On March 27th, Megan Foster – a 24-year old defender from Gainesville, Florida - arrived in Denmark and joined Odense Q on a 3-months spell. The stay brought her all sorts of impressions and we had a long talk with Megan before her departure in order to capture her experience from Odense Q and Denmark as a whole. In this first part of the series, we focus on the experience and challenges Megan was facing on the field.
Early involvement
Arriving late into the preparations for the start of the season, Megan made her first match appearance just three days upon her arrival. It was in Odense Q’s pre-season game against first division side Greve - one week before the spring season kicked off. Brought on in the second half, Megan was quick to get involved from the right-back position and produced a couple of notable actions along the way.
“It was a great moment to go in partway through the second half and make an impact in defense. I hadn't quite gotten rid of my airplane legs yet, but overall it was a positive experience. Looking forward from that game, it seemed I would be able to help the team out some.”
A few days later the 24-year old defender also took part in a training match against Team Odense Q’s U/18 side. Unfortunately, she picked up a muscle injury from that game which overshadowed the positive side of her early involvement on the field.
"I felt a bit of tightness in my left quad going into the match but I thought it was something I could play through. Partway through the game I kicked a long ball, immediately feeling a sharp, burning pain in my quad. I knew at that moment I couldn't continue to play."
The road to recovery
The injury didn’t vanish right away and Megan was forced to see her name added to the injury list just days before the spring season kicked off in Denmark.
“It was a very challenging injury to get through, just due to the timing of it. In the beginning I was told to rest it and try running to a limited extent, but I also did a lot of exercises by myself. Once Michelle and Johannes (new physios at Odense Q) joined halfway through my stay, I was able to get regular treatment, which really helped my recovery.”
Megan got back on the field as we approached the final stages of the season. She appeared in a handful of games and while mainly playing for the reserves upon recovering, Megan did get her competitive debut in the first team when Odense Q hosted Sundby BK on May 27.
“When I got the chance to debut with the first team after my injury, I was excited. After all, my main goal coming to Denmark was to play soccer and make an impact on the team”.
Odense Q went into the game missing a couple of key players in the middle of the park. As a result, Megan found herself in the starting line-up playing as a central midfielder rather than her natural position in defense.
“It was a true test of my abilities as a soccer player. I was coming back from an injury, playing in the warmest game of the season, in a position I had never been trained in and - of course - I had big shoes to fill. Jakob and Ronnie (Odense Q head coaches) told me before the game that I wasn't expected to play the whole match coming off my injury but to run and work hard for as long as I could. And I did just that, giving it everything I had on the day.”
A sigh of relief
The following weeks Megan helped secure promotion for the reserves' team. She even got on the scoresheet just nine days before heading back to the US and repaid the faith put in her by coach and chairman Rene Hansen.
”It was a sigh of relief. Getting the goal was confirmation that I was finally healed and back on the pitch again. I "owed" René a goal from the match before, and I feel like I payed my dues with that one”.
Megan’s goal fell in Odense Q’s 5-3 victory against local rivals Kildemosen BK. And judging from the photos in the gallery below the finish itself involved high-level acrobatics.
“It was a good laugh because of how it happened. The team had a wonderful build-up ending with a great cross from Hanni (Michele Hannibaldsen). I ran in from pretty far out and got to the ball in time to stretch out completely, hitting it just enough to go in. I landed on my back and hit my head on the ground so I didn't even know the ball went in until I heard everyone cheering. Fortunately, the whole incident was caught on camera by our wonderful photographer”.
Despite missing the chance of competing for first team football for the larger part her stay, Megan played a vital role for Odense Q’s second team towards the latter stages of the season. And upon leaving she was full of praise for the teammates with whom she ended up playing the most games.
“While I came to compete at the highest level, it has also been a joy playing with the girls on the second team. They welcomed me with open arms, teaching me Danish soccer phrases, explaining drills and offering their friendship. I'm very grateful to them.”
Let’s talk footb… SOCCER
For any player arriving at a club for a few months, a strong ability to adapt to new surroundings is key. When asked about the most challenging aspect of her soccer experience in Odense Q, Megan pointed out the difficulties in adjusting – or perhaps limiting - her natural instincts as a player.
“At times I felt stuck between my instinct developed from my previous soccer experiences in the US and the way of doing things here. My biggest challenge with the soccer here has been adapting to a very set style of play. In my former teams, I’ve been the central defender who guided my teammates. Suddenly it was the other away around in a completely new setting. It was difficult to handle at times.”
Besides the broader cultural differences between Denmark and the US, which we’ll get into in the next part of this series, Megan also reflected upon a more specific difference in how Danish players typically approach a challenge compared to what she’s used to seeing back in Florida.
“I think here in Denmark, you play a lot quicker and go into everything very hard and early. Whereas in my former teams we focused more on waiting for the right moment to make the challenge. I don’t think one is better or one is worse - both can learn from the other”.
In the next part of the interview - which will be published in a week’s time (NOTE: rescheduled for week 31) - we’ll take a closer look at Megan’s impressions outside of soccer.
