On today's edition of Checking In With CanWNT, we've got goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc. The 32-year-old from Maple Ridge, B.C. tells us about spreading the Olympic excitement to as many people as possible, the importance of keeping things light in the locker room, the special responsibilities of being a goalkeeper and who's got the higher vertical leap, her or John Herdman.
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It's fitting that you're in an airport as you're speaking to me (Vancouver Airport, Nov. 30), since it seems like you've been all over the place since the Olympics ended. Where are you headed now?
I'm heading out to Fort Lauderdale, and then I'm going to do a camp in Ottawa and Nova Scotia with Christine Sinclair, Diana Matheson and Rhian Wilkinson. Our goal is to get across the country to do camps around and give kids a chance to meet us and interact, and be coached by us.
Our goal right now is just to try to get across to as many kids (as possible) and to allow them to just dream big and tell them that we have a medal but we started with a rare dream. In the beginning it was a little different than everyone else, but now we want more girls to have the same dream that we had, to understand the work ethic that it takes and the commitment that it takes.
It's so rewarding for us, too, to be able to give back and see the reaction from the young girls -- and it's not only the young girls, it's the parents. It's so many different people. I just had a man, in his 50s, I was sitting down at a coffee shop earlier today, and he sat down and he got emotional immediately. He said, "I just want to thank you, you're inspiring so many people." It's not just the kids anymore. It's pretty incredible for us to know this is the level of what it is now. It's unbelievable. We're just living out a dream every day.
I get the sense you're a person who takes the athlete's status as a role model very seriously. Is that fair to say?
Absolutely. I remember growing up, I had my role models. I remember meeting somebody -- I won't say any names -- I was like, "oh my God, I get to meet them!" I asked for an autograph and they were rather rude, and it destroyed me. Then I remember, by the same token, meeting somebody and they were so friendly and warm and kind, and it changed me. I think our entire team sees that, and our goal going into the Olympics was to inspire a generation, inspire a nation.
Who were some of your role models growing up?
My parents, first. Hands down. Growing up, you see people overcome obstacles and continue... I get emotional every time I talk about my family, because they've had such a successful impact on me. I remember Steffi Graf was my tennis superstar. There were athletes, but there were also everyday people like my teachers. People always ask me, "who would you say had the biggest impact?", and I think everybody had an impact in different ways. But I'd definitely say my parents, my family.
So with everything you've done and everywhere you've been since the Olympics ended, could you even try to estimate how many people have laid hands on your medal by now?
(laughs) Well, I'm one that likes sharing my medal around, as you may see from Twitter. The thing is, I see it as -- everyone has their opinion -- but I see it as, we won this for the country, and it wasn't for us to hold onto. The reaction you see from people when they actually hold the medal and they're able to touch it, that's priceless. Again, it's not just the kids, it's so many different people, in different walks of life; you don't know why that moment is so powerful to them, but it's powerful.
I'm comfortable speaking, as you may know, so if you put me in front of 50 people or 2,000 people it's all the same to me, I'll just tell my story. I couldn't tell you, though -- thousands and thousands of people, probably.
So, no problems getting the medal through security today, then?
You know what, it always goes through and they're like, "what's that?" and you're like "uhhh...", and then they're, "oh my God!" It never really gets old because it's really just a genuine reaction of people when they see it, and it's incredible.
The Olympic qualifying tournament being hosted in Vancouver, how much of a boost was that for you personally, preparing for the Olympics right in your own backyard in B.C.?
You know, people always say, "what's been your highlight?" Obviously the Olympics are a highlight, but you have to look at the qualifiers because it's us playing in front of our friends and family. I remember looking up when the national anthem was playing, and there were my parents, and there was my first coach, and there are friends that I played with 15 years ago... now I'm aging myself. But there's so much history in that moment, because you always remember who you played for, but when they're standing right there and you can see tears in their eyes and how proud they are, that makes it that much more special.
For a few years now, it's been a 1 and 1A situation with you and Erin McLeod in goal for the national team. What's it like being in that kind of situation with a player like Erin; does it drive you to be more competitive?
Absolutely. Most people are like, "how do you guys get along?" We get along awesome, fantastic. I have so much respect for her, I think, because we want to be the best. We want to help the team. That's where we separate ourselves from a lot of other competitors. The selection's made, I've done everything I can do, she's done everything she can do, and this is the decision by John on who is the best player for the team on this day.
She's a great goalkeeper and every day in practice, we won't take days off. It's not because we're fighting. Every day is a battle for who is going to play tomorrow, but we want to make each other better and that's what makes us unique and makes our relationship so great.
That fits with everything we've heard, that the national team is a very tight group. Within that group, it's fair to say you're one of the ones that helps keep things loose, with KK Cam being the biggest example of that. Do you do that specifically to try to keep things light, or is that just a natural offshoot of your personality?
Well, it's exciting to me. A lot of people see the goofy side because I think that's just my personality. I just always want to have fun; when you stop having fun, that's a problem. It's an honour representing your country, but there's so much pressure that comes with it. People need to break it. One of the things was our team learning to handle the pressure the right way.
There's also a very serious side of me, which I'm sure some of the girls have spoken about. I'm not always joking around, there's a time and place for everything. It's about finding a balance, when we're so close. Because I am the oldest on the team and have been around the most, there's a lot of experiences there that I love being able to share with the girls, but then I also like to show them that one bad practice doesn't determine who you are. It's who you are on a consistent basis.
Being a goalkeeper, especially, you have to have those moments of intensity where you chew your teammates out for one thing or another, right?
Absolutely, but there's always a time and place. You have to be able to be, if you're a leader or an experienced player, be able to see what the player needs and wants at that time. People who just yell at something at the worst possible time, you're just tearing down somebody's self-confidence. So it's also about recognizing when and where. But as a keeper, they get to see the game, they get to appreciate the game and see when things are on and off. So you can't just be yelling because you don't want to lose the power of your words within the team.
I hate to dredge up bad Olympic memories, but as someone who's played for a number of years now, I have to ask: have you ever been called for holding the ball for more than si...
Nope, never.
I didn't even finish the question!
Well, I know where it's going. Fifteen years since I got on the senior national team, never have I been called for that.
Alright then. So after everything that went on in the semifinal, and given the team's recent history against France, can you describe what you were feeling when you saw Diana's shot hit the back of the net?
Oh my God... It was just weird. You were so happy, but you wanted to cry, but you were like, "wait, the game's not necessarily over", and then you're just jumping with your teammates. We were just jumping. I think I probably jumped on John too. It's just one of those things where the game wasn't really going in our favour. There were crossbars, they were missing sitters, then you turn around and of all people, it's D. It's so fitting, because she's such a strong person on the team. A lot of people don't get to see that side of her.
There were so many different emotions, it was so powerful. To say I was happy is so understating what I truly felt, but it was one of the greatest moments of my life.
Who would you say has the higher vertical leap, you or John? Because he can get up there.
It depends on the moment. I have a little bit on him in terms of the ups, on the height, I'm a little taller than he is. But I tell you, in that moment, when D scored, I don't even know, I couldn't even tell you where everybody else was, I can tell you everybody was elated.
What's next for you?
Body willing, I'd love to do another cycle. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that. Seeing a great physiotherapist, keep it going. There's this guy from Fit To Train, his name's Behnad, and he's like, "you know, you've got four more years here, so you've got to change some of your habits, and what your body thinks is right." It's like learning to walk again. Sometimes you've got to go back to go forward. All these nicks and knacks I got from the Olympics, that can't continue to happen.
So it's safe to say you've got your eyes on 2015?
Absolutely.
Are you hoping to be involved in the National Women's Soccer League?
Hoping to. That's where I've been professional for the last 10 years, so I was hoping that it would work out, and the fact that our association is on board is fantastic. And hopefully leading into 2015 we'll have a team here in Vancouver, and across the country.
Do you think the involvement of the CSA, USSF and FMF will give this league more staying power than WUSA and WPS had?
Every time there's something new that's been tried, it's unfortunately failed. Obviously these associations have a history of running a successful program, so that's only going to help. Plus, the schedules will work with national team games and things like that. So hopefully it works out perfectly.
If you could try to try to sum up 2012 in about 10 words, what would you say?
Proud to be Canadian.
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