‘The Destroyer’ loves to play, but doing right thing matters more

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This article was published 27/03/2020 (2332 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Desiree Scott laments having to wait another year to scratch that interminable Olympic itch, but the Winnipegger and Canadian soccer star gets it.

The quest for a third consecutive appearance on the medal podium for the long-time member of the national women’s squad and the rest of her teammates is on hold until 2021 following the the postponement of the Tokyo Summer Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Scott, who turns 33 in July, already has a pair of Olympic bronze medals in her possession. Adding to her collection and enhancing the colour scheme will have to wait.

“Obviously we were preparing for a huge summer, so I’m definitely disappointed. Still kind of in awe that we are at this point,” Scott said Friday. “It’s still kind of mind-boggling that Tokyo’s not happening. When I talk to friends and family members, there’s still that shock factor that this is the world we’re in right now.

“But I’m definitely appreciative it’s postponed and not cancelled, and we have something to look forward to in a year’s time. That burn for gold is always what keeps us going every day. Fuelling the fire, beating the Americans, let’s just say it.”

Scott, a veteran midfielder, was training with Team Canada in France but returned to the Manitoba capital earlier this month when the coronavirus threat began to escalate in Europe. She’s been quarantined but is healthy and symptom free, as is the rest of her family.

Head coach Kenneth Heiner-Moller told The Canadian Press recently the team, ranked eighth in the world, was to play as many as five games prior to the original July start of the Olympics, including a match April 14 against seventh-ranked Australia in Vancouver that has already been scrapped.

There’s no point guessing how long the current hiatus might be, so for now Scott is maintaining a personal workout program indoors and is eager to get running outside with the onset of spring.

“There’s not much else we can do until a plan can be put in place and we can see how the next few months are going to look,” she said. “Thank goodness we’re a team sport and we have each other to lean on through the crazy adventure this journey has taken us on. We talk all the time and we just ride the roller-coaster together.

“We do all that as a team and motivate each other… it can get mundane with home workouts. We’re all stuck in our separate cities, so it’s nice to have that connection through group chats and FaceTime.”

The former University of Manitoba Bisons standout, just 22 when she made her debut for the national team in February 2010, admitted any thoughts of retirement have been shelved for now.

“It crossed my mind. You go through a four-year cycle, that’s how we look at things. We have the World Cup and then the Olympics and then you re-evaulate. Not that I feel older, but with some of the young ones never in the treatment room, you question that,” she said, laughing. “But I’m feeling good and, as of right now, my plan is to be in Tokyo next summer with the squad.”

Scott’s third professional season with the Utah Royals FC — based in Salt Lake City — has also been affected. The National Women’s Soccer League’s regular season, set to start April 18, has been delayed. That adds to the two-and-a-half years of frustration for “The Destroyer,” a nickname given to Scott by former Canada coach John Herdman for her dogged patrol of the field and the punishing tackles that have become the 5-3 speedster’s trademark.

In September 2018, she was injured while training in Texas ahead of a CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the 2019 World Cup, and she spent two months in a walking boot. Then last summer, the Canadians suffered an early exit at the World Cup in France after a 1-0 defeat to Sweden.

‘Thank goodness we’re a team sport and we have each other to lean on’– Desiree Scott 

The Tokyo Games provided a chance for some redemption, yet, that too is delayed.

“Huge disappointment (in France) for our squad. We are a team that’s known to bounce back and do well at the Olympics, so I was looking forward to working toward that and prove to the world we belong on a podium,” Scott said. “So, we’re taking a step back. But the sights are now set on 2021.

“We pride ourselves on that Canadian grit that we show on the field, the work ethic this team has. Overall, we’re a positive group, our staff is all the most hard-working people, so they’re sending us videos and training programs to keep us fired up and motivated.”

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Scott said she was totally supportive of the Canadian Olympic Committee’s decision last weekend not to attend the Summer Games unless they were postponed — a decision the International Olympic Committee ultimately made Monday.

“Every day with this virus things are happening right before our eyes,” she said. “So much around us is on pause, the sports world included, and seeing Canada take that stand… we can be proud to take that lead and know the health of athletes and humanity is bigger.

“It’s an opportunity to appreciate some down time with our families and know we have a crazy-busy year ahead to train and get after it. I’m lucky to look at my past Olympic medals and to know I have that opportunity to go again. It’s not something any athlete would want to give up.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell