Rose Lavelle Shares Secrets On Recovery, Teammates

Typically when you meet a world-class athlete, and one who’s won Olympic medals and a World Cup, grabbing a quote happens at the sideline in a flash. But on a Thursday in late May, it was at a Pilates studio in hip Seattle where I first caught up with USWNT superstar Rose Lavelle.

Lavelle mentioned that regular stops at Inspire Pilates in the Queen Anne neighborhood have become part of her “recovery day routine” and a normal part of what keeps her ready for international friendlies and big games.

“Yeah, my teammates hear me talk all the time about Pilates. They’re probably thinking ‘enough already!’” Lavelle joked, “They’re probably hoping at some point I’ll shut up about it.”

But the USA midfielder, who has scored 24 goals in 88 appearances for Team
TISI
USA, says that once she turned pro that something “just clicked” about making off-field self-care a huge priority.

“I think when you turn pro, it becomes so much more important to take care of your body,” Lavelle said during our in-person interview.

She added that playing for the NWSL’s OL Reign against other American teams, not to mention games against England, Japan, and the Netherlands, demands “another level” of fitness from what she adapted to as a college player at Wisconsin.

“I always say it’s a 24/7 mindset about what you are doing for your body to best prepare you for your next training or next game,” Lavelle said. “We definitely lifted in college, and in high school, I was obsessed with soccer and only focused on soccer training.”

Up in Madison, Lavelle was a four-year starter and was named Big Ten Conference Freshman of the Year for 2013. With her help, Wisconsin won the Big Ten Women’s Soccer Tournament the following year, as Lavelle was named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year consecutively in 2015 and 2016.

After getting the nod as a first-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), Lavelle was the number one overall pick in the 2017 NWSL Draft. In 2017, she became part of the regular USWNT roster.

Now, much of Lavelle’s off-field fitness centrist around that 24/7-level of preparedness. Her preferred style of Pilates, called La Gree Pilates, uses a flat matching called a reformer, which looks almost like a massage table with moving parts. She said that her Pilates instructor and her work use the La Gree method to work on core and peripheral body strength, plus the increased flexibility it provides.

When Lavelle is on-hand at the Starfire Sports Center, where the Reign and the MLS’s Seattle Sounders both train, her day always starts with a short meditation and intense stretches that activate her core and legs before soccer drills.

Lavelle hints, too, that being a twenty-something and a world-class athlete sometimes clashes with diet.

“I think about back in high school, hitting McDonald’s
MCD
and then rilling up at practice with a large Dr. Pepper and a Big Mac in my hand,” said Lavelle, a native of Cincinnati, who added that Skyline Chili is one of her hometown favorites. “Now—it was a learning curve—but nutrition is such an important part of fitness in recovery. That being said, I don’t make myself miserable.”

Off the field, Lavelle has also become a hot commodity. Currently, the 28-year-old soccer star has active brand partnerships, including Nike
NKE
, Chipotle, and Icy Hot, where she has recently joined Shaquille O’Neal, NFL star Darren Waller, and WTA tennis pro Sloane Stephens as part of the megabrand’s Icy Hot Squad.

VIDEO: Lavelle’s goal seals the deal for the USA’s World Cup win

A spokesperson for Icy Hot said that Lavelle and its athlete ambassadors “embody what it means to rise up from pain and demonstrate resilience.” Earlier this month, Shaq and his foundation unveiled the “Comebaq Court” play space and basketball court at the Shaquille O’Neal Boys & Girls Club of Henry County, outside Atlanta.

Cinci girl conquers the soccer world

The year 2019 started a huge ascent in Lavelle’s soccer career. That summer, Lavelle started every one of the USWNT’s contests at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. During the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Lavelle scored a pivotal three goals in five games, including the game winner against the Netherlands in the Cup Final.

For her efforts, Lavelle was awarded the Bronze Ball at the FIFA Women’s World Cup awards as the third-best player in the tournament, behind England’s Lucy Bronze and fellow USA teammate Megan Rapinoe, who won both the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot as the tournament’s best lead scorer.

After that, global football giant Manchester City at the end of the 2019-2020 season. After the halt in play from the Covid-19 Pandemic, Lavelle played the entirety of the 2020-2021 Barclays Women’s Super League (WSL), netting five goals in 24 caps for the Citizens. She calls her stint at Man City a formative experience.

“(Man City’s) style over there is more structure, the way they pass out of plays and are more patient. That’s definitely a part of my game that I wanted to grow; that tiki-taka style.”

Lavelle also said that it was good for her game to be surrounded by world-class players from outside the USA. Also on Man City’s roster during her time there were England captain Steph Houghton and striker strikers Ellen White and Chloe Kelly, plus Sweden’s Filippa Angeldahl and Scottish midfield wizard Caroline Weir.

“It was also great to play alongside (USWNT teammate) Sam Mewis, and I really, really enjoyed my time there.” Lavelle also said that one teammate and fellow midfielder in particular, Keira Walsh, may have taught her a thing or two. Walsh, an England international whom FC Barcelona recently snapped up, played 118 games for Man City from 2014 to 2022.

“Keira is so incredible. I think she makes it look so easy that people don’t realize how hard some of what she does is. She gets out of pressure seamlessly, and she’ll wiggle out of three people so easily.”

When asked about playing for the USA and her contributions—goals and otherwise—Lavelle is quick to herald her teammates.

“The US National Team is exciting, and it’s intense. And you grow so much, learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable,” Lavelle said. “There are so many incredible players on the national team. They feed me the ball and then I can feed them the ball. Honestly, they make me look good.”