DUCHESNE PLAYING OVERSEAS AFTER VCU
11-9-04
by: Greg Stephenson
Aside from the ever-growing recreational league opportunities, most student-athletes never have the chance to continue playing their respective sports once their collegiate careers end. Playing overseas, the next logical progression, rarely happens. However, one former Virginia Commonwealth University student-athlete has done just that. Catherine Duchesne, a former women’s soccer player for the Rams, spent the last year playing for Bollstanas Sportklubb, a soccer club in Sweden that plays on the Division 1 level, just below the Premier League.
Duchesne is the first student-athlete to be coached by Denise Schilte-Brown and Chris Brown, the Ram’s co-head coaches, to continue her playing career at the next level. Opportunities for women to play professionally in North America are few and far between. However, there are ample prospects of playing overseas. Luckily for Duchesne, though, playing internationally is no foreign concept. She hails from Quebec, Canada and was a four-year starter for the Rams. She also played for her country’s U-18 and U-20 national teams which have traveled all over the world.
“She has a thirst for experiencing different cultures,” said Chris Brown.
A thirst that had been expressed to the Browns’ on numerous occasions. During a recruiting trip in Sweden this past March, Schilte-Brown was asked if she had any players from VCU that were interested in coming across the Big Pond to play soccer. She immediately thought of Duchesne.
“Playing in the States for VCU was a learning experience for her and I think she just wanted to continue that somewhere else,” said Brown. “She was one of the few on our team who wanted to go after that.”
After earning her master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling at VCU (she also has a bachelor’s degree in psychology), she arrived in Sweden just in time to start the season with Bollstanas near the end of May. She became a regular starter on the left side of the midfield, and of course, immersed herself in the Swedish culture.
“I had the best learning experience playing overseas,” said Duchesne, a former CAA Scholar Athlete. “I really enjoyed the competitive level and the cultural challenge that playing in Sweden allowed me to experience.”
As one can expect, the most difficult challenge for her was overcoming the language barrier. “At first it was hard,” said Duchesne. “On the other hand, though, it gave me an opportunity to develop as a person and even learn some Swedish. I personally think that to really get the feeling of a culture you need to appreciate the particularities of the language, which I really enjoyed doing. Not only did it allow me to make friendships with people in the same situation as mine, but it also allowed me to connect with my teammates and coaches on a deeper level. In fact, I was both happy and sad to leave since I was finally starting to understand the spoken component of the team meetings and trainings.”
Another challenge for her that wasn’t as obvious was adjusting to the Swedish people themselves. Unlike America where everyone, for the most part, tends to be outgoing and friendly, Sweden tends to be a little more on the quiet side. “I had to learn how to appreciate the introversion of the Swedish culture which is quite the opposite from what I was used to in America,” said Duchesne.
Not only did Duchesne have to adjust to the daily nuances of living in a foreign country, she also had to adjust to the way soccer is played in Sweden. According to Brown, VCU played more of a “possession, low-pressure game” where they don’t heavily attack the ball until it gets to a certain threshold. In Sweden, the players go out hunting for the ball.
“The major difference in playing for VCU and in Sweden was the aggressiveness of play,” said Duchesne. “I had to adjust and battle hard to earn a position on the field and keep telling myself to be aggressive in order to be successful in the Swedish league.”
According to Brown, however, Duchesne would seem to fit right in with the Swedes. “She’s probably one of the biggest competitors we’ve ever had come through our program,” said the fourth-year coach. “That really speaks volumes about her and helps her succeed at the next level.”
Duchesne also said she had to get used to the amount of attention soccer receives overseas. Sweden is well respected in both men’s and women’s soccer and the country provides for a great soccer environment, which can only make Duchesne’s experience that much more fulfilling.
“My favorite part was experiencing my favorite sport with an European flavor,” said Duchesne. “It was just unreal to be part of such a big cultural significance.”
Her thirst for experiencing new cultures has been quenched, somewhat. She doesn’t plan on returning to the team for next season. Instead, she has moved back to Canada and wants to work in sports psychology, focusing on, surprise, surprise, multi-cultural issues in sport.
Like the guy in the Sprite commercial, Duchesne has obeyed her thirst, and for that, she is thankful. “I will always feel lucky to be able to share my experiences with enlightening people from diverse regions of the world,” she said.
