D1 Arkema, Be Better. From, Sam Johnson

I used to get nervous before games. The most important thing was always getting the first touch, the first pass, and the first tackle right. That pretty much set the tone for how the game would go for me.

Now, I never get nervous because I don’t have to worry if my touch is off or worry if my passes aren’t accurate or worry if I mistime a tackle. Now I worry if I’ll get my salary and if I get injured who will cover the cost of my medical needs.

Playing the game, I realize now, is the easy part. 

Prior to my move to ASJ Soyaux, I played for Melbourne City in Australia. Prior to that, I was retired from football – after years spent in the NWSL. I came back to the game for one reason: the next generation. I want to enhance the experience of sports and education for youth, but I needed to network my way up a bit more before accomplishing those goals. A player like me doesn’t get many opportunities to play in the European market, so when a top division overseas showed interest, I knew this was my chance. When Division 1 Féminine in France came knocking, you better be sure to I walked — no ran — through that door. What an amazing opportunity and league to be a part of, or so I thought. But it turns out that the systemic negligence in women’s sports isn’t endemic to just the United States. This is a global malady.

I arrived in France with the highest hopes of playing in a league that is historic. I have learned so much from this game – it has shaped me in many ways and for that I will be eternally grateful.  It has not always been easy; far from it, actually but after training for three weeks with my new team, I demanded to see the doctor to do what is normal prior to play, get an ECG. Of course, this type of thing at the highest level, which we are at in D1 Arkema, is supposed to be done before the player is allowed to train. This was medical neglect strike one. Strike two came shortly after I realized we had no medical staff or person trained in that field present at training sessions. This became crystal clear the day I saw my teammate tear her ACL right in front of me and we had no one to tend to her needs. You’d think at the top level we’d have a trainer or physio, but no we don’t. Medical insurance is kind of important for every employee to have. It is especially important for professional athletes who use their bodies for their work. We did not have medical insurance.

So, when people ask me if I still get nervous before games I say no because football is the easy part. But playing for a club in a league that medically neglects players; that’s not the game I love to play. 

It didn’t end there. After games is a special time for a team. You feel tired, connected in your victory or defeat. It’s the best time to go have dinner and drinks with your teammates and laugh about when you may have done something goofy in the game that nearly cost us a goal. But here’s what doesn’t happen. The President of your club and your coach show up at your house unexpectedly to try to kick you out of what was agreed to be the accommodation for the entire season. Very odd. And this is the highest level of football, so you can imagine what the divisions beneath us experience.  Instead of enjoying our afternoon, my teammates watched me argue with the President of the club about moving out of my house because he 1. Did not want to continue to pay hotel fees during his visits to the club on the weekends, 2. Wanted to be close to his daughter (whom I lived with in the house), 3. Informed me that this was actually “his” house, and I wasn’t allowed to live in “his” house and if I wasn’t out by a certain date he’d arrange for someone to come move my things…Oh la la, madre mía.

That was it. The last straw.

So, do I get nervous about games? No. 

I get nervous that if I don’t fulfill my purpose within the game, I’ll fail the next generation and they will go through exactly what is happening today in football. I have given my life to the game and the game has given me a chance to make it better for the players who are coming up after me. FFF/D1 Arkema, be better for the next generation.

Love, Sam

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