Hello Breakers fans, family and friends & "Guten tag from Deutschland!"In case you're rusty on your German, that's "Good afternoon from Germany!"
This is Leslie Osborne and, although I'm travelling overseas at the moment, I asked the Breakers organization to pass this note along to the fans of Boston and help me convey my excitement about joining the Boston Breakers and my commitment to work with our great coaches and my teammates to bring a WPS Cup to Boston in 2010. They tell me that pre-season can be pretty chilly in Boston and I have already started to prepare myself by living in Ludvigsburg, Germany during the offseason. The weather here has gone from nice and sunny to very cold and crisp! My boyfriend plays professional basketball here in the German Bundesliga, so it's fun to get to see him play. I am keeping fit by playing and training with a second division team in Stuttgart.
I'm a Puma-sponsored athlete and New England has a special place in my heart because of trips I've made to the Boston area the last few years to visit my friends at Puma HQ in Westford. My trips have been short, but I've found time to take in Newbury Street, the Public Gardens, Paul's Diner, Mike's Pastries and Sonsie Restaurant so far. I was sold! Now 5 years later, I am going to be living the Boston Life. As professional athletes, we don't get that much free time to get out and explore during the season, but I'm looking forward to checking out Harvard Square, catching a Sox game and seeing what your beaches are like out there in the East Coast.
Okay back to the Breakers! I felt extremely lucky to be a pioneer/ambassador for the first season of WPS. I suffered an ACL injury during training camp with the US National Team while preparing for the Beijing Olympics in May of 2008. I actually had to have reconstructive surgery on my ankle and my torn ACL on the same day and wound up missing the Games while I was recuperating. As you can imagine, representing my country in the Olympics was a lifelong dream and missing that chance was a big disappointment. But I came back strong. I am very proud that I completed my recovery from both injuries in 10 months and started 18 of 20 games last season for FC Gold Pride. I had a great inaugural experience with FC Gold Pride, who are based in Santa Clara, California where I also played in college. But now I'm ready to call Boston home and to work with the rest of my incredible teammates towards a WPS Championship this season.
I marked Kelly Smith in the 2007 World Cup when she played for England and I represented the USA. It's going to be a thrill to play alongside her for the first time. Amy LePeilbet and Alex Scott are world class defenders. One of my former FC Gold Pride teammates, Tiffany Weimer, is also coming to Boston as a free agent and she is going to be fun to watch. She's a very creative playmaker. And, of course, what can I tell you about Kristine Lilly that you don't already know? She's amazing and I cannot wait to play with her again. I'm really looking forward to meeting the rest of my teammates when training camp opens in March. I am fortunate to have this opportunity to play for such a renowned coaching staff and alongside some of the best players in the world. I have been so impressed with the Breaker organization and can't wait to give everything I have to the Boston Breakers!
See you soon Boston :)
Leslie Osborne
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