Former NWSLer & Reggae Girl Cheyna Matthews On Being Motivated by The Doubters: An Interview
The former-pro footballer has had a storybook career in sports. She’s played across the US in the NWSL and twice at the World Cup for the Jamaican National Team. Throughout her career she has worn a lot of jerseys. Most recently though, she wears the jersey of mom, being a parent to three children along with her husband, NFLer Jordan Matthews. In this interview with Cheyna Matthews, we catch up with her life after the pitch, what Jamaica means to her, and everything in between.
The first game I saw you play was around last October which turned out to be the night of your retirement. How have you been doing since then and how have you been enjoying your time?
Last year for the World Cup, my husband was coming back from a football injury , so he wasn't with a team. It worked out because he was able to be home with our kids in Nashville. Three months after moving in, I moved to Chicago. So all my last season playing, I was away from my family. Since retirement, it’s like my husband and I have switched places. Now he’s playing and I'm home. I remember my last game was October 15, and he got a call to play with the Carolina Panthers four days later. It works out for our kids, because one of their parents is always home.
Unfortunately, one of the main reasons why I decided to retire was because of just where we decided to build our home. And there are no teams in Nashville.
It's been a full time transition, and I don't have much time to think about it, because my kids are so small and active.
Being a mom that's a full time job.
It’s a full time job. But I know that these days are few. So I just really been enjoying being a part of the milestones. I missed so many last year when I was away playing. So I've been trying to be really present with them. I imagine, this fall with school starting back, will be maybe the first time I get to think about that I'm not playing anymore.
Over the span of your career, what are some highs that you look back at, and things that you've learned from your career that have stuck with you now, post career?
Really to be as consistent as you can with your scheduling and recovery. That's something that I’m still big on. Because if I'm not sleeping, if I decide to stay up till 1am, watching a show, my kids are still getting up at 6. Now I don't have the energy to perform as a mom. There are things that I've carried over just from sports that have helped me in this next phase. Some of the biggest highs are definitely having kids during my career and them being able to see me play.
Cheyna Matthews before a game for the Jamaican National Team
I went to the World Cup nine months after I had my first kid. We were in France, so even seeing all the athletes in France for the Olympics, brings back all these memories. That's definitely a career highlight, making it there, making that team, and not only being a part of the team, but having a role on the team. Then to do it with the girls that I've been playing with for years. They're like sisters. And that wouldn’t have been possible without the consistency that I decided to pursue. Also with recovery, because there's no way you can play soccer and have three kids during your career if you're not putting in the work on both sides of recovery.
Sometimes when you’re in those moments you’re like this is what I do. And you’re trying to get back to that. But do you ever look back and think, how did I do that? How did I make that happen?
I do wonder how it all happened. Because when you're doing it, you kind of have tunnel vision. I've always had the mindset where I like to prove people wrong, and I'm motivated by doubt. I think I do well with doubt or people doubting. I remember having an agent who when, after I had my first son, he asked, did I still want to play soccer? I'm like, what? Shouldn’t you be saying something motivational as my agent? Shouldn't you be maybe a little bit more positive?
I just remember that moment, and that's when the switch happened. I was like, I have to do whatever it takes to get back. And I've always wanted people to see me on the field and have no idea that I've ever had kids. That was always what would motivate me. And being able to be a consistent player on all of my teams and fan support, that always motivated me too. It's like, Okay, I could do this. They didn't have kids. I would say more than not, my opponents didn't have children, so I think it kind of gave me an extra boost. I've done something really, really hard.
To have done all of that, at the age that you were and then now to be able to look back on that.
I'm really thankful that I decided to push through, because my last baby was kind of a surprise. I found out I was pregnant around qualifiers, CONCACAF qualifiers. I was faced with this decision, Do I keep playing? Because, reaching the pinnacle of your career, going to a World Cup, is, I think any footballer's dream. The World Cup for soccer players is like the Mecca.
There was some doubt there. I was like, Can I do it a third time? Now I have two other kids I take care of on top of a new baby. This baby don't even have teeth yet. I thought I was crazy with the third. But once I decided, this is what I'm gonna do and then with the support of my family, having that on top of self motivation was really helpful.
A lot of times when people have doubt around them, they might feed into that or listen to it, but to use that as motivation is really cool.
Unfortunately, my mom always said I was her most hard headed child. She says I was probably the one that if she said something, that I did the opposite. And so I think from a young age, I've always wanted to just kind of go against the grain. That kind of helped when it came to doing something that at the time, seemed so taboo having kids during a football career, it just wasn't happening much.
I had maybe a few examples, like Sydney Leroux. She was the main example and Allyson Felix. I saw that she came back after having her daughter. That was around when I was having my first son too. I looked at two athletes that I really respected. I was like, If they could do it, it's not impossible. I'm really thankful I had those examples that we see, it's been done before. Also Serena at the time, was having her first daughter. I'm like, Googling everything. What did they do? Ended up working with the same physical therapist that helped Allyson Felix. I'm like, I need to hit her up, because she came back. She was still getting medals in the Olympics.
That’s the really cool thing about representation. Being able to see it in different aspects, people who've done things before, it prevents you from having to teach yourself or go down this journey of how do I do this?
You know everybody’s journey is different, but representation is so important. There are a lot of players in the league now that have had children, that in recent years have reached out to ask different questions. I think representation helps with community too. Even fans, I've had young girls come up to me saying, She's like my mom, she has a kid. That was a cool aspect with it. Because I don't know what that's doing for those kids. I know I didn't grow up seeing the Atlanta Beat, which is a team I would go watch, with children after games. So you stay away from it if you don't know any better.
What did that moment mean for you, when you were called up for the Jamaican National Team the first and then the second time?
The first time I got called up before the coaches even knew I was pregnant. They're like, Hey, we're trying to qualify for our first ever World Cup. I was like, Hey, I'm pregnant. I can't participate, but if you guys qualify, I will try my hardest to get back. That was awesome. And the sisterhood that you form with those girls that are just, dreamers, like you, and everyone coming from different places in their careers. I think I was only pro at the time so I was already the mom of the team, very literally, from the beginning. Even though I was only 23 at the time. But I was the first pro on the Jamaican national team, because everyone else was in college. College, or was trying to find a pro team.
I was on a team with Bunny Shaw, who's now the leading scorer of Man City, but she was in college. So coming into that role early after having a kid, it's like, okay, now I have to also be a leader. I can't let the child keep me from also my purpose in this space, in being a pro and teaching younger players how they could elevate their health, their recovery, being an advocate for taking care of your body. Those are the things that I took on and carried on.
Second time around was a little bit easier, because all my teammates didn't doubt that I would get back. I got a call in the locker room when they qualified, it was July 7 and I got a FaceTime from the locker room, like we did it, they're so excited. I’m crying but I'm also due that month, I'm like I’m gonna have this baby. I'm gonna start training. It was nice to feel a part of it, even though I couldn't play but just motivated to have that role again, to be respected and feel needed. So the second time was even more special.
What was it like being able to have Cedella Marley as an ambassador for the Jamaican National team?
Source: Cheyna Matthews
It was amazing. I've known Cedella since I was 23-24. She was kind of the big sister to all of us. None of it would have been possible without her. She really went above and beyond for the sake of us fulfilling dreams. Really fulfilling dreams, setting a lot of players up for success in the future, and she's still doing those things. It was an honor to be associated with Cedella Marley for as long as we did, and she's still so congratulatory of all the girls and everything that's going on.
She's a great example as a mom. I was asking her at this last camp during the World Cup, because she brought her youngest son. I would just watch their interactions, and think about my own sons. I'm like one day they're going to be his age. I would even ask him questions. I'm like, so are you and your mom really close still? Because I'm trying to also look at her as someone who's been able to have a lot of success, do well in business, and seems like she's just balancing all the things, adopt 23 girls, she's done it all. It's been really, really inspiring. And that's an experience I wouldn't forget.
What is it like being back in Jamaica and being there with your family?
For me, it feels like home. My grandmother's there. She's been back in Jamaica for a long time. It's been over 20 something years. So being able to bring my children back to see her, and her being so excited that I was playing soccer, she just brag to all of her friends around town that her granddaughter’s with the Reggae Girlz. And so it feels like, whenever you go back to Jamaica, it feels like home. Be it the food, the people, it's just a sense of belonging. And we always get so excited to go back. My husband, you would think he's Jamaican. How he is when he goes back, he finds a friend that's driving him around, and he just really also embraces the culture. But it's nice when you get to go back, because you get to experience all those things there.
I don't know how else to describe being back in Jamaica. Just feels like you're going home. It never felt like camp. It just felt like, oh, you go back home.
Do you have a favorite Jamaican dish or food that you like to cook?
My favorite to cook is brown stew chicken, because it's the easiest. My kids love it but my favorite to eat is definitely snapper. I love fresh fish in Jamaica. And you can get it in all different ways. You can do escovitch, which is with the peppers, and they steam it with peppers and onions, and it's in this tinfoil. It's steamed all nice or you can get it fried. There's all these different ways you can get the snapper. But that's my favorite thing. You know it's fresh because they go out in the morning and they get the fish. Then when they come back, sometimes they don't get it, depending on how the water is that day but whenever you go, you're like, Oh, I hope they have snap for today.
What do you think that representation means for young players or for people who are watching the sport?
I think it's everything. I remember how important representation was from when I was a young girl. Brianna Scurry was who I watched, and she was a goalkeeper. And I wanted to be like her, never ended up in the goal, honey. Never. But seeing a player that was pro and playing soccer was everything. And now, I see it in my communities. You could see the spark and you could see the fire. Even us as players and the staff were always trying to embrace fans and make sure that young players, boy or girl, because we have now, young boys that are even, looking up to a lot of the female, woman players. So it's exciting. I think that's how you start or light the fire.
I think representation gives people a sense of belonging or gives them something to strive for. Sometimes it's harder when you can't see it. It takes maybe one or two people who can do it, when you don't actually see it ever. But it's a harder thing to do. I think we have it from all different areas now. We have the Filipino community, we’ve got Black Americans, we have Caribbean, we have Hispanic, we have it all now. And it's really catching on in the United States versus other countries where it's kind of been that from the beginning.
I saw Sydney Leroux on TV at the 2012 Olympics, now 12 years ago, and saw it was possible.
A young Crystal Dunn at South Side High School Source: SSHS
When I was playing club at 12 years old, my Jamaican grandfather who’s passed away since, lived in Long Island and he used to get news articles. He would hear about Crystal Dunn this, Crystal Dunn that, and she's from Long Island. So he got all the newspapers, and would save them, and show me or send them to my mom, or have them for when we went up to New York to visit. He's like This girl, she's doing this, she's going to North Carolina. He was so bought into having that little bit of representation, and then she goes on to be my teammate my rookie year. Crazy. She has no idea I've been tracking her since before she even got to UNC so she was always in the newspaper, but my grandfather thought it was so cool. And, yeah, it matters. It goes a long way, for sure.
Do you see yourself in any other aspects of soccer, coaching or legal aspects?
Coaching would be so hard because of my kids. I definitely plan on going back to school for some kind of law litigation. Because of the experiences I had with the Reggae Girlz, it's motivated me a lot to try and understand the legal side of things and different organizations that I've worked with.
FIFPro is one of the biggest representations we could have as players when it comes to understanding what's going on with FIFA. The rules, understanding our rights, what we're allowed to do or not, what we deserve and understanding those things.There's so many layers but law is definitely a good way to start, especially when it comes to federations, just from the top down. That's a big part of how things are done, contracts, finding agreements.But that's definitely in the back of my mind right now. I just need to be a mom. That can happen later. I'm still only 30. I always joke, but I'm also kind of serious. If there were a team to come to Nashville in the next two years. I don't know who's who or what's going on, but I feel good enough that if a team popped up in Nashville, I would be able to play.
Are we going to see Cheyna again?
Honestly, I’m not counting it out.
You’ve had a really great career. Do you feel like you've accomplished everything that you wanted, as far as the national team, playing in Chicago and other teams?
I never won an NWSL championship. I went my rookie year, when I was teammates with Crystal Dunn. She scored two goals in the championship, and then Lynn Williams tied it up at the death in overtime, and then we went to PKS, and then the other team won. That was Western New York Flash, but I have not won the NWSL championship. So I would say, no, I did not. There's always something more that you can do. And then also, we didn't become Olympians. But, yeah there are some things that would have been nice.
You’ve done quite a bit.
I feel good. My husband tells me all the time, you could say that you've really done so much. But no, I can be proud of what I've done. Especially given that I didn't let my career stop me from having family too, which is most important in my life, and will be for throughout the rest of my life. So, I'm happy with where everything turned out.
How would you describe this moment now in your life?
I would describe it as unknown. And I feel like the last time I was in this space was when I was a senior in college, not sure if I would enter the draft or if I would go play overseas. If I was gonna go play in England, or if I was gonna play in the United States. I remember my last semester of college being like, What am I gonna do? And I feel like it's that way, but not.
I'm not as stressed about it. I'm really at peace with the unknown and hopeful in all the possibilities. So I'm just in a hopeful place. That's the best way to describe it. I’m in a hopeful place for the future, and happy with the present. I'm just very content with the present.
