In this episode of Bookable Space we’re joined by Heidi Smith. Heidi reads to us from Play On: From Adversity to Advantage Through 140 Years of Women’s Soccer and talks about writing, supporting one another on and off the field, and more.
About the book
In Play On: From Adversity to Advantage Through 140 Years of Women’s Soccer, former soccer player and coach Heidi Smith spoke to countless coaches, players, sports journalists and other experts to trace the history of women’s soccer and its parallels to sociopolitical and women’s rights movements worldwide.
“Sexism is pervasive; it just looks different depending on what decade you’re in,” Smith says. “Violence is common, whether it’s in 1890s England or 2010s Iran. Modern football federations have new reasons they can’t pay women’s teams, yet the common denominator fits into 1970s Mexico—the belief that women’s work is less valuable than men’s.”
Women’s soccer has advanced significantly, but challenges facing today’s players have been obstacles since the game began. Play On explores that history through the lens of soccer’s “play on” rule: If a player is fouled but in an advantageous position, play can continue. On and off the field, despite chronic and outrageous fouls, women persevered to change the game and the world.
About the author
Heidi Smith is a former teacher, magazine editor, soccer coach, trail crew leader, and humor columnist. Her work has appeared in South Sound Business, Educational Leadership and Connected Science Learning. She looks forward to the day she will again have dogs but for now, she borrows other peoples. To be clear, she does ask first.
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