How Montana Preseason Went from “Crazy Idea” to Perfect Fit

On May 26, OL Reign Associate General Manager Brynn Sebring faced a difficult challenge: the NWSL’s moratorium on full team training was set to expire in four days, but the club was unable to hold full-team training sessions at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma due to the stay-at-home order in Washington State. However, with NWSL Challenge Cup starting in less than a month, the club could ill-afford to delay the start of training.

So, Sebring started looking elsewhere.

“I was searching states closest to us that would allow full team training,” Sebring said. “I started with Washington and worked my way out from there.”

The decision came down to Utah, Arizona, and Montana. Utah was a strong contender, particularly as it was the site of the upcoming tournament. Baker and OL Reign technical staff, though, were worried that sharing the facilities with other clubs might inhibit their ability to schedule preseason activities as they saw fit to help the players prepare for the Challenge Cup.

Arizona’s heat provided another challenge, and other logistical issues eliminated the state from contention. Ultimately it was Missoula, Montana that caught Sebring’s eye as a potential perfect solution: a favorable climate, an elevation similar to Salt Lake City, Utah and—most importantly—proper facilities with a grass training surface.

“I sent an email to the University of Montana, who just installed their grass pitch a year ago and it’s in pristine condition,” Sebring said. “We asked them if they would be willing to work on an absolutely crazy idea with me and within 48 hours of that first email, we had every single aspect of our trip nailed down: our lodging, our medical providers, our field, our gym, rental cars, everything. It came together really quickly with a ton of incredible support from the University of Montana.”

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“Usually, when I pitch crazy ideas to people, I get shut down and these guys matched me crazy-for-crazy with everything that they’re willing to do for us.”

For the university’s athletic director, Kent Haslam, the potential visit offered a chance to inject enthusiasm into the community around women’s soccer.

“We are thrilled to host OL Reign at the University of Montana and share our outstanding facilities,” Haslam said. “It brings excitement to our community and great exposure for our athletic program and university. We are proud of our women’s soccer program at Montana and appreciate the opportunity to bring more attention to the sport by hosting a premiere professional team on our campus.”

A flurry of activity surrounded preparations. The entire team—including training and support staff—underwent COVID-19 testing and had to return negative results to be allowed to travel. A moving van containing all of the club’s equipment and two months’ worth of clothing and personal effects was loaded and driven almost 500 miles from Tacoma to Missoula.

On Sunday, May 31 the team boarded a charter flight to Missoula..

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Now, the club is at the end of the first week of preseason as players enjoy the University’s facilities and a warm reception on social media from the city of 74,428 people.

“It’s awesome,” Sebring said. “In women’s soccer fans’ eyes and my eyes, our players are celebrities and they deserve to be treated as such. It’s really cool when we’re in a new community and they welcome us the way Missoula has. We’ve had probably 10 people watching from outside the fence watching training every day. They’re just coming by the field hoping that we’re there. There aren’t major pro sports teams in Montana, so seeing little kids getting exposure to a level of athletics that they’ve never had before is really cool, and it’s really cool that we can provide that. We’re not lost in a sea of noise. People are stoked to have us here for a while.

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Jodie Taylor on the Challenges in Preparing for the Challenge Cup