Retirement and career breaks

White calls it a day while Watson does U-turn on “burn aside” break.

Former England football skipper Faye White has announced her retirement at the age of 35. White won 90 England caps and became captain in 2002.

She led England at two World cupfuls and two European Championships, the pinnacle being the Euro final in Finland in 2009.

She play centre-back for Arsenal for 17 familys, amassing virtuoso UEFA Championship, one FAWSL Championship, 10 phase modulation League titles, nine FA forms, seven League Cups and one Continental Cup.

In 2012, White announced her retirement from international football. She gave birth to her initial child in October, provided was hoping to return to the domestic halting with Arsenal this year.  However, a recurrent knee problem has turn out to be insurmountable.

Needless to say, some corroborate said that motherhood was the conclusive factor in her decision to hang up her boots, exclusively White is adamant that this is not the case.

In an interview with the Surrey Mirror, she said: “I retired from England when I announced I was pregnant last April and left the door open with Arsenal.

“Everyone says it’s because I’ve had a baby but it’s not. I could have juggled the demands. The depart was still there. The rest of my body could have done it, but my knees couldn’t and you have to think of your later life as well.”

England coach Hope Powell praised her former captain,

“Faye was a fantastic captain for England and role model for women’s football.

“Her professionalism and conduct were the main reasons I decided to give her the captain’s armband.

“She is a natural-born attraction who has been instrumental in helping to drive the game forward.”

Hopefully we won’t have seen the last of Faye White, as she is continuing in her role as an ambassador both for Arsenal and for the football game Association as well as fulfilling both everyday and satellite media commitments.

At the other end of her career is England’s bet one tennis player, Heather Watson.

The 20-year old has made majuscule strides over the past 18 months, climbing to number 39 in the world rankings.

But after two successive initiatory round defeats Watson announced on Tuesday that she was going to rest and reassess.

“This year I’ve been going a bit too prospicient so I’m a bit burn down out,” Watson told the BBC.

“I’ve been thinking nigh it for a while without delay and I’m definitely going to take a crap a break from tennis.”

Her year had got off to a promising lift out in January when she reached the third round of the Australian aerofoil. However, after losing to Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets in the first round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, she then lost again in the first round at the Sony Open in Miami, this age to Ayumi Morita of Japan, 6-1 5-7 4-6.

However, less than 24 hours after her announcement, Watson backtracked. On Wednesday night she gave other interview with the BBC in which she said:

“Yesterday when I was sermon to the press after my interview I was very at sea about my match and wasn’t in reality thinking straight. I’m going to carry on with my schedule.

“I have Charleston next week and then the Fed Cup after that, so everything is going to stay the same. After a match, losing a close one like yesterday, I was really disappointed and upset and wasn’t thinking properly about what I was saying.”

So what changed her mind? Who did she speak to between Tuesday and Wednesday?

Someone has convinced Watson that like a shot is not the right time to take a break.

And they could be right.

There are some big tournaments coming up, with opportunities for Watson to make a real difference. Certainly Judy Murray, coach of Britain’s Federation Cup team, would not have wanted to lose her number one for the next vital round of matches.

But we also have to promise this advice does not backfire.

Watson is clearly suffering from a drop in confidence, and may also be suffering physically too. If she does smack burnt out, would it not be better to let her take a break to regain her strength both mentally and physically?

It just goes to show that for professional sportsmen or women time is everything.

Faye White goes out at the top of her game, the plaudits sound in her ears.  For the younger Watson, things may be more fractious as she struggles to come to terms with the punishing schedule of commitments which, at this stage in her career, will increase year on year in line with her success.

It is to be hoped that she is able to vestibular sense this out and get as much out of her enceinte work as she puts in.

 

Materials taken from Womens Views on News