It would have been understandable had Jen Beattie agonised over calling time on her playing career, that the announcement she made on Tuesday, bringing to a close an 18-year chapter that has spanned seven clubs and five countries. After all, when GOAL asks the Bay FC defender if there is anything she will miss as she takes her first steps into retirement, despite taking a good moment to think about it, she cannot come up with an answer. And yet, she is entirely at peace with the decision to move on from what she repeatedly calls “the best job in the world”.
“When I look back at everything, my favourite thing is how fun it was,” Beattie says. “I’ve loved every second of it, even all the hard stuff. I would do it all again, all the injuries, I would do every single aspect of it all. I had so much fun, the day-to-day stuff, the big games, everything. It was just so enjoyable and I feel so lucky to have got friends for life off the back of it as well, really good people, great coaches, awesome clubs. I’m very, very grateful for everything I’ve been able to do through football.”
But every player knows when it’s the right time and, to Beattie, that is what this is. Though she had one more year on her contract at Bay FC, having signed for the NWSL club last February from Arsenal, she’s “ready for what’s next”. Better yet, “I feel pretty good about it”, she says.