When Julie Ertz took the soccer field with boys on the Phoenix Rising U-19 Academy Team — none of whom knew they’d be sharing the pitch that day with a two-time World Cup winner — Paul Taylor just smiled to himself.
“A few of the boys recognized her and they were saying, ‘What’s going on here?’" Taylor, who’s known and coached Ertz since her high school days, told USA TODAY Sports. "Well, within a few minutes they knew what was going on because it was, ‘Gimme the ball. Go there. Do it this way. Let’s go again!’
"For those few months, she was one of the guys and she earned their respect immediately.”
On the surface, it might have seemed like an odd match. Ertz — 31 and just a few months removed from giving birth to her first child, a son named Madden — versus a roster full of speedy, strong MLS hopefuls who only know how to play one way: fast and hard.
But, Ertz fit right in. And training with the academy team to get back into competitive form was more enjoyable than she could have imagined.
“It brought back the joy you have as a kid when you’re just playing for fun,” Ertz told USA TODAY Sports. “Once it becomes your job, you still have fun but it’s different. It was nice to re-spark that joy.”
That joy multiplied in late June, when Ertz, the 2017 and 2019 U.S. Soccer player of the year, found out she was headed to her third World Cup this summer in Australia and New Zealand as a key cog in the U.S. Women’s National Team wheel. The Americans, who open group play July 21, are favored to win their third consecutive title.
Though she’s scored 20 goals and recorded six assists in 100-plus appearances with the USWNT, her value is measured far beyond statistics. A bruising, physical midfielder known for dishing out (and receiving) hard tackles, Ertz separates herself with her intensity, high IQ and versatility. USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski calls it “the JJ thing,” a nod to Ertz’s maiden name of Johnston and a career built around doing whatever “the team needs in every particular moment.”
“When we need a punch, she’s the first one to throw one; when we need to absorb one, she’s the first one to put her face in front of it,” Andonovski told USA TODAY Sports, adding that Ertz brings composure and steadiness to the roster and “knows how to manage big games and big moments.”
And now, she also knows how to manage life with a toddler.
A 'beautiful thing' called motherhood
Just 10 months after having Madden, Ertz is back in peak condition, a feat even she wasn’t convinced was possible when she gave birth last August. Ertz wasn’t sure what to expect postpartum. In the back of her mind, she knew never playing again could be a possibility.
“You have to make peace with that,” Ertz said. “Going through the whole process, you can’t fear anything. There’s always ‘what ifs’ when you’re playing professional sports. The truth is that having that experience (of giving birth), and with help from my incredible support system, I just embraced it.
"It’s a different feel when it’s all or nothing. And if I didn’t make (the roster), the alternative is that I’d get to be with my family and look back on a career I’m unbelievably grateful for.”
But Zach Ertz, Julie’s husband who’s an 11-year NFL veteran, didn’t think she’d be able to walk away so easily.
“The day she got clearance from the doctor to start working out again, she went for a jog and started kicking a ball around in the backyard, and I thought, ‘She’s probably not gonna be done just yet,’” Zach Ertz told USA TODAY Sports, saying his wife attacked staying fit during childbirth and being ready for delivery “with the same tenacity as she does a soccer game.”
Being a mom, Julie said, is even more demanding than she anticipated — and she loves it.
Ertz, who is from Mesa, Arizona, and lives year round in Phoenix, signed with the NWSL's Angel City FC in mid-April. She juggles flying back and forth from Los Angeles to play for the team and said logistics have been the toughest part of motherhood.
With a baby — especially one who is nursing but also extremely close to walking and talking — her schedule isn’t really her own now, which she said can throw routine into chaos. Media interviews, for example, are usually scheduled during Madden’s nap time.
“Everything has changed — my whole perspective on life, my priorities,” Ertz said. “It’s just different now. Before, all day was considered gameday, now I have to keep putting on different hats simultaneously. It’s a beautiful thing, though.”
She’s one of three moms on the USWNT roster this summer, including Alex Morgan (who has a 3-year-old daughter, Charlie) and Crystal Dunn (13-month-old son, Marcel). All three kids will travel to Australia and New Zealand to make their own World Cup debuts.
The 'scars' of life
To prep for being a mom, Ertz listened to advice from her teammates and had numerous conversations with Cheyna Matthews, a forward with the NWSL’s Chicago Red Stars who also pulls double-duty for her national team (Jamaica) while raising three sons with husband Jordan Matthews, a receiver for the 49ers and one of Zach’s best friends.
“She shared her scars and was like, ‘Here’s what I’ve learned, you have to give your body grace,’” Julie said. “That was a huge help.”
In an unexpected twist, Ertz was pregnant at the same time as her older sister Melanie, who gave birth three months before Ertz. She described the time as a “really fun, supportive, enjoyable moment in our relationship.”
Ertz did deep-dives online to read up on how other new moms handled life after childbirth, worked with a pelvic floor specialist for months before she went into labor, and worked out all the way up until 38 weeks pregnant to keep a base layer of fitness. All of it played a role in her quick return to the pitch.
“I think the toughest thing for me was change of direction with the change of how your hips are (after pregnancy),” Ertz said. “But I didn’t want to put any pressure on myself because everybody’s body is different. So I just allowed time to do its thing instead of stressing.”
When she was ready for full-time training, Ertz used her Arizona connections to get time with the Phoenix Rising Academy Team. Taylor said it was “typical Julie” when she arrived at the complex.
“Her personality is that she didn’t want those guys or our staff to hold back at all,” Taylor said. “But in the beginning, we were trying to monitor her load because in the last 10 minutes of training, she’s trying to race down a 19-year-old over 60 yards on pure determination. She would have kept going for it too, so we had to hold her back a little at first.”
'Better and more competitive'
For as much as Ertz is praised for her physicality and aggression, those closest to her admire something else: her willingness and desire to get better.
“I don’t know a lot of soccer players, but I know a lot of professional athletes and I can’t imagine anyone watching more film or asking more questions of themselves or the coaching staff to better understand the game and what she can do to help her team,” Zach Ertz said. “She puts so much time into her craft because she loves it so much.”
He also recognizes her value as someone who can do a little bit of everything, and likened her to one of American football’s most important positions.
“Julie would have been a great safety,” he said. “She sees everything, keeps everyone and everything right, is versatile and can make all sorts of plays. She’d be a safety valve of sorts.”
As an athlete himself, Zach Ertz understands how demanding a full-time job playing at the highest level is — and now, having watched Julie go through pregnancy and childbirth, he has even more admiration for her ability to return to that level.
Taylor at Phoenix Rising said Julie has always had insatiable drive, a characteristic as evident as a teenager as it was returning to professional play this past year.
“One of the things she expressed when she came to us was that she didn’t just want to come back to what she had been pre-baby, she wanted to come back better and even more competitive,” Taylor said.
And while she’s happy to take on the title of most aggressive, Ertz wants her legacy to be about more than toughness; above all else, she takes pride in being a student of the game.
“If I were to hang my hat on anything, I would hope people, especially my teammates, say, ‘She can read the game really well,’” Ertz said. “That’s something I’ve wanted to be known for my whole career."
If you ask those closest to her, especially the academy players she schooled for months, that won't be a problem.
USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour contributed to this report.
Follow Lindsay Schnell on Twitter: @Lindsay_Schnell
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