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- [00:00]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
It was never about playing in the league. It was always about building it. These young girls would come up to me and say, I want to be like you. I want to do what you do. I want to do this. And I'm like, no, you don't. You don't want to sleep on your teammate's air mattress. It's not going to change if we just sit by and be thankful and be happy with the crumbs.
- [00:16]
Julie Foudy
I thought you were doing a Brandy Chastain moment. Okay, well, I was.
- [00:20]
Billie Jean King
Pressure is a privilege. Yes, that is. That's what you're going to be experiencing soon.
- [00:27]
Abby Wambach
Attention, the party is about to comm.
- [00:37]
Julie Foudy
Welcome to the party. What's up, party people? I'm Julie Foudy.
- [00:45]
Abby Wambach
I'm Abby Wambach.
- [00:46]
Billie Jean King
And I'm Billie Jean King Kinger.
- [00:50]
Julie Foudy
Hi, baby. I don't know if you've heard this, but Abigail has some huge news.
- [00:58]
Abby Wambach
We found out we're recording this in advance of the Olympics with a badass woman athlete. But we found out that Come See Me in the Good Light has been nominated for an Oscar. I am going to the Academy Awards. A thing, a sentence I never thought I would ever be able to say out loud with this mouth. I feel very excited.
- [01:25]
Julie Foudy
Okay, tell people what Come See Me in the Good Light is, if they haven't heard this already.
- [01:28]
Abby Wambach
Yeah. Really, really short. If you've not seen it, go to Apple tv, you can stream it on Apple. And it is a beautiful love story between two of our really close friends, Andrea Gibson and Megan Fali. Andrea was diagnosed with incurable cancer. And it's there what we just astonishedly found their love story with their life. And it really is so beautiful. You will cry, you will laugh, and every, every emotion is welcome when you watch this movie. And so for this, that we built, really this, this entire team has been built with a capital L. Love. I'm quoting Sara Bareilles because Sarah and Brandi Carlisle wrote the song with Andrea. And it's just this beautiful exploration into art. Doing. Doing art with people you love and seeing what happens. And so. And it's not about the awards, but. But I'm an awards person, so I feel good.
- [02:27]
Julie Foudy
But you're like. But it kind of is because to.
- [02:31]
Billie Jean King
The Oscars picture awards person, you're a jock. I mean, you're an athlete. Are you kid? Give me a break.
- [02:37]
Julie Foudy
Wait, tell Kinger what you did when, when you, when you got on board with. With doing this film. When you talked to the production group.
- [02:48]
Abby Wambach
Oh, I basically was like, okay, so this is my first. This is my first EP of a film before I said, okay, so how do you win at documentary films? Like, how. How does, like, the winning work? And our director, Ryan White, whom I love, he just downplayed every possible award that he was just like, we got into Sundance and I was like, I knew we would get in. But, like, how do you win Sundance? He's like, no, no, no. Like, that's not something that this film, like, we're not. That's not gonna happen here. And like, every award that we would. In every film festival we would get into and we would win. And so now I'm just like, yeah, Ryan, I told you so. And I'm excited for him. This is his first nomination. He's been shortlisted a few times before him and Jessica Hargrave. So it's. It's just really lovely all the way around.
- [03:37]
Billie Jean King
This is good for him to be around you, then. This is good.
- [03:40]
Abby Wambach
Yeah.
- [03:41]
Billie Jean King
Right? I mean, what's the worst thing to happen? You don't win. Go for it. Yeah, exactly.
- [03:45]
Abby Wambach
Why not?
- [03:46]
Julie Foudy
Good for artists to be around us jocks every once in a while.
- [03:49]
Billie Jean King
Yeah, it is.
- [03:50]
Julie Foudy
Okay. We are all excited as well to chat with Kendall Coyne Scofield.
- [03:56]
Abby Wambach
Yes.
- [03:58]
Julie Foudy
Because this one is extra special. Kendall and Kinger have a lovely history. It actually, Kinger reminds me a lot of how you helped us with soccer and you'll hear Kendall talk about that as well. And Kinger and maybe Abigail are heading over to Milan. So I'm very jealous because you're going to be able to see the USA women's ice hockey team.
- [04:26]
Billie Jean King
You do some other work, don't you?
- [04:27]
Julie Foudy
Live and in person.
- [04:28]
Abby Wambach
I'm going to try to get there. Yeah.
- [04:31]
Billie Jean King
Alana and I are definitely going.
- [04:33]
Abby Wambach
I know.
- [04:34]
Billie Jean King
Hopefully we'll see you there, abs.
- [04:40]
Julie Foudy
Okay, party people today we have got to Abigail, shout out the people who kept us literally on the field. Oh. Throughout our careers. So literally, the people who taped us up, rebuilt us, rehabbed us, got us back out there and we were always able to perform at our best, thanks to the medical professionals who always had our backs and our knees and your ankles and the list goes on and on. And that's absolutely the case with legendary skier Lindsey Vaughn. And as we've been following and talking about her epic return to the 2026 Winter Games, she's already, as we know, one of the goats of. But now she's coming back after devastating injuries. And I'm thrilled to watch her because we know she's going to crush at The Olympics and Milan and Lindsay's amazing medical team. And the entire USA medical team will be wearing awesome uniforms from figs. This company makes kick ass scrubs normally. And then their Olympic uniforms are are next level. They are the official outfitters of Team USA's medical team. And the great news is you can wear the Team USA collection too. It's cool, it's functional, ups your scrub game for sure. Check out the limited edition Team USA collection and get 15 off your first order at wherefigs.com with code FIGS RX F I G S R X. That's wherefigs.com code FIGS RX.
- [06:20]
Abby Wambach
I'm actually gonna go get those right now. That sounds so exciting. Okay, so Jules Peloton is shaping the future of fitness with the brand new Peloton cross training Tread plus power. It's the most incredible thing. It's powered by peloton iq.
- [06:39]
Julie Foudy
Yeah. Have it. It is amazing. And as you can imagine, abs, I'm pretty particular about how I work out because I can't just like run on my own anymore. I can't just run like that. Like, obviously we spent our life doing that and training that way, but it is the hardest thing and I won't do it. I just won't. I won't do it anymore. It's not enjoyable. And that's why this new Peloton Tread plus is amazing because you get all the classes, of course, in front of you. So you feel like you're in a class, but you can totally mix things up. You're not just running. You can swim, swivel that screen and you can get off and start doing a little boot camp on the side. It's so cool, the swivel. I was like, what?
- [07:26]
Abby Wambach
It's the best. It's also, it's been a game changer for me because like you, I can't run, but I can't run because I have foot problems. And so the tread and the forgiving nature of the actual tread helps me to be able to actually move. I can walk on there, I can get an incline on there. I can swivel that screen. But I think what I love most is that the screen swivels in a way where I can guide and I can do the pilates on the ground, I can do weightlifting. I'm like literally looking at this peloton plus tread.
- [07:58]
Julie Foudy
It's just, it's in your basement, it's.
- [08:00]
Abby Wambach
Down in your basement.
- [08:01]
Julie Foudy
My wife loves it.
- [08:01]
Abby Wambach
Seriously, I'm stunned how much I actually didn't know I needed this. It mixes up my weekly routine. Guide guides by instructors like, I feel like I've got friends and I've got trainers on my side now.
- [08:13]
Julie Foudy
Yeah, yeah, I love it too. I love it. So let yourself run, lift, sculpt, push, and go.
- [08:20]
Abby Wambach
It does it all.
- [08:21]
Julie Foudy
Explore the new peloton cross training tread +@1peloton.com. All right, party people. That's right. When women's hockey hits a defining moment, Kendall Coin Scofield is usually right there shaping it. College records, one gold, two silver Olympic medals for Team usa. She helped launch and now continues to help build the pwhl, the professional women's hockey league. Back to back PWHL championships in Minnesota. Oh, yes, and that little NHL all star moment where she raced against the top male pros and of course showed us again all that is possible. Now add this chapter. Kendall as a mom to 2 year old Drew. She is still leading, still producing on the ice. As of this recording on January 22nd, she is the leading scorer and point leader in PWHL with nine goals and six assists. And she's heading into her fourth Olympic Games. Party, people. With Team USA on a heater with the rivalry. Rivalry with Canada. Louder than ever. Tape up your stick. Strap on your skates. Clear the ice. Kendall has seen my slap shot, so you really need to clear the ice. Let's do this. Kendall Coyne Schofield, welcome to the party.
- [09:54]
Abby Wambach
Whoa, we're low key here. We don't go big.
- [09:57]
Julie Foudy
Kendall. What's up, sister?
- [09:59]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Nothing. Thank you so much for having me. I am honored to be at this point party, to say the least.
- [10:05]
Julie Foudy
And you re released your book. Let's go.
- [10:09]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yes, we added as fast as her. Yes, we added the afterward chapter which talks about the evolution of the pwhl. A League of Their Own is what the chapter is called. It's very exciting and yeah, it's pretty cool to be able to write that. I will say I. I definitely had way too many words. And the editor was like, we need to cut this, like, in half. And I'm like, but we can't. There's so much to say. She's like, well, we have to. So we did our best, but obviously it all started with a phone call to Billie Jean and Alana. And here we are.
- [10:47]
Billie Jean King
Oh, I remember that. Well, actually, didn't you ask Angela Ruggiero?
- [10:52]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yeah. If you read the afterword in the book, it does talk about how I called Angela and I said to Angela, we need. We need to change this. We need to Change the landscape of women's professional hockey. This isn't good enough. What do we do? And she says, you need to go big. You need to call someone like Billie Jean King. And I said to Angela, I'm like, well, I'm not going to find her number in the phone book. And I know I just dated myself and said, a phone book? Yes, can you help a sister out here? And she's like, yes, I will connect you. And that is how we got. That's how I got connected to Billie Jean and Alana.
- [11:26]
Billie Jean King
I'll never forget, because I know you're at our apartment in New York when you said to us, can you help us? You know, we really need a proper pro league. Not it's not going to be for us, but it's going to be for the future generations. Then I knew we had a live one, a leader, because, you know, very much like Julie, you and Abs, you guys said we instead an I.
- [11:49]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
You know, for me, throughout the process, it was never about playing in the league. The league that I had a vision of, that we had a vision of. It was always about building it. I never knew if I was going to play in it. That wasn't my drive. That wasn't my goal. It was about building it for the next. And I think the hard moments, besides living it, it was when all these young girls would come up to me and say, I want to be like you. I want to do what you do. I want to do this. And I'm like, no, you don't. You don't want to do this. You don't want to sleep on your. Your teammate's air mattress, you know, flying for a game, never practice with a team, make $7,000 as the highest paid player on your team, and, you know, call yourself a professional, whether it's, you know, bringing your bag home, you know, airing it out in your apartment, all of these things that just weren't professional. And so it was a matter of, how are we going to change it? And it's not. It's not going to change if we just sit by and be thankful. And Billy, I'll use your words, be happy with the crumbs. We can't be happy with the crumbs, right? And we were done being happy with the crumbs. And Billy and Alana's advice from the very beginning was, you need one voice. And so my next question was, how do we get that one voice? And that was by forming an association in which we did. And so when we initially formed the association, on May 2, 2019, we had over 200 of the best players in the world, which was on the advice of Billy and Alana. And from there it was go time. It took five years. But while those five years felt long, this league is now going to be around for 500 plus years, in my opinion. So it was worth every. Every minute, every phone call, every road trip, every hour, every minute spent fighting for this, creating this. Every. No. That we heard was worth the. The one. Yes, that. That we received. And we're living our dream thanks to so many, including Billy and Alana, who helped make this possible.
- [13:49]
Billie Jean King
Well, what. What do you think's helped? Like. Like, how's the brand partnerships going and all that? Because as we know, without sponsorship money and media and all those things, it doesn't happen. So has that been panning out for the teams or for the league and you and everybody, I hope, because that's a big part of it.
- [14:08]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Well, absolutely. And I think, Billy, as we always talked about, you know, we could have the best plan in the world, but if we don't have any investment, it doesn't matter. We needed the. We needed the money to help us get to where we are, no matter. Regardless if we have a great plan or didn't have a great plan. If we didn't have the money to activate the plan, it didn't matter. So you look at, you know, year one, where some people were like, oh, is this just going to be another iteration of women's pro hockey that fails? Because that's all people saw to that point was, you know, pro leagues that were by pro, by name only. And so here comes another one. And I think there were people who were skeptical, skeptical of the success of the pwhl. But then you had partnership partners like ELF who came on boom, day one, year one, they're like, let's go. We believe in this. And that's a big brand. And for them to put their weight and, you know, their brand behind the league, like the pwhl, from the very beginning, it spoke to the credibility and the legitimacy of not only the league, but the players and the product that the fans were about to experience. So, absolutely, the brand partnerships that we've had from day one have been critical to the success of this league.
- [15:14]
Julie Foudy
It's so fun when you start to realize, like, the importance of, as Kinger always says, understanding the business behind what you're doing and being a part of building it. Like the fact that Kendall and I know Kinger and I have talked about this a lot, like the gift that hockey was given was Yalls ability to, you know, going back to even fighting with USA Hockey with Megan Duggan and Hillary Knight and your whole crew of saying, like, no, we're not gonna. We're not building this for us. We're building it for the next generation. And we're fighting for the next generation, as every female athlete has had to do over the course of history in their various sports. It's very similar. But that you guys were so unified finally on that front was huge.
- [16:06]
Billie Jean King
The song's usually very similar in every single sport to get started. It's so difficult and it takes so much money. Oi.
- [16:16]
Julie Foudy
Yeah. And I love like. And I know this was part of the afterword in your book that you had dreamt so many years of, like, finishing an Olympics and then coming back to this amazing professional league. And there was never anything after the Olympics. It was like, oh, we go back to scrapping and to your point of, you know, sleeping on air, you know, blow up air mattresses and. Or couches or however we make it. And now, finally, you are going to come back for the first time after this Olympics and have a true professional league that you're playing in. So. And that's because you rolled up your sleeves, Kendall Coins Schofield.
- [16:54]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yes, that. I think that's what I'm. I'm so excited for, that. I, you know, for as long as I can remember, women's hockey went silent after the Olympics. And people would watch this incredible product and talk about the Olympics and talk about women's hockey, and, you know, it'd be the most viewed event at the Olympic Games year after year. And then people would ask, where can I watch them? When can I watch them next? And it'd be like, maybe in eight months, nine months. If it's broadcasted, if it's streamed, if you can get it on your local television, if it happens. And it was always if, if, and if. And it was like, well, you just lost the fan at that point in time. Because they're like, well, I'm on to the next thing. Well, now there's no more if, ands or buts. It's coming back. March 1st. We have our first game, I know, for us, for Minnesota against Montreal, you know, coming off the Olympics. And it's like the awareness, the visit, you know, it matters. Women's hockey isn't silent anymore. And so I am extremely excited for the conversation, the product, the visibility of the sport to just pick up right where it left off when the Olympic Games closes Its doors.
- [17:59]
Billie Jean King
How is it being a mom? Like, and then you've got a husband, Michael, who used to play, you know, he's a Super bowl champ. I love this guy, by the way. Michael, I adore. He is so great, and he's great. And then Drew, you have Drew with you, and your guys are being angels in the ice when you won, and then you bring him on the. He's on the ice a lot.
- [18:20]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
It looks like it's been extremely rewarding becoming a mom. I think after the 2022 games closed, I had a goal. It was to figure this league out. It was to start a family, and it was to get back to the Olympic Games. And, you know, we're a week and a half away from that third goal, you know, and a lot of unpredictability within those three goals. But I will say, when we started our family, when I announced my pregnancy, just the amount of people that said, congratulations on a great career. It was. In a way, it was as deflating as it was. It was actually more empowering to be like, why is this the end? This is just the new beginning. I will get back there, and I know I can get back there. You know, the people not thinking, I'll be as fast as I once was, and I'm like, I didn't just deliver my speed. I just delivered a baby. I'll be just fine. People like, you know, like, it'll be all good. Like, just give me the proper time and, you know, support and grace and empathy to get. To get back to the top. Knowing kind of the. A lot of people that counted me out and thought that was the end versus the new beginning. It's been really rewarding to get back here. Even, like I said, when with the whole PWHL fight and creation of it, it wasn't about for me playing in it. So I feel like every day I get to play in it. It's such a blessing. It's such a reward and such a bonus. So I think, yeah, now and then, you know, fast forward to, you know, 2026 and the Olympics. It'll be really special to be able to be there with him. And one thing that kept me going this whole time was I. I didn't want him to look back and see, you know, he was born in 2023. And then him look back and be like, when did mom's hockey career end? And him see that. That was also 2023, that he was the reason I kept going. Like, he wasn't the reason I stopped. And when you know, I want to teach him to, you know, follow his dreams, whatever those may be, and never give up. And now I can prove to him, you know, I didn't give up either. You know, Mommy, Mommy didn't give up. Mommy kept going and he was the reason I kept going, and he wasn't the reason I stopped.
- [20:20]
Abby Wambach
The average person does not have those three huge, big goals to tackle within an Olympic cycle. And I'm not surprised because every time I see you, Kendall, like, there's just a spirit about you that is so other minded and so like leadership. And then also you have the baby and you're, you're currently the, like leading the PWHL in points and goals. Like, how are you managing all of this? And, and why, like, what is your big why?
- [20:56]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
That's a good question, Abby. I think it's just, it's a vision, it's a belief, a dream. If I have it, I'm going to put everything I can into accomplishing it. And I think, you know, you know, the only points that matter are the three points that are on the line every night in the pwhl. I think that's, that's, you know, to, to talk about that part. You know, I think the second part with, in regards to the PWHL of, you know, wanting to be a part of building it is people ask me all the time, are you surprised that these buildings are full, that the merch is off flying off the shelves? That, you know, there's these sponsors, elf, like Bread Financial, they're coming, you know, they're, they're running through the doors. Are, you know, are you, are you surprised? And I know it's not the answer people want, but it's, it's my, it's the dead honest truth. No. Like, I know exactly. Hell no. If I didn't believe in this, I wouldn't have put the work in every day to accomplish it. I knew it was going to happen. I knew it deep down in my, to my core when I was 6 years old and I was like, wait, so only girls can only go to the Olympics? Like, why can't they play pro hockey like all the boys I'm playing with? Because I played with more boys than I did girls. And so, you know, I didn't. Again, I was only 6. And I'm like, all right, I guess I'm supposed to go to the Olympics, you know, and then you get older and then you're like, wait a second, why don't we have an opportunity to be a professional? Because we're a girl. Like, well, that's not the right answer. Okay, well, let's go change that. Like you. You know, it's just like this drive and vision that I. That I. When I know, I believe it's possible, I'm going to do everything I can to work to change it and be a part of that change and. And prove that it is possible. And I think for me, in 2022, I wasn't satisfied with the result of, you know, getting a silver medal. And just that that experience was just very challenging in itself, and it didn't leave a good taste in my mouth. In many ways, it was hard with all the, you know, the restrictions and the pandemic. And so I knew I had a goal to get back there. And let's just say 26 is a great number, too. So here we are.
- [22:56]
Billie Jean King
Yeah, number 26. A lot of kids are wearing your jersey. I know that probably.
- [23:02]
Abby Wambach
And I'm not even kidding here. Like, once a month, Kendall, when I'm feeling, I don't know, like I need a little inspiration, I go to YouTube and I type in Kendall Coin Scofield, All Star Game, NHL. And it, like, I choose the one that has, like, the, like, really inspiring, like, music behind it. You know, like that one video that's like, da, da, da, da, da da. Like, it's so good. Like the Rudy music. What?
- [23:33]
Billie Jean King
Oh, yeah.
- [23:34]
Abby Wambach
What was competing? First of all, I don't know if I've got the guts to go to a men's All Star game.
- [23:42]
Julie Foudy
That's a great point.
- [23:44]
Abby Wambach
And one of the skills challenge, like, that takes a shit ton of courage to go. It was like your own little battle of the sexes that you decided to participate in, where you were, like, putting yourself out there to potentially come in last place. You know, like, for sure I would have come in last place because I'm slow as hell. But you didn't. And you went out there and you crushed it. And it was, like, so inspiring, and it inspires me still to this day, like, yes. What? What? Why did you do that? How did you do that? Like, what in the heck?
- [24:23]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Well, so to take a step back, the NHL invited four of us to attend the weekend to demonstrate the All Star skills component. So we weren't actually going to be seen. We were not going to be on tv. It was really just demonstrating them for the fans. At the SAP center in San Jose, Nathan McKinnon gets hurt the game. Before going into the All Star weekend, he was scheduled to skate in the fastest skater competition. And when he was no longer eligible to skate. Patrick Burke, who was in charge of the skills, the all star skills challenges, he said, well, Kendall's here. I know. I've seen her play. I know she can skate just as well as the men. We should have her. And so he went to Gary Bettman in the NHLPA and then the seven players scheduled to skate in the competition and said, this is. I have an idea. And, you know, we have to get the proper approval. He. He got the proper approval. There was one guy, he had to get the approval of all the skaters. And one guy didn't answer his phone. And so he was waiting on that, and it was the fact that he was at the Apple store and his phone broke. So that's why he wasn't answering his phone. So I didn't know any of this was going on. I thought, you know, I'm going there to demonstrate one of the. The. One of the drills. And so this is all happening the day before, unbeknownst to me. The next day, he calls me. I don't have his phone number. Patrick Burke calls me twice. And I thought it was a drug tester. And I was like, oh, my goodness. Like, their drug testing is here. Like, really? Like, this is.
- [25:56]
Julie Foudy
You guys know, don't bring back those memories.
- [25:59]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
And so then I get a text, Kendall, it's Patrick. Give me a call back. So then he. I call him back. I was like, oh, hey, Patrick, what's up? And he's. He's like, how are you doing? And I'm like, I'm fine. Just in my hotel room. He's like, good. You need anything?
- [26:12]
Julie Foudy
Water?
- [26:13]
Abby Wambach
You.
- [26:13]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Did you eat? I'm like, yeah, I'm fine. Like, what's going on? And he's like, okay, well, you're gonna skate.
- [26:18]
Julie Foudy
He's like, we gotta pump you up.
- [26:20]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yeah. I was like, I'm fine. He's like, well, you're gonna skate in the fastest skater competition. I was like, oh, okay. In like, like four hours. Yep. I was like, okay, sounds good. Like, let's go. So then, anyway, so we get to the rink and I'm like, oh, boy. This is. This is, you know, you're starting to feel a little nervous. I didn't have much time to be nervous. It's not like I went to bed the night, you know, night before knowing I was doing this. So I slept fine, like, whatever. I get to the rink and when I got there, I was like, can. Can I go on the ice for warm ups? Because, like, at first we weren't as demonstrators. And the security guard goes, I don't know. So you hear everyone on the radio, and then you hear, patrick, we're on the freaking ice. Like, so they let me on the ice. And then the one thing that, like, made me a little nervous was I had to get off the ice into one of the Pacific locker room. The Pacific. And so I was sitting in there, and then I had to walk all the way back to where we. The women's locker room where we were. And it was, like, all the way on the opposite side. And I'm like, oh, my gosh. I'm probably stepping on popcorn, sand, salt, like, everything just to blow my edges, you know? And I'm like, whatever. Just don't think about it. Just walk. Get there. And then, sure enough, they're like, oh, by, you know, fastest skaters first, and you're going first. I'm like, great. This is exciting. And so I think for me, it was just like, you know, I just kept telling myself, it's like riding a bike. I've been doing it since I was a kid. Like, just go skate. You know, the biggest thing, I was like, don't fall. Because if you fall, you just take women. You take women's hockey 20, 30 years back, you know, they're gonna be like, oh, look, she's a woman. She can't even skate. Look at her fall. When. When a player who skated after me actually fell. No one's talking about him falling, but if I fall, you, you know, it's the end of the world. So I was like, you have the sport on your shoulders right now. You can't fall. Just move your feet as fast as you can move them and go. And so that's kind of what I was telling myself.
- [28:12]
Julie Foudy
And this is what, like, Billy was probably thinking the exact same thing, right? You were having, as Abby said, your battle of the sexes moment.
- [28:21]
Billie Jean King
Oh, yeah. I recognize a lot of what Kendall's feeling.
- [28:24]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
I think the most important thing that came out of all of this was the. It catapulted the conversation of the landscape of women's hockey. It wasn't the fact that I skated this lap for 14.346 seconds. It was the conversation that it created. And it was like, where can I go watch her play? Where does she play professionally? And then I was like, good question. Now let's figure out that solution, because we can't answer that question. And so it really, like that. That platform really helped us create the conversation that we've been trying to have for so long. With so many powerful people of saying, like, hey, look, you know, they're gonna. This All Star weekend's gonna come and go, and they'll go back and play, you know, game 62 of 80 plus. And we have what, you know, where can we go find. Go watch these incredible women play. Well, keep searching Google, because we're trying to find the same. You know, we're trying to find the same thing.
- [29:26]
Abby Wambach
Yeah. And I think it's really important to note that there are so many women who. Who shepherd their sport into the current state that we know it today, that we're having to do countless events, countless appearances, countless media interviews. And you just don't know when the moment will be. When it gets into the zeitgeist of the. Of. Of the, like, cultural consciousness. Like, this specific moment did. Honestly, it made people go. There were. Some people were like, I didn't know women hockey existed. Women's hockey even existed. And it's like, not only does it exist, but look at Kendall Coyne Schofield skating as fast as NHL players. And like that. That scrambles people's perception and brain in a way that, like, completely allows for a league like the PWHL to not only make it, but sell out crowds. Right. Like, you were. What was the most recent record? It was 17,228 fans that filled the Capital One arena in Washington, D.C. for.
- [30:37]
Billie Jean King
A PWL team there.
- [30:39]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yeah, that was.
- [30:40]
Billie Jean King
Every time I look at these, I think, how. Where can we expand? That's always on my head. And when I saw. When I was watching the game, too, at the Capital Capital center, it was just, I want to be coming over 17,000 BJK, Billie Jean.
- [30:54]
Abby Wambach
I want to become an owner of one of these teams. Can we talk to somebody? Kendall?
- [30:59]
Julie Foudy
I don't know if she knows anyone. Billy.
- [31:00]
Billie Jean King
We don't have different owners of teams at all. And because of that, every team is really, really treated well. I would say very similar. Would you? I mean, and you can correct me, Kendall, but that's the word I get from most of the players. They can't believe. Like, here's a typical example. They'll be carrying their equipment down the hall. Well, we have equipment carriers. Okay. And they'll say, hey, hey, put your stuff down. I'm here to carry that. Well, they're not used to it because the guys are used to it. I mean, they were even talking about the snacks before they go into the locker room. They never had that. They're going, God, we're treating just like the guys. And we think that is hugely important. And they do play for the Walter cup, which is slightly. I told you, already heavier than the Stanley Cup. Smidgen and Kendall, when you won, Minnesota Frost won. It's 37 plus. And I'm like, can you lift this up? I mean, you know, Kendall's 5:2. You guys just put it in perspective. She goes, oh, I can do that. Give me that thing. And she picks it up and starts going around, and she hands it off to the next player because that's the way they celebrate. It was so exciting. I couldn't. I mean, I just couldn't contain myself. But to watch these players, you know, pass the baton, basically the Walter cup to each player, and then running around and, you know, not running, skating around and like, oh, my God, what a scene. All these little kids, boys and girls, especially girls. But here's something. She can dream now. She's got the dream. She didn't have the dream before, like Kendall was explaining. And now they have the dream. And that's what makes Ilana and me so happy. I cannot tell you, but it would never have happened without Kendall.
- [32:39]
Abby Wambach
She demanded what they deserved. Right? And, Jules, we got to talk about the Olympics. Do you want to say yes?
- [32:45]
Julie Foudy
This is what I want to go to.
- [32:47]
Abby Wambach
We got to get to the Olympics.
- [32:48]
Julie Foudy
You mentioned. You mentioned that last Olympics you guys won the silver. It was one of the motivations.
- [32:54]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
No, we lost the gold.
- [32:55]
Julie Foudy
Right? I mean, sorry.
- [32:58]
Billie Jean King
Julie, Julie, Julie, why don't you tell her what you call. What you call the silver?
- [33:03]
Julie Foudy
I call silver medal. White gold.
- [33:05]
Billie Jean King
Thank you.
- [33:05]
Julie Foudy
So you.
- [33:06]
Abby Wambach
You.
- [33:07]
Julie Foudy
You lost the gold. You won the white gold.
- [33:09]
Abby Wambach
That's so good.
- [33:11]
Julie Foudy
And I know this rivalry between Canada is crazy, and I just want to give a little context for the party. Every single Olympic women's hockey gold medal has either been won by the United States or Canada. This rivalry is insane. Canada has won gold, I'm sorry to say, in the last three of four Winter Olympics. But this is where I'm going nuts. Y' all crushed in the rivalry series. So you swept Canada 4 0. This all happened in what, December? November?
- [33:51]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yeah.
- [33:51]
Julie Foudy
Is that when the hell happened?
- [33:52]
Abby Wambach
Just recently.
- [33:53]
Julie Foudy
Yeah, recently. Okay, so I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but what does that mean? Because you. You guys never have done that before against them, and it was.
- [34:05]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
For sure. I think it's. You know, we started our process August 5th when we got together for our first training camp, and we had a group of 30. And that group of 30 got together every month from August through December. And I Think, you know, those games, they definitely help. They. They. They're part of our process. The way we want to play it, help, you know, kind of close on. Close the gap on things that we are working on, things that we were able to execute on, things that we may not have been able to execute on. And of course, you know, the goal is, the outcome is. Is to win the Rivalry Series, and we were able to accomplish that. But I don't think you want to, you know, necessarily put so much stock into the fact of, like, oh, this is the Rivalry Series, and it automatically, you know, you got to show up. Right. You know, our first game is against the Czechs on February 5th, and that's our focus. I think we look at our process that we had from August through December. We were at 30 players. We went down to 23. I think it's important to note the seven players that won't be a part of the Olympic roster are absolutely a part of it, because it took all 30 of us to get this team to where it is today. And the preparedness that we have going in, you know, those games against Canada absolutely help. I think, you know, that's. That's the unpredictable competition that we get. We practice against each other so much in. In August, September, October, even in the training camp days of November and December. Then we finally get to play an opponent, and obviously, that was Canada and the Rivalry Series and winning that. But at the end of the day, we have to flip the page and we have a tournament to win. And that tournament starts on. On the fifth against the Czechs. And I don't think you can look really pat, you know, past that at this point.
- [35:41]
Julie Foudy
So you. You start the day before opening ceremonies. This is what soccer always does, too. You start early because you got to get in all your games. So you start the day before on the 5th.
- [35:50]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yes.
- [35:50]
Julie Foudy
And then I know you play Canada in the preliminary rounds, right? You play them on the 13th.
- [35:57]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
I. I haven't gotten past the 5th. I don't know exactly the date.
- [36:01]
Billie Jean King
Oh, that's. See, that's a great athlete. That's what you want. You got them first. Also, I think. Aren't different countries now playing in the PWL as well?
- [36:11]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yeah, absolutely.
- [36:12]
Billie Jean King
We've got people from all are starting to get drafted from all over the world, which is good.
- [36:15]
Julie Foudy
That's so good.
- [36:16]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yes.
- [36:17]
Billie Jean King
Another thing I noticed, but I noticed I feel like you guys have gotten better because of all this competition.
- [36:25]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
The reason is very simple, because the players have the tools and the resources they deserved, and have earned for so long to be successful for, for so long. For me, it was almost 10 years. But when from the time I graduated from college up until the start of the pwhl, I was skating on my own, I was training on my own, I was finding my own, my own resources to help myself be the best that I can be. You know, we were playing maybe 10 games a year. You guys know you need to, you need to hit a ball, you need to kick a ball, you need to play against competition, be good. Like, you can't just. Practice is super important to all the kids out there. Practice is how all of us have made it to where we are in our careers. But at the end of the day, like you have to play games. And because there was no pro league, there was very few and far between games happening. And then you talk about the resources, you know, skills coaches, goalie coaches, forward coaches, D coaches, head coaches, athletic trainers, team doctors, massage therapists, chiropractors, strength and conditioning coaches. All of these are pieces of the puzzle that makes the athlete as great as they are. And for so long, women's hockey didn't have those day after day. It was, you know, maybe you'll have it if you're with the national team for two weeks here and then you go home and you try and figure out all those things by yourself, on top of your full time job, by the way. So it's like good luck seeing, you know, you know, the skills coach at 8 o' clock at night after you're done and you're exhausted and you're, you know, and you know, so I'm just saying, like, the reason that like the product is so incredible is because of the tools and the resources that are allowing the players to be the best player that they can be night in and night out. And they're playing games, they're playing 30 plus games a year, plus the playoffs, plus the international competition. We're playing more hockey than ever before. And so it's like this. It makes me so happy to see how incredible the product is. I always knew it was incredible. Abby, to your point, when we were talking about the all star competition, it wasn't the fact that it was, you know, this time and not get, you know, getting, not, not getting last place, but it was. Oh, women's hockey is equally as, as entertaining as men's hockey. Tune in and watch it. But oh, wait, I can't find it. Now you can. And everyone's, you know, they're, they're taking a step back and like Whoa. Like, this is amazing. This is fun to watch. You come into a game, you're looking for the next one. You come into the next one, you're like, wait, where can I get my season tickets? You know? And now people are able to get into buildings and they're seeing how good it is. And it's so good because the players are working on their craft every day with the. With all of these people are helping them be the best that they can be as we as they've deserved for so long.
- [39:08]
Julie Foudy
And this rivalry has even. Even been so good as. As heartbreaking as it has been over the years for the United States state. We taking it. Let's go. Kendall Coy Scarfield.
- [39:26]
Abby Wambach
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Julie Foudy
Yes. So green. They're like, that's.
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Abby Wambach
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- [42:06]
Julie Foudy
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Abby Wambach
Yes.
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Julie Foudy
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- [43:23]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
All right, last.
- [43:23]
Julie Foudy
Last segment we're gonna do is called Party Poppers. Kendall, before we get the party.
- [43:30]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Wait, wait. I have a surprise because I thought I should bring my soccer moment and my tennis moment to the party. So I'm gonna take my shirt off. Not all my shirt. And I got my other shirt.
- [43:41]
Billie Jean King
Oh, my shirt.
- [43:43]
Julie Foudy
I thought you were doing a Brandy Chastain moment. Okay, well, I wasn't.
- [43:47]
Billie Jean King
Pressure is a privilege.
- [43:50]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Is.
- [43:50]
Billie Jean King
That's what you're going to be experiencing soon. You see, all of us did our PWHL outfit today. I stole this from Ilana.
- [43:57]
Julie Foudy
Literally, my USA Hockey on.
- [44:01]
Billie Jean King
I said I need that for the podcast.
- [44:03]
Julie Foudy
I know I have one of those in two colors, that color and a darker color. It's so good. It is a great shirt.
- [44:09]
Billie Jean King
No pressure.
- [44:10]
Julie Foudy
Pressure is a privilege. Okay, Party popper. This is going to be some pressure as well. So this is a privilege for you, Kendall Coin. Because it is called what we call a blind ranking. Do you know what a blind ranking is? We're gonna give you five events. You don't know what those events are, and you're gonna have to rank them one to five, one being the best event.
- [44:33]
Abby Wambach
Okay.
- [44:33]
Julie Foudy
And five being of those five events, you think that's the least best event. Okay. And they're all great events. So this is gonna be hard. Are you.
- [44:43]
Abby Wambach
And the blind ranking. And just so you know, Kendall, like. Like you don't know what's going to come next, so you gotta anticipate that potentially something might be better, but you don't know what's coming next.
- [44:53]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Okay.
- [44:55]
Julie Foudy
He's like, oh, that is pressure. This pressure is a privilege.
- [45:00]
Abby Wambach
Okay. This is perfect.
- [45:01]
Julie Foudy
Okay. Are you ready, Kendall? Yes. All right.
- [45:05]
Abby Wambach
I said yes like I'm Kendall. I was like, I'm ready.
- [45:07]
Julie Foudy
I'm ready. Okay. Where would you rank this when you became the first woman to Compete in the NHL All Star Skills Competition's Fastest Skater event in 2019? As Abby talked about showing the boys how to skate fast.
- [45:27]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Four.
- [45:29]
Abby Wambach
Okay.
- [45:30]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Okay.
- [45:31]
Billie Jean King
Okay.
- [45:32]
Julie Foudy
I like it. Okay. Writing your book as fast as her. Ooh.
- [45:43]
Abby Wambach
I love the thought that's going into this. I know.
- [45:46]
Julie Foudy
So good.
- [45:52]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
I'm worried you're gonna say, like, when Drew was born. Okay. Maybe five.
- [46:03]
Abby Wambach
Okay.
- [46:04]
Julie Foudy
Okay. Winning an Olympic gold medal in 2018.
- [46:13]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Two.
- [46:15]
Julie Foudy
Oh, number two. Okay. Okay. Having your son, Drew, come watch you play at the 2026 Olympic Games.
- [46:28]
Abby Wambach
Good way to hold out.
- [46:29]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
1.
- [46:32]
Billie Jean King
That's what she was waiting for.
- [46:35]
Julie Foudy
There you go, girl question. Okay, this one's a tough one. Helping launch the pwhl.
- [46:45]
Abby Wambach
One spot left. So it just one.
- [46:47]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
A One A. That's good.
- [46:49]
Abby Wambach
One. A three.
- [46:51]
Billie Jean King
You know.
- [46:53]
Julie Foudy
All right, we're gonna put it in. We're gonna put it in the. In the three spot. That was really good. So you got Drew watching you at the Olympics. I can't wait for that shot. Number two, gold medal in the 2018 Olympics. Number three, launching PWHL. This is really good. This is about how I. Yeah. How I had you four. NHL fastest skater event. First woman to compete in the All Stars competition. And number five, your book, Kendall. Coins go field slope.
- [47:29]
Abby Wambach
Yes.
- [47:30]
Billie Jean King
Give me the ball.
- [47:31]
Abby Wambach
Also, just a side note, Kendall, your husband's name is Michael Schofield, right?
- [47:35]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yes.
- [47:38]
Abby Wambach
Wasn't that like a.
- [47:40]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
The character in Prison Break?
- [47:42]
Abby Wambach
Yes.
- [47:43]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yes.
- [47:43]
Abby Wambach
Okay. I was like, that is really ringing true. Something. Yes. We love you. Thank you for coming on. Would you mind doing a party pose with us? Which is, like, what we do. We. It's basically like a freeze frame for our social and YouTube page. Would you mind doing a party post?
- [47:59]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Yeah, you gotta make sure you have my shirt.
- [48:01]
Abby Wambach
Yeah.
- [48:02]
Julie Foudy
Okay.
- [48:02]
Billie Jean King
Oh, good luck.
- [48:02]
Julie Foudy
I'M getting my shirt in too.
- [48:04]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Wait, what are we doing? What are we supposed to pose?
- [48:07]
Abby Wambach
Yeah, you pose.
- [48:08]
Billie Jean King
Make sure I don't put my hands in front of it. Yeah. Or whatever.
- [48:11]
Abby Wambach
Here.
- [48:12]
Julie Foudy
Wait, I gotta get this out of the way today. Oh, shoot. Hold on now.
- [48:17]
Billie Jean King
I guess we're all doing the same thing. Basically. That doesn't matter.
- [48:20]
Abby Wambach
Here we go.
- [48:23]
Julie Foudy
Okay, party people. People, don't forget to subscribe to the welcome to the party YouTube channel. Click that little bell icon so you get updates when new episodes go live. We would greatly appreciate it.
- [48:33]
Abby Wambach
Yeah, and if you just take a second, we would appreciate if you can rate. Leave a comment and subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And be sure to follow us on TikTok and Instagram welcome to the Party show where Julie, Billy and I will bring the party straight to your feed. Shout out Kate Diaz for our theme music. We love it so much. And then we're just going to do. I think Jules, because it's Kendall and she's Team usa. Can we just do our quick outro and and USA chant. Okay, so, Kendall, I don't know if you know this, but the U.S. soccer women's team has had the exact same cheer for the since the inception of the team in 1985. And it goes something like this. One, two, three. And so would you like to do this with us? We end all of our podcast with so it goes not.
- [49:31]
Julie Foudy
Ah.
- [49:32]
Abby Wambach
Jules does it different than I do because we're generationally from different generations.
- [49:37]
Billie Jean King
Like the lead. That's all I've got. Four. Oh, my God, the leadership.
- [49:42]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
Uza.
- [49:42]
Abby Wambach
Ah. Okay, hands pausing.
- [49:45]
Billie Jean King
You ready?
- [49:46]
Kendall Coyne Schofield
What if I do a.
- [49:50]
Julie Foudy
One time I did a. Ooh. I was like, oh, wait, that.
- [49:54]
Billie Jean King
We go 1, 2, 3. And then we go.
- [49:58]
Abby Wambach
Yeah, whatever.
- [49:59]
Billie Jean King
I probably don't have it right here.
- [50:00]
Abby Wambach
Oo on three. One, two, one.
- [50:03]
Billie Jean King
Three, two, three.
- [50:09]
Abby Wambach
Let's go, usa Bring home the gold, Kendall.
- [50:13]
Julie Foudy
Let's go, Kendall.
- [50:15]
Abby Wambach
Welcome to the Party is an independent production brought to you by Treat Media. Treat Media makes art for humans who want to stay human. Initial Digital is our production partner and you can also watch our full conversations on the welcome to the party YouTube channel and follow us at welcome to the Party show on Instagram and TikTok. Thanks for listening.