When former University of Minnesota women’s soccer player Katie Bethke heard from her assistant college coach Lisa Berg in early June, she had no idea that within two weeks, she’d be a sports envoy for the Department of State and U.S. Embassy in Mexico. Bethke, a Wisconsin native who now makes her home in the Twin Cities, was selected to support She Wins Mexico — a non-governmental organization that works with girls and women from underserved communities to help them access sports, English, and life skills.

“Our program focuses on sports as a vehicle to give access and opportunities to young girls to have a high level education,” says Cecilia Vales, founder and executive director of She Wins Mexico.

Vales was looking for retired professional female soccer players involved with coaching who could share their experiences with girls in Mexico. Berg recommended Bethke — a four-year starter for the Gophers, a five-year U.S. and European pro, and now a youth coach in Minnesota — and Vales thought she was a perfect fit. Bethke was joined by Janine Szpara, former U.S. women’s national team soccer player and current head coach of the Portland Rain.

A typical day on the week-long visit would start with Bethke, Szpara, and Vales traveling anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours to put on a clinic for two to three hours for the girls in that area. The girls’ coaches would get a turn in the afternoon with coaching education followed by a seminar for the girls. “Jeanine and I would speak about our experiences with the sport and what it’s given us and what it can give them. Kind of opening their eyes to the possibilities in soccer to better your life.”

Depending on the girls, the conversations would go in different directions. “Some were very serious…there is an amateur league in Mexico for U-13 to U-16. They are interested in how they go from club to getting into university to professional to national team; but then also reaching out to girls from villages and orphanages and schools just using [soccer] to stay healthy and active and give them that confidence.”

Says Vales, “For us it is an amazing experience to work with women that used to be professional soccer players because they become role models for our girls and in that way we can let them know that it is possible to achieve their dreams as soccer professionals while they study at a university.”

A key take-away for Bethke was the importance of educating the girls’ coaches: “The coaches who are there locally are going to be able to reach a lot more players every day, year after year, and reach a lot more families. They’re going to be there when we leave in a week. That was a big thing for me to understand.”

After the whirlwind experience in Mexico, what does the rest of the summer have in store for Bethke? “Coaching.” She recently transitioned from her role as youth technical director for the Mahtomedi Soccer Association to the girls U-9 age group coordinator for Fusion Soccer Club. “I’m really excited to start that. It’s exciting because Fusion just partnered with [NWSL] professional team FC Kansas City so I hope to see a lot of curriculum and coaching education come from the professional team and be able to look up to them and have those goals.”

Tags: Cecila Vales, FC Kansas City, Gopher Soccer, Katie Bethke, Lisa Berg, NWSL, She Wins