| Golebiowski Adjusting to Freedom By Kathryn Hamm WASHINGTON, DC (March 23, 2003) – There are time zone-differences to overcome. Cultural differences. Tactical differences. So many adjustments, but just one simple shared truth that will make the transition for Australian national team player and Freedom newcomer Kelly Golebiowski an easy one: “Kelly,” says head coach Jim Gabarra, “will bring speed.” For a team that has invested itself in an attacking style from the flanks, Golebiowski may be just what the Freedom has been needing. Gabarra likes her speed, but also knows that her threat and effectiveness comes from her technical ability and her ability to create scoring chances both for herself and others while also taking care of the defensive work that needs to be done. Sounds like there aren’t so many differences after all. At least not in the areas that matter the most when the whistle blows. Many of the Freedom players who participated in last fall’s exhibition game in Houston, Tex., against the Atlanta Beat – the game in which Golebiowski made her WUSA debut – commented that she was a player with whom they’d like to share a side again. Golebiowski, a player with an impressive list of accolades including 50 international caps with the Australian national team, owns the title as youngest Australian player to suit up with the Matildas in international play. She also has World Cup and Olympic experience and earned 2001 Rookie of the Year honors in the W-League. She’s scored seven goals in her last 12 national team appearances. She is quiet, approachable and unassuming. She wants only to learn more about the system of play favored by the Freedom and help her team win games. “I just want to play how I normally play,” she says, “but I also want to fit in as much as I can and fit to this style of play…and get into the starting 11.” Golebiowski has been in Washington for about a week and is settling comfortably into her new routine with her new teammates. “I appreciate everyone on the field,” she says about her first few days with the team. “I don’t know if I fit in, but I feel like I do. I feel comfortable here. I feel like I’ve been here for a year or two already and I’ve been here for a week previously now. I appreciate everything they’re doing for me.” Though the transition with the team has been easy, Golebiowski is only just now edging her way out of the shock to her system caused by the leap across the international date line. It’s a trip she has taken often, but one that is never easy. Especially when she thinks about her upcoming trip back to Australia to help the Matildas in a World Cup qualifying tournament. “It is (a tough trip). I’ve only just got here, so two weeks later to do it again, is tough. I’m just adjusting to sleep now. We’re 14 hours ahead (in Australia). I’ve done it, so I’ve gotten used to it, but it still has an effect no matter how many times you do it,” she says. The Freedom will miss Golebiowski in their opening match and she’ll miss them, too. “I’m heading back there, and then I’ll be gone for two weeks,” she explains. “I’ll miss the first game and I’m disappointed about that.” Golebiowski speaks as if she relishes every practice and every game regardless of the team. Perhaps it’s because she is still firmly in touch with her passion for the game and her childhood dream to one day become a professional soccer player. “When I was a kid, all I ever wanted to do was to play soccer for a living,” she says. “For a girl, you couldn’t do that then. Though there were opportunities in Japan and there were some semi-pro leagues in Europe, like Denmark. (Playing professionally) was always in the back of my mind, but the opportunities weren’t there. Once this league opened up, I knew that this is where I wanted to be.” Ultimately, cultural and time-zone differences aside, it looks like there aren’t so many differences after all. Much like so many of the other WUSA players, Golebiowski says simply: “I’m enjoying every minute of it.” ©RMG3 2003 |
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| Original article can be found here: http://www.wusa.com/players_coaches/players/kelly_golebiowski/347947.html |