What were you doing back in 1998?
Do you even remember? There are plenty of different stages of your life you could have been at, plenty of experiences you could have been having. Well, we know what the biggest event of that year was for the Fleming family: The birth of their daughter Jessie, who'd grow up to play soccer and hockey, and be a pretty good track and field athlete too.
She'd also grow up to earn a call-up to the Canadian senior women's national team. And that would happen on Dec. 5, 2013 (hey look, that's today).
Yes folks, we're all getting old. But as John Herdman searches for the mix of players who'll lead his team into the 2015 Women's World Cup on home soil, the CanWNT is getting younger.
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On Thursday, Herdman named a 20-player roster for the upcoming Torneio Internacional Cidade de Sao Paulo in Brazil, a four-team tournament that will see Canada face Scotland (Dec. 11), Chile (Dec. 15), Brazil (Dec. 18) and, most likely, Brazil once more in the final (Dec. 22).
Fleming -- who captained Canada at the CONCACAF U-17 Women's Championship a month ago -- is the only player earning her first senior call-up for this camp. The 15-year-old midfield engine scored twice for Canada, including a 30-yard screamer, as they qualified for next year's U-17 Women's World Cup. She was named Canada's player of the tournament, and has already earned plaudits from some experienced Canadian soccer voices, including Jason de Vos.
Last month, Herdman mentioned Fleming as a possible candidate to jump from the U-17 team to the U-20 team in the next year, so clearly she was on his radar. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's just assume this call-up does not mean Fleming's suddenly in the CanWNT mixer going forward; rather, Herdman's just taking the opportunity to get a closer look at a player that's full of potential.
Then again, two other teenagers on the roster -- Sura Yekka and Kadeisha Buchanan -- seemed like one-offs when they earned their first call-ups earlier this year. But Yekka, 16, has impressed in Canada's last two games at the fullback position, while Buchanan has already established herself as one of Canada's centrebacks of the future at age 18.
So really, the sky's the limit for the trio. The other notable name is Selenia Iacchelli, who was brought back into the CanWNT fold after a years-long absence against Mexico last month, and saw only a few minutes of playing time. But clearly Herdman saw enough of her to warrant another look (surely all of the media attention about the frozen yogurt truck she runs with teammate Emily Zurrer couldn't have hurt).
Canada's roster for the Brazil tournament is below. No word on TV coverage (don't count on it), but the last time Canada played in this tournament -- in 2010 -- industrious Big Red fans still found a way to watch their heroes. *cough cough*
GK- Stephanie Labbé | SWE / KIF Örebro DFF
GK- Karina LeBlanc | USA / Portland Thorns FC
GK- Erin McLeod | USA / Chicago Red Stars
D- Kadeisha Buchanan | USA / West Virginia University
D- Robyn Gayle | USA / Washington Spirit
D- Carmelina Moscato | USA / Seattle Reign FC
D- Marie-Eve Nault | SWE / KIF Örebro DFF
D- Lauren Sesselmann | USA / FC Kansas City
D- Rhian Wilkinson | USA / Boston Breakers
D- Sura Yekka | CAN / Brams United
D- Emily Zurrer | USA / Seattle Reign FC
M- Selenia Iacchelli | CAN / Edmonton Victoria SC
M- Jessie Fleming | CAN / Norwest Soccer Club
M- Kaylyn Kyle | USA / Boston Breakers
M- Diana Matheson | USA / Washington Spirit
M- Sophie Schmidt | USA / Sky Blue FC
M- Desiree Scott | USA / FC Kansas City
M- Brittany Baxter (née Timko) | unattached
F- Adriana Leon | USA / Chicago Red Stars
F- Christine Sinclair | USA / Portland Thorns FC
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