“Home”—that’s the word Christen Press used to describe Angel City FC’s new training facility. Spanning nine acres, featuring state-of-the-art amenities and an expansive 50,000-square-foot indoor space—you name it, they have it. No wonder it is also the largest facility in the entire NWSL solely dedicated to a women’s team. While many celebrate the success surrounding this stunning achievement, especially the young players now benefiting from it, there’s a harsh past that often goes untold. Thankfully, Sydney Leroux and Ali Riley were brave enough to bring it to light.
Situated at California Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks, ACFC’s new home might be a rather modest yet “multimillion-dollar custom renovation.” The space was formerly used by the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams before they moved to their upgraded performance center in Woodland Hills. While today’s young generation may term it as the ‘bare minimum’ to the very least, for veterans like Leroux and Riley, it is more than what they were asking for back in the day.
Correction: not asking, but rather fighting—a cause they hoped to see fulfilled one day. And when it finally happened, it filled them with pride to see the younger generation make the most of it. “All these fights that we’ve been fighting are coming to fruition and these players are living these lives that we will never ever [get to enjoy properly]” remarked Riley in the latest episode of the BFFR podcast that she recently launched along with Sydney Leroux.
Joining the chorus was also her fellow co-host and teammate, who underlined how seeing ACFC cut the ribbon to their new facility made them emotional. “I mean look at our facility. We didn’t have that for a very long time… I cried at the little kids’ room that we have because I just remember what it was like in the beginning and the moms before me. It was awful. We didn’t have much at all,” added Leroux.
True story. The Canadian-American international recalled a conversation with one of the players she often discussed the need to improve motherhood standards with. During their chat, Sydney was told that the player and her son were placed with a host family but were kicked out simply because the baby was crying. “He’s a f****** baby,” Leroux exclaimed, reflecting on how tough things were back in the day.
It’s sad how much ordeal players were forced to face back in the day. But as they did, little did their efforts help them secure the future of upcoming generations to the very least. Like USWNT icons Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, who successfully fought tooth and nail for equal pay. You bet it has strongly secured the future of the US Soccer.
Now whether it’s fair for Sydney Leroux or Ali Riley to take credit for the new Angel City facility is unclear. However, if not them, at least a generation before them did so vocally!
USWNT icons take credit for Angel City FC’s performance center
A couple of months ago, Angel City invited the iconic USWNT trio of Joy Fawcett, Shannon MacMillan, and Saskia Webber to tour their newly acquired facility, sparking heartwarming reactions. The players’ recovery room, film room with comfortable cushioned seats and big screens, and modern locker rooms left them in awe. Well, for people who used their car as their locker room or recovered using a bucket of ice after a tough game, this isn’t a surprising reaction.
From the hydration station to the gym and sensory deprivation tank, the trio was blown away by the club’s state-of-the-art features, also wondering how far women’s soccer has come before subtly taking the credit. “It’s all retired players who thought of this probably. What was missing for them and how could they make it better,” said Joy Fawcett, giving credit to all the retired players for such innovations.
Even Shannon MacMillan echoed the sentiment, stating, “It’s beautiful out here. It’s the next level for women’s sports to have facilities like this. You envision this for the women’s game. But you can’t quite picture it because all the little extra touches are just phenomenal. and well thought out.”
Indeed, one must thank the countless contributions of all those unsung heroes of the women’s game, as without their rallying support, we wouldn’t have witnessed the luxuries that these younger generations are now making the most of.
The post “I Cried”: Angel City’s Multi-million Dollar Facility Made NWSL Stars Recall Tough Past That Helped Young Players appeared first on EssentiallySports.
