggest passions in life: sports, silliness, and empowering others through leadership. That group, our Fab Five (me, my husband [Ian Sawyers], Kerri McClellan, Edson McClellan, and Todd Smith), came up with the idea that it would be fun to merge all those things into an awesome residential sports camp that also shows girls and young women that

And that is how the Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy (JFSLA) started in 2006.

For more than ten years, we have watched many young women blossom before our eyes as we mix sports and leadership with healthy craziness. Throughout those years we have also built a curriculum that revolves around these wonderful rings.

This book will also revolve around those rings. But I cannot realistically have a book and call them the JFSLA Leadership Rings. (Yes, that is me snoring.) So after much brainstorming and lots of coffee, I unveil to you our new R IN G S , cue the dramatic music.

Heres how they work.

Each ring will be a different section of this book (use your devices Table of Contents to help you navigate and find what best applies to you in a particular situation). And each section will have corresponding chapters that speak to that sections theme. We start with the core of leadership, your SELF , and then advance outward one ring at a time, with each ring representing a larger circle of an empower RING , until we get to the last ring: LIFE .

At the end of each chapter or sometimes in the middle (just because I can) I often have a short, interactive exercise one can engage in that reinforces the chapters message. We do some writing and reflection in a personal journal at our leadership academies, so I want this book to be yours. To be your thoughts, your guide, your journal to scribble in all you want. For this digital version, feel free to go old school and use your own sheets of paper and start your own journal.

With the crazy pace of life, we seldom take a moment to reflect on who we are and what matters to us. I can prompt you to think about those things, but