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To call Gotham FC forward Midge Purce a multi-hyphenate only begins to scratch the surface. And after clinching the National Women’s Soccer League title, 2-1, during the league’s championship game this month—thanks in large part to Midge’s two assists—it’s safe to say that when this soccer star is dialed in, magic happens.
Of course, all that success doesn’t come without hours upon hours of hard work, dedication, and careful planning. Midge, 28, grew up in Maryland and received lots of accolades and awards in high school before adding an Ivy League degree from Harvard University to her resume in 2016. During her time on the Crimson’s soccer team, she was named the “Ivy League Player of the Year” in 2015 and 2016, and was a first-team All-American in 2016.
After graduation, she took her passion for sport to the next level, signing with the Boston Breakers, then the Portland Thorns FC, and even playing for the US Women’s National Team. As of 2020, Midge calls NJ/NY Gotham FC home.
She’s stayed busy off the field, too, working with Harvard’s Board of Overseers, the Black Women’s Players Collective (a nonprofit she co-founded), launching a social video series, The Offseason, which followed 12 NWSL players’ inner lives during the offseason, and most notably, fighting for equal pay in women’s sports.
Following her team’s big championship win, Midge sat down with Women’s Health assistant social media editor Isabel McMahon to share her best bits of wisdom, advice, and secrets for success.
What does an equal playing field mean to you, and what would you say to women who are looking for that?
Always speak your mind. Never be silent or reserved about thoughts or feelings that you have about [a] subject.
I think the most significant action I’ve taken on the fight for equal playing field and equal rights, especially in the workplace, would be my work with the collective bargaining agreement, [which sought] to bring an equal pay for the US Women’s National Team.
The experience of working on the collective bargaining committee was really exhausting. It was really difficult. It was not an easy, straight-line path, but it is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done. Having gone through that experience, I feel way more informed on what it’s like to actually push something so critical to culture and global and international rights through to the other side.
With social issues, it’s really easy to feel uninspired after a while, or you [might not feel as] powerful because you don’t know exactly how to affect change or take action. But after that process, I feel like I have a better idea of how to get that started and completed.
Do you have any advice for women fighting for better treatment on a team or in the workplace? What smaller steps can they take to get a big result?
The advice I would give to people who are trying to affect that kind of change in their own workplaces or their own environment would be to listen.
I talk a lot, and I don’t struggle to be really direct with how I feel. But in environments where there’s a lot going on, I find that listening to other people, and their perspectives, and their opinions… just getting a full picture of what’s actually happening beyond your perspective is really, really powerful.
Can you give some advice for younger soccer players who are looking to improve their game, whether on the field or behind the scenes?
Oh, my gosh. There’s so much advice I could give.
On the mental side, run your own race. Don’t get caught up and lost in comparing your journey to someone else’s, because they’re gonna be really different. And where you are has nothing to do with where they are, so just keep your eye on the prize and run your own race.
Honestly, I constantly have to remind myself to run my own race. In this day and age, with social media and everything that’s going on, it’s really easy to get caught up in other narratives, and see how well other people are doing, and what kind of training they’re doing, and what’s best for them. And I constantly, every day, have to remind myself to focus on what’s best for me, and where I’m at, and I’m exactly where I need to be.
On the physical side, don’t diminish the little things, because they add up.
I struggle with being disciplined with recovery. I am really good at doing the hard things, doing an extra rep, staying after practice, coming early, doing more conditioning, dealing with the physical pain. It’s the easy things, the little things like… make sure you ice bath after practice.
You are so active in all these different spaces. What’s your advice for women trying to balance their passions?
Keep a positive perspective on what’s happening. Make sure that when you’re approaching [your passions], you keep this mindset and this perspective of positivity and motivation, remembering why you’re doing it instead of getting lost in the stress of it all the time. The journey is oftentimes the best part.
There is no perfect balance, and you’re never gonna find a perfect balance, but there is beauty in the chaos. Keep riding the wave.
There was a time when I had to balance training in the offseason and developing The Offseason show, and that was one of the most difficult things that I’ve ever done—trying to prepare something that’s gonna ultimately improve my game in the future and help me and facilitate my life and other players, while also having the discipline to do the things that I need to do, and not get too tired or overworked.
So, I’m really good about being organized in my calendar. If I don’t write [something down] in my calendar, it’s not happening.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Things are going to be how they are, but your attitude is going to be whatever you make it. To me, that means that even if things are bad, or if something unwelcome happens, my emotional response—me being upset about it or angry about it—isn’t going to change the fact that something bad happened. I’m just now also upset. But there is a world where I can find peace and joy…and be able to still be happy even when things aren’t going my way.
I wish I could have digested something like this when I was younger.
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