Soccer Stories: Laura Cole
10/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
MALIBU, Calif. - U2 is playing the Rose Bowl this coming Sunday night and an estimated 96,000 loyal fans will be in attendance screaming with excitement and singing along to their greatest hits.
This upcoming happening of sheer pandemonium has generated tremendous buzz throughout Los Angeles and will be, in a way, reminiscent of another groundbreaking event that shook the Rose Bowl's foundations 10 years ago this past summer - the FIFA Women's World Cup.
On that day - July 10, 1999 - a world's women's sporting record attendance of 90,185 spectators watched with breathless anticipation as the U.S. National Team pulled out a thrilling 5-4 penalty kick victory over China.
Dignitaries such as former president Bill Clinton were in attendance as was a 10-year-old Whittier native and future Pepperdine Wave Laura Cole. And her seats were probably just as good as his.
"We sat near the midfield stripe," Cole said, "and we were down far enough that we could see everything that was going on. The stands were packed and it was exciting to see other people just as excited as I was about this match."
Cole truly was involved in this match. She wanted to be out there and included within this group of heroes that were standing just feet away. This was the match that made her want to become a professional.
Cole closely traced the path of an aspiring professional in the years that followed. She attended the Julie Foudy Soccer Camp, where she interacted with Brandi Chastain, Tisha Venturini and Joy Fawcett. Then, she played four years of winning soccer at La Habra High School while competing for club teams in Fullerton and Laguna Hills (where she practiced against Amy Rodriguez).
Cole also qualified for two state Olympic Developmental Teams and one regional squad prior to hooking up with Pepperdine in 2008.
Cole's scholastic and club teams frequently made deep runs into postseason play, but her most memorable moment was a 2002 trip to Barcelona, Spain, where she was one of just 10 girls chosen to play for the U.S. soccer team at the Fox Kids Cup.
There she was introduced once again to the feverish passion that can only be found within supporters of The World's Game.
"I went to a Spanish national team game and it was insane by how packed the stands were," she said. "It was the biggest stadium I've ever been in and it was completely sold out. The crowds are louder, more pumped up and are really into it - and that's cool. Having all that noise and excitement, that's how it needs to be over here."
There are likely thousands of other U.S. soccer players, males and females, who share Cole's sentiments; however, despite the growing number opportunities there are to play soccer, not everyone's willing to become a paying spectator.
But Cole offered a simple solution to that problem.
"For soccer to be big here as it is in other nations we have to get rid of baseball and football," she said jokingly. "There is so much money poured into those sports and not enough to soccer. Don't get me wrong, I love football, but soccer's a national sport everywhere else but here."
Speaking more seriously, Cole is grateful to see women's soccer expanding in popularity again with the advent of the WPS (Women's Professional Soccer) and hopes that it will encourage young girls and women to continue playing soccer through their teenage years.
Cole especially would like to see those high school kids who possess a desire and talent to play in college be convinced to try competing at the NCAA Division II or III level.
"There are a ton of teams in Southern California and I think it's awesome that more colleges are adding it as a sport," she said. "But there are a lot of high school kids who have their doubts about making it at the Division I level. At least if they went to a Division II or III school they could play while having more fun."
As for herself, Cole hasn't completely given up on becoming a pro soccer player a decade after witnessing the greatest moment is U.S. women's soccer history, but she seems to be more focused on reality rather than her dreams.
A sophomore Liberal Arts major, Cole is anticipating a career outside of soccer for the moment, but she'd be willing to listen to any opportunities if they come around at the right time. She's also planning on having a few kids that she wants to coach when they're little.
"I'm thankful that they'll have the chance to play professionally just like I do," she said, "and I look forward to encouraging them along."
