Achieving Gold: Heather O'Reilly Discusses How It's Part Athleticism, Part Mindset

Heather O’Reilly, 2018 NWSL Champion, 2015 World Cup Champion and three-time Olympic gold medalist, continues to champion female athletes and their quest for equal pay after retirement from the women's national soccer team. Although she wasn’t on the field playing during this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, she was in the studio broadcasting and celebrating her former teammates.

Just four years ago in the last FIFA Women’s World Cup, O’Reilly assisted the national team in winning the first championship since 1999. She can relate to the bitter-sweet moment of winning the championship. On the one hand, the win is an extraordinary feat. On the other hand, the struggle of pay inequality is still as prevalent today as it was over a decade ago. FIFA has stated that there was $30 million in prize money available at this year’s Women’s World Cup. Whereas for the 2018 Men’s World Cup, the prize money was reported at $400 million.

“The U.S. Women’s National Team winning the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup was yet again another huge moment for the team and for women’s sports,” O’Reilly states. “It cemented the team’s legacy in so many ways. The tournament told the story that once again the team is a winner on the field; they are fierce and competitive and lead the sport still as we have for decades. It also told an important story off the field. They are moving the needle. Voices will not be quiet and when things are unfair and unjust, like the governing bodies not doing enough to level the playing field with bonuses and pay. Megan Rapinoe’s performance was iconic and will be viewed in years to come as a moment that another level of female confidence and brashness was unleashed.”

At the age of 17, O’Reilly was recruited to the national team, and at the age of 19, she was named the youngest member of the 2004 Olympic team. Being one of the youngest players to be recruited gave her the longevity she needed for a sustainable athletic career. For almost 15 years, she contributed to the national team. Her stats include 231 times suiting up for a game, 47 goals and 55 assists.

“In my preteen years,” O’Reilly shares, “I recognized that I was different than a lot of my peers. I was really talented from an athletic standpoint. There was a phase where I was really kind of embarrassed by my talent, and I was almost shy to show it off. I tried to downplay it, but I quickly outgrew that and realized that wasn't something to be embarrassed about…I made the youth national teams when I was under fifteen. All of a sudden, I was thrown with these girls from across the country that had the same mentality that I did; this relentless drive to just get better and get fitter. In soccer, obviously, there's quite a bit of running. It was a very concrete way for me to demonstrate my dominance, to win the fitness tests. That always separated me from the pack…Around that age, I realized this was a potential for me.”

Fast forward to the 2004 Olympics. She was sent in as a reserve in overtime during the semi-final game. If the team won, they would advance to the finals. On the world’s stage, all eyes were on O’Reilly when she lobbed the ball towards the goal which hit the post and bounced out of bounds. “I vividly remember being out in the field and feeling very exposed in that moment,” she humbly shares, “and looking around me to my teammates. I was waiting for them to say, ‘good try. Get it next time.’ But nobody was saying anything. I was having this moment of nobody was going to do it for me and that sometimes I wasn't going to have somebody telling me that I was good enough; I had to find it within myself that I was good enough and deserve to be there.” She shook off the missed goal, and a few minutes later Mia Hamm got to the byline and crossed it back to O’Reilly. “I was able to finish and score,” she smiles. “I helped send this team of icons into the Olympic final, which we wound up going on to win.”

In 2016, she retired from international competition, and is playing in her last season with the North Carolina Courage before retiring this October from the sport. She has also begun her broadcasting career. “As an athlete,” she explains, “it's so easy to become attached to your identity, especially in a sport where you've given such a singular focus for so much of your life…The thing that helped me during this time is really digging deep and being able to separate from the identity. Somebody said to me, ‘you're not Heather O’Reilly the soccer player. You're a human that just happens to play soccer.’”

O’Reilly shares three essential steps that have helped her with her transition:

• Learn the world around you. It’s important to know yourself on a deep level and what motivates you.
• Talk to as many people as possible before transitioning. Understand what you really want to work on; don’t blindly go into anything.
• Remember that you are in command of your life. Spend your time and energy wisely.

“I'm certainly one of these people that wears their heart on their sleeve,” O’Reilly concludes. “People certainly know what they're going to get with me. I strive to be a role model of authenticity.”