'Can you request 25 tickets?': Kiki Van Zanten's return to play and Jamaican sisterhood

19 minutes doesn't seem like a lot, but when you've waited 399 days to play for your football club, it can be incredibly meaningful.

"It felt natural, it didn't feel weird," Houston Dash midfielder Kiki Van Zanten told reporters this week. "I felt like I had picked up where I left off, and I can't wait to make up for lost time."

Last Friday night, Van Zanten came off the bench to make her first appearance in the National Women's Soccer League since a serious foot injury cut her rookie season short last Spring.

Although the match ended in a 4-1 win for the Portland Thorns, the importance of being back on the pitch with her teammates, clad in orange and black, was not lost on the 23-year-old.

'Peaks and valleys'

"It was a really long time, and every day was different," Van Zanten said about her year recovering on the sidelines. "Some months I was flying, and some weeks I didn't make any progress. And with such a complicated injury, I felt like one thing would get better, and then something else would awry.

"So it was frustrating, but it's still a battle like every day to make sure that I'm keeping up with the things that I need to do to make sure I feel good. But, yeah, the recovery process had its peaks and valleys, but I feel like I'm finally out on the other side."

Van Zanten may have been off the pitch, but she was very much all over the game. She said that watching film, staying dialed into following the league, and dissecting tactical video was how she stayed mentally sharp. She may have been off the pitch, but she was very much all over the game.

On the physical side, it was about having personal goals to keep her motivatted. Van Zanten was keen to go above and beyond the daily target. If she were told to do at least 30 calf raises, then she made sure to hit 40.

Van Zanten was keen to master every minuscule flex and routine, in the hope that it would cut down her overall time on the sideline and build a stronger base.

Not being able to walk for eight weeks is what left her focusing on those tiny movements. All the focus she believes is paying off now that she's fully fit again.

"I just feel like all those little, tiny things did matter," Van Zanten said.

'Can you request 25 tickets?'

Before returning to play with the Dash, Van Zanten got her first official minutes back from injury representing Jamaica in a 4-0 friendly defeat to Mexico in Houston, Texas.

"Those girls that I went to the World Cup with are so, so important to me. Alot of my teammates were there, so that was so nice for them to watch me go out on the field. My family was there. It was just really great moment," she reflected on that appearance.

Van Zanten has 10 appearances and one goal for Jamaica. That includes the Reggae Girlz's historic run to the last 16 of the 2023 World Cup in Australia & New Zealand, where they knocked out Brazil in the group stage. Born and raised in Illinois, to a Dutch father and Jamaican mother, she played with the U.S. youth national team before committing to Jamaica at the senior level.

"It's always an honour to represent Jamaica. It's a small country, but we're so powerful," Van Zanten said.

Van Zanten has been re-called for Jamaica's upcoming friendly against the United States that will take place on June 3rd in St. Louis, Missouri – just 300 miles from her hometown of Buffalo Grove, Illinois.

To make the fixture even more special, her sister Mimi Van Zanten, who plays at Florida State University, has also been called up to the squad for the first time alongside Kiki.

Mimi made her senior debut for Jamaica in June 2024, while Kiki was still injured. Both sisters have also represented the USA at the youth level, with Mimi recently making an appearance for the USA U23s in March.

"Oh, and my little sister," Kiki Van Zanten beams. "I'm so excited to play with her. We haven't had an official match together, so that's something I'm so excited for. My family is so excited. My mom's like: 'Can you request 25 tickets?' And I'm like, 'Mom, I don't know that's a lot of tickets.' But being on the same team and playing on the same field as her would just be so amazing."