SVG Sit-Down: USWNT Star Sydney Leroux on Working With DAZN’s Team Whistle, Increased Interest in Women’s Sports

Leroux recently worked with the media company on their No Days Off show

Sydney Leroux is a household name in women’s soccer. Whether it’s her iconic performances at FIFA World Cups, or clinching gold at Olympic games, her skill on the field is some of the most iconic soccer to date. But it’s not just on game days that Sydney brings her A-game. Sydney is partnering with DAZN’s Whistle & Serta®, and talking about the importance of rest and recovery utilizing the Serta® iComfort Pro mattress. Serta Simmons Bedding (SSB) and Team Whistle, have just launched a new episode of ‘No Days Off’ that features both Sydney Leroux and long-time trainer David Copeland Smith, where they highlight how her days recovering are as important as her days on the pitch.

SVG’s Samantha Gabay got to sit down with Sydney to discuss what it was like working with Team Whistle to create this show, how she finds a work life balance as a mother of two, and what the rise of interest in women’s sports means to her.

Sydney Leroux worked with Team Whistle on a recent episode of No Days Off.

Can you describe how this opportunity with Team Whistle came about, and how the production of the episode went?
This video is highlighting my work ethic as a player and as a mom because it’s tough. I really enjoyed how it went and it was amazing to work with Team Whistle. I got to the indoor soccer facility that we were at and we started off doing interviews there and then I was able to play with [soccer trainer] Dave [Copland Smith], who has been helping me out within soccer since I was around 21 years old. He’s been a part of my journey for such long time, so it’s easy to work with him. From the field, we went to the house after the field, and my daughter stole the show! It was so fun having her be a part of the whole thing.

In what ways do you find that your life off the field affects your athletic career?
Calmness is extremely important. A lot of players go crazy with music and all that before games, but I like to be very quiet and by myself. It’s very much like the calm before the storm. I feel like I’m able to play and put everything into my game, but I also think having a happy home and happy life leads into being able to play well. It allows you to do all of the things that you want to do and know you can do.

Leroux was interviewed about how she balances her athletic career and life off of the pitch.

In addition, how do you also balance projects like this production?

I always get the question of how I’m able to balance motherhood, my life, and soccer. I’m honest and always tell people that there is no perfect balance.  You do the best you possibly can with what you have in front of you and deal with it. That’s how I’ve always been, but especially when my kids came into the picture. We have a busy life, but we’re blessed and we’re very happy for that.

What has it been like being a female athlete watching the massive spike in women’s sports viewership in recent years?
It all started in 2013 when the NWSL came into existence as a league. When I came out of college, I was drafted first overall, but then the league folded and there was a down year where we didn’t have anything. The NWSL came into play, but in the beginning, it was good enough to just have something of our own. Then, we started to really get the confidence to say, ‘Actually, we deserve way more’ because we were winning World Cups and Olympic medals. Since then, it’s gone in an upward trajectory where we were once playing in front of 200 or 300 fans with one camera to stream on YouTube and now we’re playing in front of 22,000 fans in Los Angeles. It’s unbelievable what this has turned into. I’m so happy that I got to be a part of this, but I still do think that things need to continue to go forward. There needs to be more mothers in the league because when the NWSL started, you had to quit playing if you wanted a family because there was no way you were able to come back. For the moms before me and the moms after me, I’m very proud of where we’ve gotten, but I think that that’s the piece where we still need a lot of work.

David Copeland Smith, a long-time trainer of Leroux, was also featured in the video.

With the current momentum in which we see women’s sports picking up, what is your hope for the future?
My hope is that there’s even more money invested in women’s sports and that women’s sports are shown on TV and are available to anyone just like men’s games. We have the support, but it’s from groups of people and not worldwide. I understand that that’s been going on way longer than we have, but that’s the first issue. We’ve been fighting that from Day 1, but I want women to know that you can do anything. There is support, there is more money involved, and you can make a living for every single person on the team. You can also be completely supported in motherhood as well as in your playing career.

To watch Sydney’s episode of No Days Off, presented by Team Whistle, HERE.