Tracy Ducar's WUSA diary
By Tracy Ducar
June 8, 2001
Hello again....I'm back again for week #3 of my diary.
This week was a pretty typical week. Daily practices at Boston University at 10 a.m., lifting with our strength coach, Walter Norton, Jr., video review, massages with Naomi, (we all love her!), lots of interviews, and promo appearances.
As part of our duties as professional players in the WUSA we are required to make promotional appearances in our local market. This can consist of speeches, luncheons, dinners, clinics, autograph signings, etc. On average, each player usually only has to make one of these appearances per week and we almost always do them in pairs. Personally, I like the clinics the best.
On Thursday Angela Hucles and I had a beautiful sunny day to give a clinic for a local U-10 girls team. We taught them a few Coerver moves, played some 1v1 and 2v2, and finished up with a little goalkeeper lesson for all of them. Some of them were a bit intimidated, but by the end they all knew how to catch the ball properly and even dive! After an hour and a half session we ended with some autographs. They were giggling the whole time, so I think our mission was accomplished....soccer is fun!
Clinics are a great way to make an impact on the kids in our community. We get to coach them, laugh with them, and get to know them. The clinics are fun, easy, and a good way for our fans to connect with us. I think it is important for the young players to see and understand that all of us in the WUSA started out exactly where they are....playing youth soccer.
As far as our game was concerned, this week was almost a carbon copy of last week for the Breakers. Same field, same day, same time, same score, same result. :-( We lost again at home, 3-2, to the New York Power this past week. I won't bore you with all the details since it was pretty similar to our match against Philly last weekend. We did well to possess the ball and create chances, but failed to capitalize on them. And then New York made the best of their few chances and our mistakes and buried us. As usual we tried to rally and come from behind, but it was too little too late. Once again our fans were there for us....8000+ proud Breaker supporters screaming until the end.
On a lighter note....it seems we have some pranksters on our team. Yes, "Team Spokane", Kim Calkins and Jen Tissue, have been up to no good. In their spare time they have been making prank calls to all of us, posing as reporters trying to get us to do interviews and make phony appearances. They started with me....Kim tried to fake a Boston accent and do an interview for the Boston Herald, but I exposed her pretty quickly because her accent sounded English and reporters never call us at home.
Then they moved on to Elie Foster and tried to get her to make an appearance at a Dance-a-thon. Finally, their best call was to Maren Meinert. Maren and Bettina, our two German players, live at least an hour west of the city, so they always have long treks in their car to get anywhere. So Kim called and posed as their landlord. She explained to Maren that as foreigners they both needed to be married to continue renting their apartment or else they would have to move. Maren is married, but Bettina is not. Thus Kim continued to mislead Maren by telling her that if she did not find a husband for Bettina in a week that they would have to move to New Hampshire, (an even further commute for them!), where the laws are different.
At this point Maren was tired of having her chain pulled and asked what teammate this was calling! Way to go Maren! Maren has adapted very quickly to our team, American humor, and all of our slang. Out of our three foreigners, she is the most outgoing and is the most confident with her knowledge of our language. She is quick with retorts and her delivery and facial expressions are the best....so dry that you think she is being serious when she is really just pulling your leg.
More recently the pranksters tried to get me again by trying to convince our fans, in the Breaker's online diary, that I was a tap dancer. Nice try guys, but anyone that knows me, knows that I am rhythmically challenged, (similar to Elaine on Seinfeld ), and I would never want to offend any tap dancers....I think tap dancers are unbelievably talented.
In my last two diaries I have tried to provide you with a little more insight as to who I am beyond the Breakers. So keeping with that theme....you now know that I garden, I love the outdoors and extreme sports, (I failed to mention last week that I also love wake boarding too!), well I also love to cook! Most people find it hard to believe that I can even boil water, (let alone garden!), but I have a little Martha Stewart blood pulsing through these veins! I enjoy trying new recipes and being creative in the kitchen. I find it relaxing and basically I just like to eat good food!
I get tired of eating basic chicken, pasta, and all the other processed foods, plus it gets expensive to eat out all the time, so I like to make my own fresh concoctions at home. I like to cook fresh fish, make my Grandma's special pork chops, make fajitas with fresh guacamole, chicken satay, make colorful salads, create new stir fry combinations, and occasionally I treat my husband and I to some fun desserts. My all time favorite meal to make though, (and my husband's too!), is Thanksgiving Dinner! I make a mean Orange Bourbon Turkey with an apple, pineapple, cranberry bread crumb stuffing, gravy, sweet potato pie, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, and a fresh apple pie for dessert! WHEW! I am getting hungry just thinking about all that food....I can't wait until Thanksgiving!
Before I wrap up this week's entry I will leave you with a simple dessert recipe that is sure to be a crowd pleaser. It is your basic rice krispy treats with a twist! I made them this week for a team dinner and they were gone before I set the pan down. My teammates are begging me to make more. The recipe is as follows:
3 Tbsp of margarine (it works much better than butter or any other substitute)
4 Cups mini marshmallows
6 Cups rice krispies
1/8 - 1/4 Cup of Skor English Toffee Bits (they are usually found in the baking aisle right next to the chocolate chips)
For those of you who have never made rice krispy treats it is tremendously easy and quick, but it is the toffee bits that make these so unique.
Melt the margarine on low heat in a large sauce pan. Next add and melt the marshmallows. Remove from the heat and add the rice krispies and toffee bits. Stir well and press into a baking pan lightly greased with either margarine or a Pam non-stick type spray. Cool, cut, and enjoy!
Until next week...happy eating!
-"Martha"
P.S. CONGRATULATIONS to the Fawcetts from the Boston Breakers! We were happy to hear that Joy gave birth to a healthy little girl, Madilyn Rae Fawcett.