Kat Tarr never used to eat saurkraut. Now she eats a lot of it.
A year ago, her German was broken at best. Now she speaks it well enough to instruct the 8-year-old boys on the soccer team she coaches — and to be a vocal leader for Sg Essen Schönebeck in the top women’s professional soccer league in Germany known as “1. Bundesliga.”
A 2005 graduate of Columbia River High School, Tarr just finished her second season playing as a central defender in the German league. She recently signed a two-year contract extension to remain with her team in Essen, located near the border with the Netherlands.
“I love living in Europe and seeing the world,” Tarr said. “It’s crazy that someone actually pays me to play the game I love, and live in Europe at the same time.”
Tarr expected her time as a soccer player to end with the conclusion of her college career at Missouri, where she played from 2005-2008.
Tarr was drafted by the Chicago Red Stars of Women’s Professional Soccer. She was released after three months, and spent some time with the semi-pro Buffalo Flash. In the fall of 2009, she returned to Missouri as a student assistant and finished her degree.
In January 2010, Tarr joined a team in Berlin that at midseason found itself needing a center back. She played the second half of the season, but when the Berlin team failed to remain in the top division, Tarr accepted an offer from Sg Essen Schönebeck.
“Kat has so much improved in her first year with us,” Sg Essen Schönebeck coach Markus Högner said. “She is a great leader who is always pushing herself to the maximum.”
Tarr said she doesn’t want to waste this opportunity. She has proven to be opportunistic on the field, scoring seven goals despite playing as a central defender.
Her success in youth and high school soccer — even at Missouri — was largely the result of her speed and athletic ability, Tarr said. That’s not the case in top-flight women’s pro soccer, she said.
“The level of play does not even compare to my high school or college level of play,” Tarr said.
Tarr said she is stronger with her left foot now, the result of drills that focus daily on each player’s weaker foot. She said most morning practices are technique sessions.
“I have grown so much technically as a player, my coach puts emphasis on our passing and one-two touch play,” Tarr said. “In the States, most players who are fast can get away with not having a technical game, (but) you can forget about that in the Bundesliga because all players are fast and they are good soccer players.”
Women’s soccer is more popular in Germany, too.
Tarr said she routinely gets fan mail and autograph requests. She estimated attendance at most matches at around 1,000 fans, but said about 2,000 attended a recent win that guaranteed Sg Essen Schönebeck will remain in Germany’s top league next season.
“I also feel that the people here in Germany actually respect women’s soccer. Soccer here is a lifestyle, not just a game,” Tarr said.
As with the food, the German language was new to Tarr when she arrived in Berlin in December 2009.
With help from boyfriend Fabian Wöpke (a goalkeeper for Rot Weiss Essen in the fifth division of German pro soccer), Tarr has reached the point that she can communicate on the field — both as the leader of her team’s defense and as a volunteer coach for a team of 8-year-old boys.
“It is really important that I try and always speak in German because I am filling a very important role as starting center back,” Tarr said. “I hope that I can fill a captain role next year also, and I believe my teammates will respect me more if I speak their language.”
She is hoping to deliver another message with her play.
“I really have worked on my technical game, and I would love to see how far I can push myself as an athlete,” she said.
Her coaches with Sg Essen Schönebeck believe Tarr’s play is at a level that she deserves consideration for a spot on the U.S. National Team.
“I think ultimately my highest goal would be to get a shot at the national team,” Tarr said. “I will just keep my head down and work my butt off these next two years to try and achieve this goal. If it doesn’t ever happen, at least I know I gave everything I had to get there.”
