Christen Press Instagram – “I used to think that anything worthwhile had to be hard. Sacrifice and suffering. What I know now is that joy is the outcome we should be chasing. Everything else comes from that. Excellence through ease. There’s still work and discipline, but when you’re on the right path, things line up for you.”
This is Christen Press, 2 x World Cup champion soccer player, change-making CEO and activist, and Magna athlete.
“Soccer was always a family affair. My sisters and I played, and my mom and dad coached and managed and drove us to practice. That was the first thing I loved about the game, just being a part of my family and doing what we all did together.”
Her competitive spirit flourished, and in college she became the all-time leading scorer for the Stanford Cardinal. The accolades and achievements stacked up, but reflecting back she says she started to lose touch with the joy of playing.
“I was so outcome oriented. How many goals did I score? Am I chasing a record? A title? It really started to weigh me down.”
She went on to be a key player in the 2015 World Cup, where equal pay came to the forefront, and she played a huge role in the landmark lawsuit that followed. This became a full time job, and she was still pushing herself to the highest standard on the field too, but then in 2022 she tore her ACL. It could’ve been a career-ending injury, but she was surprised by her own reaction.
“Right away I called my partner and I was like, it all makes sense, this is the journey. Life is precious and glorious, and I was missing out on that—when I tore my ACL there was a sense of relief because I was like, now I’ll finally be able to hold it.”
It was a long road back, but she took great strides in healing, and came face-to-face with the never-ending reach for achievement.
“Now I’m close to the end of my career as a player, but it’s the most joy I’ve ever had playing. Just being outside, on the grass, in the fresh air. Connecting with my teammates, losing focus on thoughts and getting to be in the body, in the flow. There’s so much power in that, and the feeling of power has changed everything for me. I get to take it forward in everything else I do.” | Posted on 27/Mar/2025 21:30:18
