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FORGET ABOUT REAL LIFE, ONLY THE FIELD MATTERS - KARA LANG TALKS TO THE PROVINCE                       25th October 2006

Excellence comes from making your sport a lifestyle

Moments like scoring a World Cup semifinal goal versus Sweden in 2003 make all the sacrifices worthwhile for Kara Lang

Why I always leave it all out on the field ... One moment that stands out for me didn't even take place on the field.

It was a team meeting in a hotel conference room somewhere on the road. Our coach told us if we wanted to be one of the best teams in the world, soccer needed to become our lifestyle.

That was five years ago, and only now have I begun to understand how something that to most people is just a game can become a way of life.

Growing up, sport and competition was a hobby, something I was gifted at and enjoyed doing. Many years later my love for the game and the blessing of good genes helped me get my foot in the door at the highest level.

However, I quickly learned that I would need much more than passion and genetics to stay there. I was suddenly among women who'd had to claw their way to the top. It wasn't just about having fun anymore.

The struggle goes way beyond the hours of practice and dreaded fitness testing. There's the teammate who chose to have a steel rod put in her leg (a surgery that has no guarantees) for one more crack at a World Cup.

Another teammate was bedridden in complete darkness for months to treat a head injury that has sidelined her indefinitely.

Then there's one of the strongest women I know who has faced tragedies in her own life, but still has time to look out for her teammates and bring the team together. I've shaken my head in amazement at the sacrifices made every day by my teammates.

You sacrifice your time with family and friends, your money (or opportunities to make some) and your body. Anniversaries and reunions are missed. Normal-life -- engagements, weddings and starting families -- is put on hold.

There have been countless surgeries, blown-out knees, sprained ankles and pulled muscles. Everyone has paid their dues and some still have dues to pay. It's all part of the sacrifice. Before you know it, it becomes a lifestyle.

My teammates and I have goals, so we take that sacrifice onto the field with us. When 90 minutes are up, we leave it all there. We've given things up to be where we are, and leaving everything on that field is the only way to make sure it was worth it.

It's about going into that bone-crushing tackle without fear. It's about pushing your legs through the pain of overtime. It's about not having any regrets when the final whistle blows.

We've sacrificed, so we owe it to each other and to ourselves to always leave it all out on the field.

Kara Lang, 19, is a Vancouver Whitecap and member of the Canadian National Women's soccer team. Her column appears on the fourth Wednesday of each month.