Commentary: Ellertson reconnects with sport she loves

Tina Ellertson’s Olympic gold medal has a beautiful smile and striking dimples and likes to play in her bouncy swing.

It’s not exactly the reward Ellertson was expecting from the Beijing Games, but she wouldn’t trade 6-month-old Mya for all the gold in Fort Knox.

“This year was bittersweet,” Ellertson said, sitting in the Salmon Creek home she shares with husband Brad and their two daughters. “I got to spend time with my family, but I was missing my teammates, missing the Olympics.”

Yes, while Ellertson’s teammates on the U.S. Women’s Soccer Team were winning gold in Beijing, the 26-year-old was on maternity leave. She recently rejoined the squad, seeing action in two games against South Korea while trying to regain her grip on a roster spot.

Not that maternity leave was limited to dirty diapers and Pablum. Not that the demands of Ellertson’s sport would allow anything less than this: “Don’t get me wrong. I started running five days after she was born.”

Such is the life of a professional athlete, particularly in an endeavor as competitive as women’s soccer. While the National Team has spent the past decade as the most prominent women’s athletic team in this country, it has spawned thousands upon thousands of young women who dream of joining the squad.

“I’m not going to lie,” Ellertson said, “it’s a lot of hard work. There’s always somebody who can take your spot. I love that about my job, but I also don’t like it.”

So when Ellertson returned to the field, taking her familiar spot on the back line, she was battling the nerves and the doubt and the self-criticism that can fester during an extended layoff. She was battling the things that can be Kryptonite to a world-class athlete, all while adjusting to coach Pia Sundhage, who took over during Ellertson’s leave.

“There’s always that nervousness,” Ellertson said. “Am I going to lose any of my speed? I think it takes 9-12 months to fully come back. When you hit that one-year mark, your body comes back.”

Ellertson played the second half of a 3-1 win over South Korea on Nov. 1. She played the first half of a 1-0 victory over the Koreans on Nov. 8. She reveled in the fact that she will be part of a new women’s professional league scheduled to begin play in April.

And along the way, Ellertson embraced her blessings.

“You’re out for a year, your teammates have accomplished so much in that year, and they have bonded,” she said. “Getting thrown back into it, it was a great reconnect. The coach I was nervous about, but it went great.

“I try to think positively. If you think negatively, then something negative can happen.”

That attitude has served Ellertson well throughout her career. She smiles incessantly; she laughs easily; she carries the confidence born of surviving a bumpy road to the highest level of soccer.

As a senior at Hudson’s Bay High School, Ellertson became pregnant with daughter McKenzie. Her college career was delayed, but she still wound up as an All-American at the University of Washington.

Now it’s back to the National Team, trying to reestablish her position while preparing for Women’s Professional Soccer. There’s no gold medal on the résumé, but there’s that smiling, bouncing reminder of Ellertson’s 2008 season.

There’s also motivation for the next four years.

“My husband and my family,” Ellertson said, “say, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be at the next one.’ ”

Greg Jayne is Sports editor of The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4531, or by e-mail at greg.jayne@columbian.com. To read his blog, go to columbian.com/section/GregJayne