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DeBree Signs with NC Courage
3/26/2021 6:19:00 PM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. – Former Duke women's soccer standout Schuyler DeBree has signed to a two-year contract with the North Carolina Courage of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), the organization announced Tuesday.
With DeBree's signing, Duke currently has five alumni listed on an active roster in the NWSL. DeBree graduated from Duke in 2018, after finishing her career in Durham as one of the most decorated players in program history. The Fair Haven, N.J., native was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2017, while also earning first-team All-ACC and United Soccer Coaches third-team All-America honors. She started her final 49 matches and logged 6,308 career minutes, tallying one goal and five assists for nine points from the back line.
Yet after being selected 11th overall in the 2018 NWSL Draft by the Washington Spirit, DeBree's journey over the last three years was anything but conventional. Her path winded from international play, to competing across the country, to taking over a year away from soccer completely before making the decision to train again in hopes of landing a spot on the Courage. Following a preseason stint with the team in February, DeBree's work had paid off when she was approached by head coach Paul Riley before a recent practice.
"Honestly, two weeks ago, I had kind of come to a place of, 'If this doesn't work out, that's fine,'" said DeBree. "I would go back to grad school and move on from soccer, but I was really grateful that I at least tried and felt like I had performed well. Then, last week at practice, Paul came up to me and was just like, 'We decided to offer you a contract.'"
She admitted her excitement made it difficult to stay focused that day. For DeBree, the weight of having her future so uncertain was finally lifted. It was a process that she described as a 'rollercoaster of emotions,' particularly when put in the context of what her life since graduation entailed.
Nearly six months after she heard her name called in the 2018 NWSL Draft, DeBree and fellow Duke teammate Ashton Miller signed with AC Sparta Praha of the Czech First League. The 10-month period in Prague, Czech Republic, served as DeBree's first look at a soccer environment after Duke, and through acclimating to a lifestyle that did not involve a rigid academic schedule, she learned how necessary it would become to develop balance outside of the sport.
"It was very eye-opening and did shift my perspective a lot on what professional soccer would look like," she said. "I knew that my experience in Prague was very different than what my experience would be in the NWSL, just because everyone except the Americans on my team in Prague were either students or had another job on the side. It wasn't a fully professional league in that sense. It was really interesting to go from having so much structure at Duke and in a college setting, where you have soccer and then you have all these other things to be doing at the same time. Transitioning to just having soccer to work on was interesting and eye-opening to really see that it changed my understanding of my identity and my purpose. Learning that I needed to add additional structure into my life on top of just professional soccer was really important."
Before traveling to France to serve as a content presenter for Soccer.com at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, DeBree inked a deal with Reign FC (now known as OL Reign) of the NWSL. She spent nearly two months with the team in Tacoma, Wash., getting her first taste of the highest level of professional soccer, but would go into retirement in September due to mental health challenges.
Away from the sport that consumed so much of her collegiate and professional life, DeBree relocated from her home state of New Jersey to Chapel Hill, where she began grad school at the University of North Carolina. She moved in with her uncle, and through making new connections and starting different hobbies, she acknowledged that she came to peace with the idea of not playing competitive soccer again. DeBree had established a new identity, one that wasn't reflected by her success on the field.
However, after a year and a half, she arrived at a point where she was ready to try again. One source of encouragement for DeBree was the man she played four years for in Durham, Robbie Church, who knew even before DeBree made the choice to return that her retirement would end eventually.
"She came back from overseas and was looking in different directions at what she wanted to do with her life, but soccer was always there," Church said. "We would speak and you could just tell in her voice that she wasn't quite ready to move on from soccer."
Once her decision was made, DeBree committed fully to training, this time with a different approach.
"I think taking such a complete break where I thought that I'd never play another competitive game of soccer, I felt as though I had really found myself and established who I was without soccer," she said. "Going back into it, it did enable kind of a clean slate that took a lot of the pressure off, I'd say. It just gave me a really healthy perspective."
That perspective, according to DeBree, has translated over to the field, where she has emphasized enjoying the competition rather than relying on personal performance.
"One of my biggest issues before retiring was that I placed so much value on how I performed," she said. "Having that life experience of seeing how damaging it can be to associate your identity and your value so closely to soccer has given me the perspective to make sure I separate that. When I'm on the field, I'm a lot better about not being as hard on myself when I make mistakes and just focusing on enjoying the game, which in turn makes me play a lot better."
Among the best parts for any athlete signing a professional contract is sharing the news with their friends and family. For DeBree, who had recommitted herself to the game after a three-year journey that included a retirement period, being able to tell her parents was perhaps even more special.
"My mom cried," she said. "My dad was super happy for me and my friends were all very proud. I think the people who care about me most are so happy for me having this opportunity, because it means that I'm in a good mental health space. They all know that this wouldn't have been possible unless I got mentally healthy again and was in a really good head space, so they're happy to see me happy and doing well."
Competing with a team based in Cary, N.C., provides its own advantage, as DeBree is still in close contact with friends from her time at Duke. She acknowledges the importance of having circles outside of soccer. There are times she can have a meal or even skateboard around her neighborhood – a hobby she picked up after retiring – and get away from the game, both physically and emotionally.
When she is on the pitch, however, DeBree has already relished in the style of play utilized by the Courage. It features some of her best tools as a player, which were also leaned on during her career as a Blue Devil.
"I think that Duke did such a good job of emphasizing building on the back, possession-based soccer, which is the system that Paul Riley likes to play," she said. "I grew up playing club soccer in that way as well, so being able to maintain that throughout Duke, that value of being able to play through the midfield as a center back or break lines on the dribble as a center back and then play from there has served me really well in this environment."
DeBree said that she is most excited to compete with a group that possesses so much talent, and that plays with such creativity on the ball. Yet just as important for her is the environment of support, trust and hard work that she has already found. As her career in the NWSL blossoms, DeBree knows that she does not need to travel far to find the program that will watch every step of the way.
"We're really proud of Schuyler," Church said. "She was such a good player for us and had a phenomenal junior and senior year. You've got to give her all the credit in the world. Once she made her decision, she made her mind up that she was going to make this team. We talked to one of our current players and she said anytime she was working out up in New Jersey over the holidays, Schuyler was there all the time. She put herself back into really good shape and I know she will do special things with the Courage."
#GoDuke
With DeBree's signing, Duke currently has five alumni listed on an active roster in the NWSL. DeBree graduated from Duke in 2018, after finishing her career in Durham as one of the most decorated players in program history. The Fair Haven, N.J., native was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior in 2017, while also earning first-team All-ACC and United Soccer Coaches third-team All-America honors. She started her final 49 matches and logged 6,308 career minutes, tallying one goal and five assists for nine points from the back line.
Yet after being selected 11th overall in the 2018 NWSL Draft by the Washington Spirit, DeBree's journey over the last three years was anything but conventional. Her path winded from international play, to competing across the country, to taking over a year away from soccer completely before making the decision to train again in hopes of landing a spot on the Courage. Following a preseason stint with the team in February, DeBree's work had paid off when she was approached by head coach Paul Riley before a recent practice.
"Honestly, two weeks ago, I had kind of come to a place of, 'If this doesn't work out, that's fine,'" said DeBree. "I would go back to grad school and move on from soccer, but I was really grateful that I at least tried and felt like I had performed well. Then, last week at practice, Paul came up to me and was just like, 'We decided to offer you a contract.'"
She admitted her excitement made it difficult to stay focused that day. For DeBree, the weight of having her future so uncertain was finally lifted. It was a process that she described as a 'rollercoaster of emotions,' particularly when put in the context of what her life since graduation entailed.
Nearly six months after she heard her name called in the 2018 NWSL Draft, DeBree and fellow Duke teammate Ashton Miller signed with AC Sparta Praha of the Czech First League. The 10-month period in Prague, Czech Republic, served as DeBree's first look at a soccer environment after Duke, and through acclimating to a lifestyle that did not involve a rigid academic schedule, she learned how necessary it would become to develop balance outside of the sport.
"It was very eye-opening and did shift my perspective a lot on what professional soccer would look like," she said. "I knew that my experience in Prague was very different than what my experience would be in the NWSL, just because everyone except the Americans on my team in Prague were either students or had another job on the side. It wasn't a fully professional league in that sense. It was really interesting to go from having so much structure at Duke and in a college setting, where you have soccer and then you have all these other things to be doing at the same time. Transitioning to just having soccer to work on was interesting and eye-opening to really see that it changed my understanding of my identity and my purpose. Learning that I needed to add additional structure into my life on top of just professional soccer was really important."
Before traveling to France to serve as a content presenter for Soccer.com at the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, DeBree inked a deal with Reign FC (now known as OL Reign) of the NWSL. She spent nearly two months with the team in Tacoma, Wash., getting her first taste of the highest level of professional soccer, but would go into retirement in September due to mental health challenges.
Away from the sport that consumed so much of her collegiate and professional life, DeBree relocated from her home state of New Jersey to Chapel Hill, where she began grad school at the University of North Carolina. She moved in with her uncle, and through making new connections and starting different hobbies, she acknowledged that she came to peace with the idea of not playing competitive soccer again. DeBree had established a new identity, one that wasn't reflected by her success on the field.
However, after a year and a half, she arrived at a point where she was ready to try again. One source of encouragement for DeBree was the man she played four years for in Durham, Robbie Church, who knew even before DeBree made the choice to return that her retirement would end eventually.
"She came back from overseas and was looking in different directions at what she wanted to do with her life, but soccer was always there," Church said. "We would speak and you could just tell in her voice that she wasn't quite ready to move on from soccer."
Once her decision was made, DeBree committed fully to training, this time with a different approach.
"I think taking such a complete break where I thought that I'd never play another competitive game of soccer, I felt as though I had really found myself and established who I was without soccer," she said. "Going back into it, it did enable kind of a clean slate that took a lot of the pressure off, I'd say. It just gave me a really healthy perspective."
That perspective, according to DeBree, has translated over to the field, where she has emphasized enjoying the competition rather than relying on personal performance.
"One of my biggest issues before retiring was that I placed so much value on how I performed," she said. "Having that life experience of seeing how damaging it can be to associate your identity and your value so closely to soccer has given me the perspective to make sure I separate that. When I'm on the field, I'm a lot better about not being as hard on myself when I make mistakes and just focusing on enjoying the game, which in turn makes me play a lot better."
Among the best parts for any athlete signing a professional contract is sharing the news with their friends and family. For DeBree, who had recommitted herself to the game after a three-year journey that included a retirement period, being able to tell her parents was perhaps even more special.
"My mom cried," she said. "My dad was super happy for me and my friends were all very proud. I think the people who care about me most are so happy for me having this opportunity, because it means that I'm in a good mental health space. They all know that this wouldn't have been possible unless I got mentally healthy again and was in a really good head space, so they're happy to see me happy and doing well."
Competing with a team based in Cary, N.C., provides its own advantage, as DeBree is still in close contact with friends from her time at Duke. She acknowledges the importance of having circles outside of soccer. There are times she can have a meal or even skateboard around her neighborhood – a hobby she picked up after retiring – and get away from the game, both physically and emotionally.
When she is on the pitch, however, DeBree has already relished in the style of play utilized by the Courage. It features some of her best tools as a player, which were also leaned on during her career as a Blue Devil.
"I think that Duke did such a good job of emphasizing building on the back, possession-based soccer, which is the system that Paul Riley likes to play," she said. "I grew up playing club soccer in that way as well, so being able to maintain that throughout Duke, that value of being able to play through the midfield as a center back or break lines on the dribble as a center back and then play from there has served me really well in this environment."
DeBree said that she is most excited to compete with a group that possesses so much talent, and that plays with such creativity on the ball. Yet just as important for her is the environment of support, trust and hard work that she has already found. As her career in the NWSL blossoms, DeBree knows that she does not need to travel far to find the program that will watch every step of the way.
"We're really proud of Schuyler," Church said. "She was such a good player for us and had a phenomenal junior and senior year. You've got to give her all the credit in the world. Once she made her decision, she made her mind up that she was going to make this team. We talked to one of our current players and she said anytime she was working out up in New Jersey over the holidays, Schuyler was there all the time. She put herself back into really good shape and I know she will do special things with the Courage."
#GoDuke
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