Sports
Christen Press is a changed person as she nears return from injury: 'I enjoy my life more'
Christen Press hasn’t gone two years without a soccer game since she learned to walk. So when she was laid up by a torn anterior cruciate ligament that took four surgeries and nearly 25 months to repair, she decided to make use of the free time she never thought she’d have.
As a result, the player who returned to training with Angel City this month is not the same one who was carried off the field eight games into the team’s first season.
“I definitely feel like this is the best version of me that I’ve ever known. And I hope it continues to evolve,” Press said Saturday in an interview that was heavy on smiles and optimism.
“I don’t know if I would say I’m a better person. I am a more grounded person. I’m more peaceful. I’m more at ease with myself. I’m more self-aware. I enjoy my life more, absolutely.”
It would be hard for her to be a better player than she was two years ago. A two-time World Cup champion and Hermann Trophy winner whose 64 international goals rank ninth in U.S. women’s national team history, Press was arguably in the best form of her life when she sustained the first major injury of her career.
At first she expected to be back in time for last summer’s World Cup. Then she thought maybe she could play in this summer’s Olympic Games. But the injury proved to be stubborn, and doctors had to go back in three more times for additional repairs.
She’s now 35, and it’s uncertain how her reconstructed knee — and the rest of her body — will hold up when she returns to the field. That question probably will be answered during one of Angel City’s three Summer Cup games, which will be played during NWSL’s seven-week Olympic break.
Given what she has gone through already, Press is confident she can handle whatever comes next.
“Every single day when I go out to the field I asked my knee, ‘Are you ready?’ It’s out of my control in a lot of ways,” she said. “It’s not, ‘Oh, you’re back and everything’s easy.’ My career will never look like it did.
“I want to make it back. I want to see if I can be good.”
Angel City could certainly use the help. The team went into the Olympic break having won only one of its last nine games, falling to 11th place in the 14-team NWSL with 10 games to play.
Press is likely to be ready for significant playing time when the season resumes in late August, but she might not be the only addition to the roster. With the transfer window opening soon, Angel City is nearing deals on two significant summer signings, said one person close to the team who is not authorized to speak publicly on personnel matters.
Christen Press controls the ball during a U.S. women’s soccer match during the Tokyo Olympics in July 2021.
(Ricardo Mazalan / Associated Press)
Despite the injury, Press was never really inactive. Physical therapy after each operation ate up much of her time, and she said she still does four to six hours of daily exercises just to keep the swelling down.
“Honestly, it’s a full-time job for her,” said Sarah Smith, Angel City’s director of medical and performance.
Still, she used the opportunity to work on other things as well. Press said she started therapy — the mental kind, not the physical kind — last September.
“I was like, ‘Well I have all this additional time that I can’t be on the pitch. What can I do with it?’ ” she said. “And I had a lot to work through, like my childhood, but also a changing life.
“Being healthy and strong has been my whole career, right? But it hurt to go up and down the stairs. It was a very big shift in identity.”
She has also devoted more time to the eclectic business empire she and her partner and former teammate Tobin Heath are managing, one that includes RE-INC, a gender-neutral community-driven fashion brand, and the RE-CAP Show, the couple’s entertaining award-winning podcast on women’s soccer.
That has given the whip-smart Stanford graduate a jump-start on the next phase of her life, though she’s not sure when that phase will begin in earnest. Her Angel City contract expires at the end of the season, but Press said that if her knee holds up, she’s not putting any limits on how much longer she might play.
“There’s part of soccer that has been really hard that I don’t miss. And then there’s simultaneously a deep longing and a sadness for not being in the game,” she said. “My body’s craving competition. It’s like a dichotomy.”
If the last two years have produced nothing on the soccer field and have been mostly painful off it, mentally and physically, they’ve been invaluable in many other ways. She’s grown. She’s become stronger, smarter, healthier and wiser. And she promises that’s going to be good for everyone — but especially for her.
“There’s pain and there’s also an opportunity,” Press said. “I have this ideology that things don’t happen to you, they happen for you. So I always ask myself, ‘What’s the gift of this?’
“It’s a happy story. It’s life, you know. It’s happy and it’s sad. [Am I] a better person?’ No, I’m different.”
⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.
Sports
Ole Miss staffer references Aaron Hernandez while discussing ‘chaotic’ coaching complications with LSU
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The chaos between LSU coaches who left Ole Miss alongside Lane Kiffin but are still coaching the Rebels in the College Football Playoff is certainly a whirlwind.
Joe Judge, Ole Miss’ quarterbacks coach, has found himself in the thick of the drama — while he is not headed for Baton Rouge, he’s had to wonder who he will be working with on a weekly basis.
When asked this week about what it’s like to go through all the trials and tribulations, Judge turned heads with his answer that evoked his New England Patriots days.
Aaron Hernandez sits in the courtroom of the Attleboro District Court during his hearing. Former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the death of Odin Lloyd in North Attleboro, Massachusetts, on Aug. 22, 2013. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
“My next-door neighbor was Aaron Hernandez,” Judge said, according to CBS Sports. “I know this is still more chaotic.”
Hernandez was found guilty of the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, which occurred just three years into his NFL career.
“If you watch those documentaries, my house is on the TV next door,” Judge added. “The detectives knocked on my door to find out where he was. I didn’t know. We just kind of talked to the organization. But it was obviously chaotic.”
Aaron Hernandez was convicted of the 2013 murder of semipro football player Odin Lloyd. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
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Judge, though, was able to compare the two situations to see how players can combat wild distractions.
“Those players that year handled that extremely well. Came out of that chaos, and we had some really good direction inside with some veterans and some different guys. You have something like that happen — how do you handle something like that? How do you deal with something like that? So you keep the focus on what you can handle, what you can control, which at that time was football for us, and we went through the stretch, and we were able to have success that year,” Judge said.
Judge also compared this scenario to the 2020 NFL season when he was head coach of the New York Giants, saying he would have “no idea” who would be available due to surprise positive COVID-19 tests.
Head coach Joe Judge of the New York Giants looks on during the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. The game took place in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Dec. 19, 2021. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
The Rebels face Miami in the Fiesta Bowl, the College Football Playoff Semifinal, on Thursday night.
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Calabasas pulled off a huge win in high school basketball on Tuesday night, handing Thousand Oaks its first defeat after 16 victories in a Marmonte League opener.
The Coyotes (13-5) have quietly turned around their season after a 2-4 start, winning 11 of their last 12 games.
One of the major contributors has been 6-foot-3 junior guard Johnny Thyfault, who’s averaging 16 points and has become a fan favorite because of his dunking skills. He also leads the team in taking charging fouls.
He transferred to Calabasas after his freshman year at Viewpoint.
As for beating Thousand Oaks, coach Jon Palarz said, “We got to play them at home and had great effort.”
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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The Atlanta Hawks have parted ways with four-time NBA All-Star point guard Trae Young, trading him to the Washington Wizards in a blockbuster move, according to ESPN.
The Hawks will reportedly be receiving veteran shooting guard CJ McCollum and forward Corey Kispert in the deal.
Washington was Young’s preferred destination, and the two sides were working on a deal to get the 27-year-old point guard to the nation’s capital.
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Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks looks on during the game against the Boston Celtics during Round 1 Game 6 of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on April 27, 2023 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. ( Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Young’s agents were having conversations with the Hawks, who sit at 17-21 so far this season, about trading their client out of Atlanta.
There is a mutual connection in Washington, too, as executive Travis Schlenk drafted Young fifth overall in 2018 out of Oklahoma.
It marks the end of an era for the Hawks. Young has been the focal point of their offense since he was taken in that draft. He is the team’s career leader in three-pointers and assists, having led the team to the postseason in three of his eight seasons. The Hawks went the furthest in 2021, where they made the Eastern Conference Finals.
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However, the new era was brewing already in Atlanta, with forward Jalen Johnson taking the next step in his career, averaging 23.7 points per game this season. The pickup of Nickeil Alexander-Walker also helps, as he’s averaged 20.5 points per game in 36 appearances.
Meanwhile, Young has played just 10 games this season, as he’s been dealing with leg injuries, most notably a right MCL sprain.
Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks looks on after the game against the Boston Celtics during Round One Game Five of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on April 25, 2023 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)
The Hawks also get some flexibility on their books, as they could make some more moves. Anthony Davis is reportedly available from the Dallas Mavericks, making him a good target for Atlanta.
Young has $95 million remaining on his deal that runs through the 2026-27 season, which includes a player option this offseason.
Atlanta will be taking on McCollum’s contract, though the veteran guard has a $30.6 million expiring deal.
Through his 10 games this season, Young is averaging 19.2 points, 8.9 assists and 1.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 41.5% from the field.
Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks drives down the court during the first half against the Philadelphia 76ers at State Farm Arena on April 7, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Over his career, Young has dropped 25.2 points and 9.8 assists per game, while leading the league in the latter category last season with 11.6 per contest.
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