I'm very blessed, thankful, grateful for the opportunities I've had.
— Christen Press
We want more opportunities for women's players throughout the world.
The hardest thing to do is to fail and keep pushing at the same time.
You can be one inch from the national team and the opportunity to make so much money and a life out of it. That's why people hang on so long.
I think I approach pressure by having discipline and learning to be calm in everyday life. I do this with a daily mindfulness practice and commitment.
No Tinder, no Match, nothing. I don't mind going up to people when I'm out. I have a better chance of getting a read on them that way.
I have crazy, curly, big hair, so,if I have time to try to make myself look presentable, I usually spend it doing my hair.
I'm grateful for all of our fans because at the end of the day, they give us purpose.
As a goal scorer, my focus is always on converting my chances and being clinical in the box. That's my No. 1 priority.
I remember playing games and having tears roll down my face because it felt like it was never going to be good enough.
I've always felt like my job is to protect my sister. Even growing up, on the playground, when my sister was too shy, I would speak for her... I even had dreams where I had to save her, growing up, all the time - like, she was falling, and I had to save her.
My first year with Gothenburg was the most carefree because I was playing on a middle-of-the-table team in Sweden. It was a lot less of the global attention.
I'm the kind of person where I look to myself a lot on how I can get better. What little, nuanced differences can I make?
The European leagues have been there a long time, the coaches have been there, the clubs have been there, there's history to the teams. There's already that football support culture.
The tremendous honor of playing on the world stage is even more rewarding when I am able to use my accomplishments to help others.
When I was able to better live in the moment that I was in, I think that it really freed me.
When I'm home, I like to plan out all of my workout routines and all of my eating for the whole week.
When I left the U.S., I sort of left that frustration and that pressure to make the national team behind me.
It's something special being able to build a program up.
I think sharing your experiences with younger players is something that's hugely valuable for your team, for your program. It kind of gives me a sense of self outside of just connecting your passes, scoring your goals - it's being a part of the larger picture.
I've learned to love my body and myself over time by being a little more accepting and having grace with myself.
I have butt muscles, thigh muscles, and then my upper body is super skinny - except for in my shoulders, which you need for a little bit of strength to hold other players off the ball. So I think I've developed muscles 100 per cent from just shooting the ball and running. Every single thing about my body looks like soccer.
Of course I have other passions and other interests, but soccer's always my priority.
I don't really own a lot of makeup. Usually, though, I don't leave the house without mascara. That is so essential for me. I love playing with lip color, too. I'm just really basic.
I love Chicago. I think it's an amazing city.
I remember, playing in college especially, I cried in almost every game I played. I just felt so much stress and pressure that I was letting everyone down if I didn't score a goal or win the game. I carried that weight with me into every game.
Stanford's an amazing, amazing school. It was an extraordinary soccer program.
In my time abroad, I learned to become a more complete player.
I think my most happy and carefree state was 2012 because I really did say, 'Forget everything. I'm going to play for myself.'
If I simply stay in that moment on the pitch and read the game, I can do so much more.
For a long time growing up, I thought that everything happens for a reason and it's kind of already written. But as I've grown and learned various things, I think that the most important moment is the one that you're in, and that's the only moment that matters, that you can really control. The future is unknown, and the past is history.
The tactics in NWSL are so chaotic. It's so about physicality. It's both teams attacking with nine players, and it's just so open on the transitions, really fast-paced to the point of being out of control. The Damallsvenskan is a little extreme on the other side: it's so under control, there are 20 passes strung before you even go forward.
I was in front of the goal so much at Stanford. I still amassed a lot of goals, but there were so many opportunities that I wasn't scoring.
I always want to keep my skin clean when I get up in the morning, and I use sunscreen before I go out to the field.
In the U.S., my whole life, I felt like I had to be the best and score more goals and run with more fitness so I could be the one in the limelight. I think that when I went to Sweden, I found the joy of being part of a team and contributing to everybody's success.
I didn't have any natural instincts toward heading. It cost me lots of opportunities to score.
I've always preferred a 4-3-3. It's a more fluid and dynamic system, and I think it plays to my strengths better.
It took me a while to learn, but we are allowed to make mistakes and have flaws.
I'm 100 percent a byproduct of my sport. I always tell my teammates that I only have muscles where they get to play.
I've stayed away from the actual L.A. scene for most of my life.
I really feel gratitude every day in my life that I'm able to do what I love, and I think, because I have that passion and spirit, I've had success.
I think the American sports culture has the idea that professional athletes need so much, like flying private planes, which obviously we don't, but that's the American sports culture when they think of the NFL and the NBA.
When I started playing in Sweden, there was nobody watching. No one knew who I was, so I was just playing for the love of the game. And after my first season, my coach came up to me and said, 'Of all the people you're the one who smiles the most on the field,' and that was the biggest compliment I ever received.
I think that during college, I would say I did not enjoy playing soccer.
I'm very organized. I have my day-to-day schedule, every 15 minutes, written out.
If I couldn't get to the national team, I wanted to get as much as I could out of soccer, and I think moving abroad was my opportunity to do that. I think that, in turn, playing with that freedom and that spirit allowed me to play a lot better. I escalated my game quickly just by being happy.
We stress out over things we can't control. So if something is a stressor, you can just simply take the power away from it by focusing on something else.
I encourage all players to work to be their best, which includes looking for opportunities beyond the playing field.
I think, in the U.S., we have such a focus on the physicality, on being the best athlete, that it sort of overshadows the football aspect of it.
I'm a once-a-week grocery shopper; I get everything I need for the week, and then in the morning, I have my breakfast, pack three snacks, my lunch, and drinks to stay hydrated in a little cooler. I always have a snack on hand in case I get hungry throughout the day. I love my little cooler!
