Bend it!: Isobel Cootes and the sport that keeps giving

With soccer as her outlet, Isobel Cootes has gotten to experience cultures around the world that many would never experience in their lifetimes.

At the age of eight, Cootes had to practically beg her parents to let her try the sport out.

“What spurred me into playing soccer was the movie, ‘Bend it Like Beckham,’” said Cootes as she reminisced on her beginnings as a soccer player.

“My parents said I could only play if my friend played, so I dragged my friend to play.”

Cootes’ parents weren’t the strict types, but were mostly just concerned since their daughter was

already involved with other activities as well. Getting involved in a Surf Life Saving program called Little Nippers, youth athletics and even netball, she was very proactive at a ​

​young age.

Cootes considered herself a rebel at the time because when her parents pushed her to follow in her sister’s footsteps as a netball player and dancer, she rejected all of those choices, choosing soccer above anything else. Before she knew it, she dropped both netball and the Little Nippers to focus on soccer and youth athletics.

Along her journey as a soccer player, she’s gotten to experience cultures across the world, travelling to various countries to compete with the U17 Australian Women’s Football Team.

One particularly notable experience that Cootes had was getting to represent her country at the 2013 Asian Cup qualifiers. Taking place in Nanjing, China for 10 days, the tournament allowed Cootes and her team to meet new people, experience new cultures and see the influence of culture on the sport of soccer.

The most impactful image that stuck with her was seeing the constant security over the North Korean and Chinese players.

“While we ran around outside like the lunatic 17 year olds we were, they watched us from their windows and only were allowed out for meals, matches or training,” Cootes said.

“They trained like marines, we were at a comp that demanded 7 games in 10 days and they would do full fitness sessions accompanied by military style marching and stretching.”

Although she was born and raised in Australia and meeting people from Asian cultures is not a rare occasion, travelling to these countries has shown her that culture does affect the sport she loves in many more ways than she imagined.