Former U.S. Women’s National Team Captain Lori Chalupny on Taking A Role at Fire & Ice Soccer Academy
Lori Chalupny and club director Lindsay Kennedy-Eversmeyer team up and make history as the only female-led, all-girls club in St. Louis.
What does a former U.S. Women’s National Team member, World Cup Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, U.S. Soccer Hall of Fame Nominee do after a life on the international soccer stage?
If you are Lori Chalupny-Lawson, you look for ways to give back to the sport that has given you so much.
Being surrounded by powerful women is nothing new to Chalupny-Lawson who prides herself in not seeing limits based on gender. After all, she is one of the very few women who has been celebrated in New York City with a ticker-tape parade along Manhattan’s famous Broadway.
Chalupny-Lawson hung up her professional cleats in 2016 after winning a FIFA World Cup Gold Medal. Her international career had begun in 2001 when she was 17-years-old and debuted against Italy.
Chalupny finished her career with 106 caps and ten goals scored with the USWNT.
Happy to be in her hometown of St. Louis, Chalupny has now joined the newly formed all-girls soccer club, Fire & Ice Soccer Academy, as the Assistant Club Director.
Read: WPSL’S FIRE & ICE LAUNCHES GIRLS SOCCER ACADEMY WITH FORMER WNT LORI CHALUPNY
A native of St Louis, Lori has teamed up with Fire & Ice club Director Lindsay Kennedy-Eversmeyer who is the only female to play men’s professional soccer for the St. Louis Steamers and in the Major Indoor Soccer League.
“I am very honored and excited to have Lori as my Assistant Club Director in the new academy,” said Kennedy-Eversmeyer. “We are both very passionate about bringing awareness to the women’s game and empowering young women to fight through adversity to reach their goals.”
SoccerToday’s Interview with Lori Chalupny
Diane Scavuzzo: As the new Assistant Club Director for the Fire & Ice Soccer Academy, what are your goals?
Lori Chalupny: My main goal with Fire and Ice Soccer Academy is to create an environment where girls can bond and grow through their shared experiences playing soccer.
We want to provide elite soccer training where the players are exposed to the skills necessary to play high school soccer, college soccer and beyond.
We also want there to be a component of personal growth so the young girls will have workshops on leadership, team chemistry, confidence building and much more.
Diane Scavuzzo: Why did you join this newly formed club?
Lori Chalupny: This clubs priorities align with my belief that playing sports is about so much more than the Xs and Os.
In the right environment, sports teaches so many lessons that prepare children for the highs and lows of life.
I’m proud to be a part of a club that values the person over the player.
Diane Scavuzzo: What do you like best about an all-girls soccer academy? You must believe strongly in this program and its value.
Lori Chalupny: With Fire and Ice being an all-girls academy it allows us to cater to what girls want and need from their soccer club.
We will spend time on forming relationships and team bonding as well as things like body image and confidence which girls often struggle with.
Diane Scavuzzo: And, if you could TBT, what would you have liked to know when you were a young girl that you know now or would like to share with young players?
Lori Chalupny: I would encourage girls to “run your own race” …
don’t compare yourself to others.
Just aim to keep moving forward in the direction of your goals and don’t get bogged down by what others are doing.
LORI CHALUPNY INTERNATIONAL SOCCER CAREER: Discover her Path to Success
First joining the U.S. Girls National U16 Team, Chalupny made her first appearance for the USA on the USWNT U19 in 2002 and was on the team when they won the FIFA U-19 Women’s World Cup that year.
A youth National Team standout and a star at the University of North Carolina where she played for Anson Dorrance, Chalupny made the big step up to the full Women’s National Team in 2005.
Chalupny has scored spectacular goals in her career. For example, one in an exhibition game against New Zealand and another at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she scored a goal in a 4-2 victory over Japan in the semifinals and helped lead her team to the gold medal.
Ten years later, at age 30 Chalupny was still a vital part of the U.S. Women’s National Team.
Now a reserve player on U.S. Soccer’s backline, she went in for Ali Krieger in the 81st minute of the U.S.’s round of 16 when our country took on Colombia. While other defenders played more minutes, Chalupny is a woman who always saw the positive. She told reporters in 2015 that “I was just happy to be on the team. I think I had a smile on my face the whole time. I was glad to get on the field and contribute some. It was a pretty special 10 or 11 minutes.”
Chalupny also captained the Chicago Red Stars of the NWSL, the team she had joined during its amateur days when the team played in the 2012 edition of the Women’s Premier Soccer League Elite.
You can follow the success of Fire & Ice on Facebook.
If you liked this article, try WPSL’S FIRE & ICE LAUNCHES GIRLS SOCCER ACADEMY WITH FORMER WNT LORI CHALUPNY
