Beach Day

Today was a much deserved day off for the U.S. Women’s National Team, which means many things to many different players. Time with husbands and family members was a popular past-time. Time to chill was used liberally. Time to take care of last minute details before leaving for China got some play as well. But for about a dozen players, today was Beach Day in Malibu. Former 1999 Women’s World Cup President and CEO Marla Messing was nice enough to invite the team to her Malibu beach house for a few hours of fun, sun, surf, food and just overall relaxing. The weather was stunning, the water was perfect and several players even showed some boogie boarding and surfing talent. (Abby Wambach can stand up on her long board…impressive…and Natasha Kai from the North Shore of Oahu, well, she knows her way around waves, at least the small ones). The three children of U.S. players were all there and needless to say, kids love the beach. A highlight of the afternoon was when a school of dolphins swam lazily by, just yards from several players floating just 20 yards offshore. The dolphins didn’t stop to play, but they were probably busy looking for lunch. The U.S. team hits the field again tomorrow at The Home Depot Center in the second-to-last training before leaving for China.