When news came out in late December that Women’s World Cup ’99 veteran Sara Whalen had quit the U.S. national team, her lack of playing time under Coach April Heinrichs was cited as a major issue. “It was just different expectations of what a new coaching staff wanted,” Whalen said in the Dec. 30 Newsday. “I wasn’t getting the playing time, and I never got a concrete reason why.” Whalen, who will play for the New York Power of the WUSA beginning this spring, says her decision wasn’t just about minutes. “The most important thing was I wasn’t enjoying it the way I should’ve been,” the 24-year-old Connecticut graduate told Soccer America. “Before the love of your sport should fade or dwindle that’s when you should do something about it. “Maybe other people wouldn’t make that decision. “I think it was just more of, four years has been tiring, both physically and mentally. I always tell people, tell kids and tell myself that you should keep playing and have fun with it. Make sure you’re always having fun. That’s how you’re going to get to where you want to get to. It just wasn’t fun anymore. I felt like my heart was leaving the game a little bit and I didn’t want that to happen. “Now I’ll take a break and focus most of my energy on the New York Power team. It’s been great. I felt really good about my decision. Right away it was really hard, but I don’t regret it at all. It was fine. April and I spoke. There was no bitterness, no anger. It was, ‘This is how I feel’ and ‘this is how I feel. Maybe this would work.'” Quitting the national team won’t mean Whalen will miss many games, as Heinrichs’ squad won’t play that much in 2001 after playing a record 41 times in 2000. “This China trip is pretty much the last thing for a while [for the national team],” Whalen said. “A lot of things will change with the pro league coming up. Tons of players are finally going to get a look by the national team. For me, I’m thrilled to start up a pro league with a new team and a new group of girls to play with. I’ll get some other areas of my life back, too.” Whalen’s off-the-field activities include fulfilling her shoe contract with Nike and could include modeling. She has signed with Wilhelmina Sports, the division of the Wilhelmina modeling agency that books athletes for fashion campaigns and commercial endorsements. Whalen is also a spokesperson for the “Stop Violence, Start Art, Picture Your Future” contest, sponsored by Eastman Kodak, Tommy Hilfiger and SHiNE, a national non-profit youth services organization. The contest calls for participants to create a photo collage showing their visual definition of peace. Entries can be submitted through Feb. 1. One grand-prize winner will receive a trip to New York City with his/her family to see his/her collage displayed on the Kodak Times Square Gallery, a six-story electronic billboard. Nine first-prize winners will have their creations displayed on a billboard in or near their hometowns, and 27 second-prize winners will receive a limited-edition Kodak Max Flash one-time-use camera. Winners will be announced in April. To enter, kids between the ages of 6-18 years-old can visit over 1,500 department and specialty stores nationwide and receive a free specially designed Kodak Max Flash one-time-use camera with a $25 purchase of Tommy Childrenswear apparel for boys (4-20) or girls (4-16), underwear, socks, sunglasses, footwear and/or handbags. Kids can also enter and view the complete rules, regulations and instructions by visiting www. Shine365.com or www.tommy.com. “I was promoting it while on the [Discovery Health Channel’s Women’s Soccer Challenge] indoor tour, doing morning shows and talking about it,” Whalen said. “The best part about it so far was going into a couple of different schools, in and around New Jersey and right here in New York City, right in Manhattan. I talked to some kids, helped them with their collages. It was awesome. For the first time they maybe had someone who they really related to in there. It’s been a blast and I think it’s been successful.” by Soccer America associate editor Dean Caparaz