Josée Bélanger is a Canadian soccer player who plays for FC Rosengård in the Damallsvenskan. She is also a member of the Canadian national team. She has won a regional gold medal with Canada on two occasions, first at the 2004 CONCACAF Women’s U-19 Championship and subsequently at the 2010 CONCACAF Women’s Championship. She has about 35 International Caps and 6 International Goals.
She speaks French and English. Her father was born in Vermont (but grew up in Coaticook) while her mother was born in St-Isidore-de-Clifton, QC. She was five years old when she started playing for Coaticook. She enjoys crossfit and anything artistic, her favourites have included Lionel Messi. She earned a degree in kinesiology from Université de Sherbrooke. She is one of several players that participated in FIFA Live Your Goals festivals ahead of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014.
She has won a silver medal with Canada at the XIV Pan American Games Santo Domingo 2003 after the team lost 1:2 a.e.t. to Brazil in the final. She was 18 years old when she made her debut for Canada (30 July 2004). She won a gold medal at the 2004 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship in Canada . She won a gold medal with Canada at the 2010 CONCACAF championship / FIFA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers. Check her out on her twitter account at:https://twitter.com/joseebelanger9
Josée Bélanger is an exceptionally talented Canadian soccer player. She is in conversation with Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: You were five years old when you started playing for Coaticook and also enjoyed crossfit. You participated in FIFA Live Your Goals festivals and later played in FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2015. You reached the pinnacle of success on winning a gold medal for Canada at the 2010 CONCACAF championship. What factors you consider were responsible that made you achieve that?
Ms. Josee Belanger: I play with passion and I work very hard on and off the field. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but the most important thing was that I stuck with it and persevered through all the obstacles in my way (injuries, especially) to achieve what I wanted most – to represent Canada at a World Cup! It’s not always easy being an athlete (there are plenty of ups and downs), but when you’re working towards a clear goal and have a vision in mind it’s easier to be disciplined. It’s all about balancing what you want the most versus what you want now.
I started going to Crossfit in January 2012. It really helped me get into better shape after the serious injury that forced me to miss the 2011 Women’s World Cup. What I like about Crossfit is that you get to train all body parts; sometimes in endurance, sometimes with heavy loads. It’s always a different workout so you always get excited to see what it’s going to show on the board, and that’s when you realize that you can achieve way more than you thought you could.
The feeling you get when you’re finally able to lift that heavier weight or successfully pull off a new stretch is amazing. You feel proud of the fact you were able to surpass the boundaries you thought you wouldn’t break! It helped me build confidence and mental toughness on my path to the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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Ms. Namita Nayyar: You missed the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 because of an injury. How you were able to overcome such a physical injury setback and what advice you can give to fellow sports person in a similar situation?
When your desire is strong enough and you work hard, great opportunities will come at the right time. It’s about doing your homework, keeping positive and trusting that the pieces will fall into place in the future. There’s a saying I love: “focus on where you want to go, not what you fear!”. Yes, of course you’re concerned that you won’t come back as strong as you were before, or that you’ll lose your spot on the team, or that your recovery will take too long. But if you focus on all that, you’ll never get you where you want to be. Trust the process, believe your destiny and focus all your energy on what you want to achieve with a positive mindset.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: You were 18 years old when you made your debut for Canada (i.e on 30 July 2004) and won a gold medal at the 2004 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship in Canada. Tell us your feelings on representing your country on that memorable day in your life?
Ms. Josee Belanger: It was such an honour to have the opportunity to represent my country! I remember that tournament very well. We took part in the CONCACAF qualifications in Ottawa and Montréal. A moment that I will never forget is the final. It’s always been a two-horse race between us and the United States. We were on top of our game and playing very well.
We generated a ton of scoring opportunities and finally managed to secure the win in the last 2 minutes of overtime. I had a great opportunity to end the game on a header off a free kick. Even if we had already qualified (2 teams from CONCACAF were going to the U20 World Championship), we really worked hard to beat the US. We put our body on the line and gave it our all, and came out on top with a win in front of our home crowd in Ottawa. It was an unforgettable experience.
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Ms. Josee Belanger: I have some personally-tailored mobility and activation stretches that I perform before every session.
I experience some tightness in some specific parts of my body, more so than others, and so I focus on releasing this tension before I get into a game or workout. This reduces my risk of getting injured and optimizes my range of motion.
Beyond mobility, I make sure to activate some muscles that need to be ready to go and this is a very important step in reducing the strain experienced by other muscles when they try to compensate for inactive muscles. It’s necessary to ensure that the body calls on the proper muscles when it’s the time, to avoid the overcompensation I mentioned, as well as imbalance. Again, this all helps reduce injury risk. I really want to emphasize that I’m sharing this because consistency is the key to success and injuries get in the way of consistency.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Do you take some special diet or have a strict menu that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?
Ms. Josee Belanger: I like to mimic my workout style by staying disciplined and consistent in what I eat and drink.
When I have to, I make sure I eat enough. There’s no magical recipe or plan that everyone can follow, but the key is to have a proper balance in the amount of protein, fat and carbs. A must is remaining hydrated and that doesn’t just mean drinking water but also adding electrolytes when you sweat a lot or during hot days.
A typical meal of mine would be made up of protein (chicken-beef, for example), fat (olive oil, avocado, coconut oil, fish oil) vegetables (mainly greens) and carbs (sweet potatoes, rice, etc). I don’t drink liquid calories unless I’m in the middle of a training period and I do allow myself to indulge in some treats on occasion, but only after dinner on a big training day so it has a minimal impact on my performance.
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Ms. Namita Nayyar: Advice and motivational words to the inspiring and budding professional soccer girls who all are your fans, they shall like to know from you, what they should do for their climb to ladder of success in field of professional soccer ?
Ms. Josee Belanger: 1) “Work & discipline is the bridge between goal and accomplishment.”
2) Be inspired by your teammates, but never forget that you have your own skills and qualities. Be you! Be confident! Trust what you have inside you. Become the best version of yourself.
3) Play with passion, enjoy the journey ! 🙂
Josee Belanger on Women Fitness: “Womenfitness.net is great because it brings together unique stories from all kinds of athletes in many sports. I think it’s wonderful that women have the opportunity to seek inspiration from many accomplished women”.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: How did you feel before and after playing for Canada women’s national soccer team and winning a gold medal for Canada at the 2010 CONCACAF championship ?
Ms. Josee Belanger: It’s always an privilege to represent our country. We always leave everything on the field to make our fans, family and friends that support us proud. Winning a medal/trophy is an amazing and proud moment that we get to share with all of them!
For me, that was also a step towards fulfilling my dream – playing in a FIFA Women’s World Cup with Canada. It was an exhilarating chance!
Ms. Namita Nayyar: What kind of training you are having for your preparation for coming professional soccer events ?
To be able to execute the game plans, we also needed to be in top physical form. We had gym sessions as well as fitness sessions on the field. Sometimes it was really taxing; we were tired but we pushed through together because we wanted to be ready for the big day! Everything was managed by the strength coach through GPS and heart rate monitors.
We set goals every week and for every session in terms of intensity and distance, to make sure that we were progressing and peaking at the right time but also to prevent overtraining and risking injuries.
We also had mental training with a coach who was our kind of sports psychologist. We trained our brain to be able to concentrate for a full 90-minute game, but also to keep our emotions in check when things don’t go as we want. We were pretty much playing video games with our brain! We had electrodes placed on specific areas on our head that were actually connected to a video game. The game itself was a race. The more calm and concentrated we were, the faster the car in the game would go. But if you started getting frustrated or thinking of something else the car would either slow down or literally hit a wall. That was a really fun and interesting way to see how our brain waves relate to different states of activity.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Who has been your greatest influence and motivator in your success in the field of your career in competitive professional soccer ?
Ms. Josee Belanger: There are so many coaches and teammates that I met at different points during my career that helped me become the person and athlete I am today. At home, my parents always encouraged me to pursue my goals and never pressured me in the least. They wanted me to play to have fun! But they also taught me important values, like always work hard if you want to achieve something because there is nothing easy or granted in life; if you want it, work for it! I was able to internalize those values in my career and it’s part of why I was able to accomplish my goals.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: What you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and message for its visitors?
Ms. Josee Belanger: Womenfitness.net is great because it brings together unique stories from all kinds of athletes in many sports. I think it’s wonderful that women have the opportunity to seek inspiration from many accomplished women. It also helps teach you that no one had a perfectly straight or smooth road. Everyone will face hurdles, but the only choice you have is to fight through them in order to create experience memorable moments in your life.
“Today is a perfect day to start living your dream!”
Get inspired! Believe in yourself! Live your life with passion! Because “ If you follow your dreams and spend your life doing what brings you joy you are most likely to find success” through perseverance 🙂
To know latest about her check out on her social networks:
Women Fitness Team thanks Josee Belanger for giving her valuable time for this interview and quenching the thirst of her fans to know more about her and made this interview happen.
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All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http://www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2016 Women Fitness