Beijing Bound?
With her sights set on the Olympics, soccer sensation Natasha Kai hopes to go for the gold in Beijing as part of the U.S. women’s soccer team.
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good times and the bad times. They stuck by my side no matter what and never gave up on me, and that gave me hope not to give up on myself.”
Kai lists her most memorable moment in her professional career as the first time her parents got to see her play in L.A.
“We beat Mexico, and that brought us into the World Cup,” she remembers. “But we still had to play Canada to see who comes in first or second, and we won 2-to-1 in overtime and I got to start and play the whole game and I was really excited that my mom and dad got to be there.”
Kai was majoring in sociology at UH before joining the women’s national team. She plans to eventually return to school, but for now is enjoying her professional soccer career.
“This is an opportunity of a lifetime,” she explains. “After this, I know I love kids, so maybe I’ll become a counselor and work with delinquents and let them know there are opportunities out there for them.
“I had to work to where I am now. People think I’m so lucky to be where I am, but there are things in my past - bad things that happened to me - that I think I shouldn’t be here today. I was the typical rebellious kid. I thought I knew everything.
“Now, I was given this opportunity and I’m not going to waste it, and I hope that it’ll open doors for all the other young kids out there wishing and wanting to be in my position. It’s there - you just have to work hard for it.”
Kai, who turns 25 this month (her birthday is May 22), admits that she is a totally different person from the Natasha Kai in high school and even last year. “I’ve matured more as a player and a person,” she explains. “And I’m finally coming around and maturing as a professional athlete and taking responsibility on and off the field.”
Through soccer, Kai has travelled to Portugal, Brazil, China, Japan, Korea, Iceland and Mexico. She’s known for her speed and her abilities to jump high and head the ball. And she’s sponsored by Nike but doesn’t own a soccer ball.
“In high school we don’t need them, in college we don’t need them, and with the national team we don’t need them,” she explains. “We have balls provided for us, and when I’m home, I train with a college team or club team where they have balls.”
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As for her pregame ritual, Kai says she needs to shower and shave before every game and dances in the locker room with her teammates.
She also dances every time she scores a goal. It’s her way of celebrating on the field, and her coaches encourage it.
“Scoring a goal is like a reward for your hard work, and I always celebrate whether when I was at Kahuku or UH or now the national team,” she says. “I like to dance. That’s my thing. And when I was in Portugal, my coach came up to me after our final game and said, ‘Next time you score, just celebrate the best you can on the field,’ because when I celebrate, it makes everybody else so excited and it pumps up everybody even on the bench.”
While Kai will soon find out whether or not she scores her goal of going to the Olympics, she is grateful to be where she is today.
“I just love playing soccer and putting on the jersey and representing our country and our state,” she says. “It’s overwhelming sometimes, just having all these loyal fans and seeing them in the stands through all these years. It’s just great to come out with a win and have them proud of us.”
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