Ashley Hatch is not letting her Olympic aspirations distract from her season with the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League, she told the Deseret News on Friday.
Ashley Hatch talks about her Olympic aspirations
Speaking to the Deseret News in October, Hatch was excited about her Olympic chances after being called up to the U.S. women's national team's September and October camps.
But since then, her mindset has changed a bit and she has decided to focus on what she can control. Making the Olympic roster is not like that.
“Obviously there are a lot of things in this situation with the national team that are out of my control, so I'm just concentrating on what I can do here right now, especially the spirit and my role,” she said. . she said. “If I keep doing well, I might get invited, or I might keep doing well and still not get invited. That's the reality, so (I) focus on what I can control and what I can actually do today. I am.”
The former BYU Cougar would still welcome the opportunity to play for the national team in the Olympics.
“If I was invited it would be an honor and it would be great, but the reality of football is that it's not 100% up to me,” she said.
What Ashley Hatch said about her previous national team members
After the SheBelieves Cup roster was announced in March, interim national team head coach Twyla Kilgore said “no one is left out” for the Olympics. But Hatch isn't thinking much about his Olympic chances.
“To be honest, I don't think about it too much because it's something I try not to take away from my focus and energy of being here with the Holy Spirit,” she said. Ta. “If I get invited or invited to camp, I'll shift my focus to that, but I'm not really thinking about it right now.”
The U.S. has such a youthful roster these days that Hatch has been left out of the final two tournaments, the inaugural World Gold Cup and this month's SheBelieves Cup. Fellow veteran striker and team regular Alex Morgan was initially left out of the Gold Cup squad, but was added as an injury replacement for Mia Fishel and scored two goals in the tournament.
“I think everyone always wants a chance to be called up to camp, especially when there's an opportunity in their position. Yes, I would have liked to have been invited, but like I said, it's out of my control. ” Hatch said. “I'm happy that Alex has been able to accomplish what he's done. But it certainly seems like they're bringing in a lot of young players, especially in our league where there's a lot of really good young talent. So I'm really looking forward to seeing what direction they continue to go in, especially with the Olympics coming up.”
How Ashley Hatch deals with adversity
Hatch is coming off what she described as a “difficult” year following last summer's disappointment at the FIFA World Cup and the Spirit missing out on the NWSL playoffs. She was one of the notable rosters for the World Cup.
Hatch said she has learned to take a “zoomed out” approach and focus more on her relationships with her husband, family and community.
“At the end of the day, I get to make a living playing soccer, so that’s great,” she said. “I feel like I'm trying to make sure my perspective is in the right place, especially when things aren't going my way, because it's easy for bad things to creep in with all the other good things happening in your life. ”. So when things don't go my way, I try not to let that taint everything else. ”
She relies on her faith “100%” in moments of adversity, she said.
“I feel like my faith in God really helps me see things more objectively. It also frees me up a little bit, just knowing that everything that's supposed to happen will happen, like God is in control. I feel like,” she said. .
She also relies heavily on prayer and credits her faith with helping her get to where she is today.
“It's so important to have someone you can turn to for guidance and inspiration. I pray a lot, especially when things aren't going well, but also when things are going well,” she said. . “My faith is something I rely on a lot. If it wasn't for it, I don't think I would be where I am today.”
When is the USWNT's next pre-Olympic game?
The U.S. women's national team has five games remaining before its first Olympic match on July 25th.
On Tuesday, the U.S. will play Canada in the SheBelieves Cup final at 5pm MDT.
The team will then play two friendly matches against South Korea in June.
In the penultimate game before the Olympics, the United States will play Mexico on July 13. In that game, the USWNT will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the United States' World Cup victory and honor the 1999 national team.
Details of the team's Olympic send-off match have not yet been announced.
