{ "title": "The Players: Kelly Parker", "modified_at": "2026-05-05 17:49:44", "published_at": "2011-06-21 11:00:00", "url": "https://news.canadasoccer.com/the-players-kelly-parker", "short_url": "http://prez.ly/Z5Fd", "culture": "en", "language": "EN", "subtitle": "The first person Kelly Parker contacted after she made Canada\u2019s FIFA Women\u2019s World Cup team was her mom. Kelly had been waiting \u009330 years\u0094 for this opportunity, or perhaps for as long as she had been playing at the elite level in the national program. What had perhaps once seemed like an impossibili\u2026", "slug": "the-players-kelly-parker", "body": "

The first person Kelly Parker contacted after she made Canada’s FIFA Women’s World Cup team was her mom. Kelly had been waiting \u009330 years\u0094 for this opportunity, or perhaps for as long as she had been playing at the elite level in the national program. What had perhaps once seemed like an impossibility was at last a reality.
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\u200bShe was going to the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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\u200bParker had always known she was good enough. She was a smart, dynamic midfielder who prided herself \u0093in the creativity of her dribble.\u0094 She also knew, though, that her style did not fit the national program’s mold for the better part of a decade. Her style just didn’t fit the national team.
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\u200bRather than change the way she played, she continued to play and improve in her own way, maintaining a love for the game that endured no matter where she played. She wasn’t in the national program, but she was keeping the dream alive no matter where she played.
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\u200b\u0093I knew that I didn’t fit the program that we had at the time,\u0094 said Parker. \u0093So, yes, I was excited when the new staff came in because it was a fresh start for me. It was a new coach that gave everybody the chance.\u0094
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\u200bIndeed, in 2009 that program opened its doors as it moved in a new direction under newly-hired head coach Carolina Morace and her technical staff. At last, here was a coach that liked Parker’s \u0093willingness to dribble.\u0094
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\u200b\u0093I’m not a flashy player,\u0094 said Parker. \u0093It is more about timing and my vision. As a midfielder, it is quick ball movement and an ability to be good off the ball.\u0094
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\u200bImmediately, Parker was back in the fold, making her re-debut on 10 March 2009 at the Cyprus Women’s Cup, more than five years after her previous one and only appearance for Canada. Now, she was starting almost every match, playing big minutes and helping control the flow of game for her team. She had become an important player in the Morace squad.
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\u200b\u0093Ever since that initial invite into camp with the national team (at the youth level), you think of the FIFA Women’s World Cup,\u0094 said Parker. \u0093It was always in the back of my mind, it was always something I wanted to do.\u0094
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\u200bSince Morace’s arrival in 2009, Parker has only gotten better, with the prime opportunity to play in two of the best women’s leagues in the world: Women’s Professional Soccer in USA and the Frauen-Bundesliga in Germany.
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\u200b\u0093The German league is very technical, like the German national team,\u0094 said Parker. \u0093The league is so strong because all the German players stay at home. The (players) are athletic, but they don’t rely on their athleticism.\u0094
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\u200bParker played only a few matches in the Frauen-Bundesliga in early 2010 before suffering an injury. She was an original member in WPS in 2009 and returned to the American league in 2011.
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\u200b\u0093There are tactical players and technical players, but it is another level in terms of athleticism,\u0094 said Parker. \u0093It is the fastest speed of play in which I have competed next to international.\u0094
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\u200bThat higher level of play has equally prepared Parker for her current run with the national team en route to the FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011. Fully recovered from her 2010 injury, she has made the 2011 squad and fulfilled her dream of reaching the biggest stage in the world for women’s football.
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\u200b\u0093Everyone is excited,\u0094 said Parker. \u0093For me, it is a dream come true.\u0094
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", "author": { "first_name": "Integration", "last_name": "Integration" }, "format_version": 5 }