(East Los Angeles, CA) [From The Editor’s Desk]: This week of training camp featured an opportunity for local and other regional media outlets to join the Club’s Zoom meeting platform featuring Question and Answer interviews with Head Coach, Freya Coombe and the recently acquired, Midfielder-Forward/Katie Johnson, the USC Trojan alumnae, and bi-national Mexican-American player. We’ve also included a photo gallery of a training camp session that was held at the Club’s Cal Lutheran University Training Facility.
Advertisement
ANGEL CITY FOOTBALL CLUB TRAINING QUOTES
Quotes from Angel City FC Head Coach Freya Coombe and Midfielder/Forward Katie Johnson
-ACFC Midfielder/Forward Katie Johnson-
On coming to Angel City and what it means to play in SoCal…
“The ultimate decision did come down to, feeling like this is the later part of my career and this is an opportunity that I’ve wanted my entire life, which is to play at home in front of my family and friends.”
Advertisement
“To have that opportunity given to me, I wanted to take advantage of it and that was the main reason behind coming here. Obviously, I thought San Diego would be close, but if I can get even closer to LA, I can’t complain and I’m happy to be here.”
On her Mexican heritage and style of play…
“Football is in our blood when it comes to Mexico, and it’s something that’s been part of my life and culture. Growing up watching games, it was always on the TV when we were at family events.”
“You really feel the passion whenever you play in Mexico, whether it’s the National Team or even their club teams, there’s so much passion behind it all. My love for the game stems from my Mexican heritage and I try to bring that into every game.”
Advertisement
On playing Club América and what it means to her…
“I’m excited. It’s a great experience to have international games. Everyone takes a little more pride in whatever league they’re playing in because they want it to be the best, which is important, whether it’s the NWSL or La Liga.”
“It brings out that competition of if we win, are we the better league. So it’s a friendly competition, but not a rivalry in any way. It’s more of how we can obviously show women’s soccer across the world but also compete.”
-ACFC Head Coach Freya Coombe-
On overall thoughts and impressions of training so far…
“It’s been fantastic. Everyone’s coming with such great energy and an appetite for competition, which has made it really fun for the players taking part and we’ve challenged appropriately. We’re taking a gradual approach into our preseason, getting that level of challenge right for our players.”
“We’ve welcomed a few new faces, which has always been good to see them express themselves in a new environment, while also looking for some of the combinations and relationships that are starting to form with players.”
“Each year it’s the same with the positioning of the She Believes Cup and players leaving for the international window. We’re all looking forward to welcoming back our international players into the environment and getting back after it.”
On load management for players with the new Challenge Cup integrated schedule…
“For us it’s about loading depending on the athlete, and where they’re at. We’re taking an individual approach, making sure that every athlete is being stretched appropriately for their own capacity right now. It’s about getting through preseason and obviously starting the competitive season with an out to win it.”
On Katie Johnson so far this preseason...
“She’s been impressive since coming into preseason. She’s played with some of the players that we have on our roster before and those relationships, you can see, are still there, Savannah being one of those players.”
“It’s great to see her come in. She looks comfortable, she looks relaxed, and also at the same time she’s competing well. We’re having a little internal competition and she’s smashing it at the top. She’s ready to go for the start of the season and we anticipate her being ready to play her part.”
ABOUT ANGEL CITY FOOTBALL CLUB
Angel City Football Club (ACFC), the 11th member of the National Women’s Soccer League, recently finished its inaugural season at BMO Stadium in downtown Los Angeles. The team is founded by Academy Award-winning actress and activist Natalie Portman, technology venture capitalist Kara Nortman, media and gaming entrepreneur Julie Uhrman, and venture capitalist, 776 founder and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian. Freya Coombe leads the team as the first-ever head coach and US Women’s National Team star Christen Press was the team’s first playing signing.
Learn more about ACFC at www.angelcity.com and follow the team on social media @weareangelcity. Season tickets for the 2023 season are on sale now with limited quantities. Fans are encouraged to purchase sooner rather than later https://angelcity.com/tickets.
###
