Bianca St. Georges: "I think it's important to normalize failure"

Few people would describe one of the supposedly lowest moments of their career as “beautiful.” But most people are unlike Bianca St. Georges.

This past summer, the Chicago Red Stars player was left out of Bev Priestman’s 23-player squad for the 2023 World Cup. Talking candidly on the Squad Depth podcast this week, she opened up about why that moment was rewarding rather than devastating.

“I’m very open to talking about this because I think it’s really important to normalize failure,’ St. Georges told Squad Depth.

“A lot of people are scared to fail. But I think it was a beautiful experience for me. It taught me a lot about what I want and how I value myself and learning to be honest with myself about the process.

“I had signs things were not going my way leading up to the last couple of camps that things were not going my way…but I was keeping this delusional mindset. It was adding to the suffering and not really making me accept my situation. When you’re not in a state of acceptance, you’re making it worse for yourself.

“I say, not going to the World Cup? It was what it was. It is what is. It happened. What can I learn from that? I’ve learned to take care of myself. I’ve learned to value myself outside of soccer. I’ve focused on my other pursuits. I’ve actually been the happiest I’ve been focusing on this, rather than always worrying about the outcome of World Cup.”

After fine performances over the summer in the NWSL, the mentally-grounded St. Georges was recalled by Priestman to the Canadian national team for the upcoming Olympic qualifier playoff against Jamaica on September 26th.

As well as speaking about her experience with the national team and her personal philosophy, St. Georges also explained what it means to be from Quebec, Canada’s only French province.

There’s also plenty of conversation about the new owner of the Chicago Red Stars Laura Ricketts. And what early impressions she has had on the players and staff of the often maligned NWSL club.

Listen to the podcast now!

More Squad Depth podcast links can be found here.

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