Everyone Needs a Little Independence
By Jim DeLorenzo
The Philadelphia Independence had a fantastic inaugural season as the region’s first Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) team, quickly becoming one of the league’s elite squads and gaining fans throughout the greater Philadelphia region.
With their debut season drawing to a close, several Independence players discussed their off-season training and conditioning plans along with advice for up-and-coming soccer players.
Defender/midfielder Joanna Lohman has experienced success not only in two seasons of competing in the WPS (last year she played for the Washington Freedom), but also internationally and collegiately.
“I’m looking for an overseas club to train with in the offseason,” said the Penn State grad. “I’m pursuing opportunities to train with Santos FC in Brazil, or possibly teams in Australia or Germany. I want to experiment on my game a little more and be exposed to new training techniques and new training environments.
“I think that growing up I put an emphasis on running and fitness training, but now I think I would have put much more emphasis on touching the ball as much as possible, watching as many games as possible- both live and on tape- and playing in as many games as possible,” said Lohman. “I think young players today shouldn’t worry so much about running and fitness training, just touch the ball as much as you can, play as much as you can and watch the best players to find some role models to emulate.”
The captain of the Independence, midfielder Lori Lindsey, echoed those sentiments. “A lot of times when you’re a younger player you worry about conditioning, but the fitness will come later,” Lindsey said. “Just enjoy yourself, be comfortable with yourself, play as much as possible and learn the game. Play with the ball as much as possible, find a friend to have games with, find a wall and watch as many games as you can.”
Lindsey, who was the first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year from the University of Virginia, was a member of the Under-16, Under-17 and Under-21 U. S. Women’s National teams, and is a rising U. S. National Team success story in her second season of WPS play (her first year she also played for the Washington Freedom).
“Its been a long season for us, but a good one,” said Lindsey. “I’ll move back to D.C. for the offseason but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll be on the national team, which could keep me very busy throughout the fall. I’ll spend my training time lifting and getting my body back and getting ready for the next season. And with the 2011 World Cup coming up there will be a lot going on.”
Midfielder Caroline Seger will be going home in the off-season to spend some time with her family and rest after a long season; she is also considering whether or not to have surgery on a lingering injury on her left heel. Seger’s home is in Helsingborg, Sweden, and her off-season will be a little different for her. 
“It’s going to be unusual for me this year because we normally play games into November in Sweden,” said Seger, who was selected as the first pick in the 2009 WPS International Expansion Draft by the Independence. “I’ll go home and see my family and friends and if I have the surgery I’ll rest up for the six months before next season.
A member of the Swedish Women’s National Team since 2005, Seger is the captain of the Swedish National Team and played for her country in the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup and in the 2008 Olympic Games.
“It’s not the same for Swedish players as it is here in the States, but I think it’s most important to try and find a soccer team to practice with because team play is a perfect environment for a young player,” said Seger. “It’s also important for up-and-coming players to do stuff that you enjoy, not just soccer but tennis or basketball, do stuff that helps you stay fit but have fun doing it.”