Before tonight's Canadian Soccer Association event in honor of John Herdman, the Breakers' leadership had some work to handle. Lee and Carlos Bocanegra finally caught up with one another and discussed a potential trade. Lee was made aware by Carlos that the Football Federation of Australia planned to announce tomorrow that their players would not be playing in NWSL in 2023 due to the country's Women's World Cup preparations as host. With that in mind, Carlos was looking to acquire a goalkeeper to replace Lydia Williams, offering the Storm's backup, EJ Proctor, and a conditional 2023 NWSL Draft pick for the Breakers' Libby Stout. Lee told Carlos that the deal sounded good, but with them on this west-coast trip it wouldn't make sense to finalize it yet since Proctor wouldn't be able to join the Breakers until after it ended on July 10th.
This evening, to commemorate Herdman's first visit to Vancouver since leaving the Canadian Women's National Team, the Canadian Soccer Association hosted a small celebration involving former and current Canadian WNT players and a number of players from the Breakers, along with his family.
Rhian Wilkinson, Canadian WNT head coach: Tonight, we play tribute to the man who made women's soccer in this country matter, who led us to three Olympic medals and a fourth-place finish in the 2019 Women's World Cup. A man who rescued a broken and fragile squad and in the span of a year brought home for Canada its first medal in a team sport at the Summer Olympics since 1936. Several of us will make speeches over the course of the evening, but as John's successor as head coach of the National Team, I would like to thank him for having faith in me and encouraging me to be part of the future when my playing days were over. It's because of him that I had the confidence to go after my UEFA B license and then the Pro license, to step up and lead the U-20s to a runner-up finish at the 2020 Youth World Cup, and ultimately take his place in charge of this program. I love you, John. Welcome home.
The first course of the evening was distributed, after which Karina Leblanc stepped to the mic.
Karina Leblanc: How is everyone?! Great, I hope. When I heard that John and his Breakers would be here for Canada Day, I cancelled my vacation to visit family in Dominica to be here for the week. I remember when John first came here. It was just after our last-place finish at the 2011 World Cup. He saw the silent in-fighting that had come to be standard operating practice under his predecessor and brought us together to air out the dirty laundry that we had been carrying around for the past handful of years. He also showed us a picture of our captain, the greatest goal scorer in international soccer history, taken after our last game in that tournament and told us that he NEVER wanted to see Christine look like that again, that we owed it to her to pull together and become a team, a family, a sisterhood. The first step in that process was a two-match series with the United States, where we showed we were on our way back with a 1-1 draw in his first match in charge. Following that, we went to the Pan Am Games in Guadalajara and unexpectedly won gold, beating Brazil on kicks in the final. His demand for accountability and belief in "women leading women" gave us the chance to correct the mistakes we had made previously and allowed me to finally bury the hatchet with my greatest rival, who now I am proud to call a friend, Erin Mcleod. Thank you, John, for giving me memories to last a lifetime and allowing me to experience a World Cup in our great country.
During the second course, Steph and Yael talked with one another about a matter of mutual concern.
Steph: Look around this room. These are some of my closest friends and I would love to be able to share you with them.
Yael: Are you asking me if I'm ok with you outing us?
Steph: I guess I am.
Yael pondered the request, then stepped away from the table and hauled Clare with her to the ladies' room for a head-to-head over this.
Clare: Why did you drag me in here?
Yael: Steph wants to out us.
Clare: Ouch! Who knows about you except me?
Yael: Sam and Abby found out a few weeks ago at Love 4 All, and I'm thinking some of the older Canadians know as well.
Clare: So who among those here tonight DOESN'T?
Yael: John, for one.
Clare: Tough ask, I can tell you.
Yael: Maybe it'd be better if we did it together instead of her doing it on her own and putting me on the spot.
Clare: Only you can decide if you're ready for that and what will come after it.
Yael: I'm in love with her, we've named the baby already, and we've started planning for our eventual moving in together. What else is there for me to consider? We're as committed to each other as you can get. Guess this won't hurt so bad. Just don't want John or Lee to break us up.
Clare: I'll prep John, but I can't guarantee you safety from that possibility.
Yael: Thanks, Clare. Guess it's time to face the music, then.
Yael and Clare returned to their table just as Sam Mewis was finishing her remarks.
Sam Mewis: John cared enough about my off-the-field happiness that he traded for my now-fiancee Abby and brought her to Boston. I'm forever grateful to him for that, and we will pay him back on October 15th by winning the NWSL title.
Steph stood to sing John's praises and was joined by Yael.
Steph Labbe: John resurrected my international career amid my own struggles with performance anxiety. I rode the bench behind Karina and Erin, but finally got the opportunity to make a World Cup squad in 2015. The next year, following Karina's retirement and Erin's knee injury, I moved up to become the starter. Between his belief in me and Diana and Shelina's support at the Spirit and in Rio, we were able to pick up the bronze medal at our second consecutive Olympic Games. Then, after I was literally left for dead by my club team, he made the move of the century by bringing myself and Abby Dahlkemper to the Breakers from Washington.
Yael nudged Steph and her girlfriend yielded the floor.
Yael: When I was hired by John as assistant coach of the Breakers, I knew about his belief in "women leading women" but I wasn't aware of how much he valued input and delegated responsibility to his players and assistants. It allowed me to find my voice as a coach and expand my knowledge base heading into this second season under him. I am also grateful for the friendship I have developed with his wife, Clare, and for the joy that my life has been since Steph came to Boston. He's literally changed my life, and I will never forget that.
John tried to decipher what Yael said in her remarks, asking Clare to translate for him what was said and what she and Yael discussed while they were away earlier. Once he had gotten the gist of it, he made a mental note to talk to the pair tomorrow about what they revealed.
After speeches from Christine and Clare, the dinner concluded. Steph, Yael, Sam, and Abby went back to the team hotel and spent some time unwinding with one another. John and Clare took Jay and Lilly for a walk around downtown Vancouver, reminiscing of when they called this town home.
![](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/116188744-288-k494473.jpg)
YOU ARE READING
The Wait Is Over
FanfictionThe 2022 NWSL season will hopefully bring to an end the search for a title for the two oldest franchises in US women's professional soccer, the Boston Breakers and the Chicago Red Stars. Twelve other teams will have their say on whether either franc...