Kelley O'Hara is featured in a two-part article on NBC Sports Pro Soccer Talk blog. O'Hara talked about the upcoming Olympics and her change of position from forward to left back. She provided insight into the teams mentality and also into her personality, which has caused her to become a favorite among fans.
Comments about the Olympics:
"Now that the Olympic team has been named, it’s kind of been a weight off of everyone’s shoulders. We can now move forward with those 18 players and four alternates and really build and work on exactly what we need to before London."
"Last year I would have been more shocked if I had made it and it was not fun getting cut [she later made the World Cup squad after replacing the injured Lindsay Tarpley], but this year I felt more confident. I felt I had gotten more playing time as opposed to last year. I just felt a lot better going into it this year than last year."
It seems that the team is in a great place right now after the announcement of the Olympic roster. Everyone can focus on what needs to be done to prepare for the Olympics, rather than worry about making the squad. It was refreshing to hear O'Hara be frank about her spot on the roster. She has been seeing a lot of playing time since the qualifying tournament and has been consistently in the starting line-up. She should be confident and not play that down in an interview.
Comments about the change in position:
"It’s been very interesting. I’ve never, ever played outside back before so it was definitely a shock and a big transition. But at the end of the day, it’s all soccer and I’m having a blast adapting to it. It’s a challenge and I love a challenge. It’s kept me intrigued and interested because every day at practice I say, ‘Okay, today I have this, this, and this to work on and I know I need to get better in these areas.’ It’s just kept me a student of the game. I can see progress and that’s exciting."
This is exactly the attitude you want a player to have when they are faced with a difficult situation and I would guess her attitude gave the coaches confidence that she can make the change successfully. It has not been a seamless transition, but O'Hara has done a good job in the back. Her speed, tenacity, and keeping that attacking mentality has all served her well. O'Hara is able to chase down defenders and her tackles have been spot on. O'Hara admits that their are times when she needs to be more careful about completing her passes in the back, but their has definitely been improvement since that big mistake in the friendly against New Zealand. O'Hara will be an important factor in the USWNT's chances of winning gold this summer and it sounds like she is up for the task
Photo Credit: ussoccer.com
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