'I lost my way': Priestman reflects on difficult 2023 ahead of women's soccer Olympic title defence

On a rainy Sunday morning in Toronto, Bev Priestman walks into the room of a downtown Toronto hotel.

The 38-year-old head coach of Canada's national women's soccer team is mighty despite her petite frame. She offers a huge smile and her eyes shine when she speaks. She settles into the chair for the interview with ease and confidence. She's emphatic and often uses her hands to emphasize her points while speaking.

This is not the first time I have interviewed Priestman, but it is the first time it is in such a quiet setting even with the church bells tolling in the distance off of Queen Street. True to her character, she was honest and open about the challenges of last year.

I have been on dozens of Zoom calls with Priestman, sat in post-match pressers in different continents at different tournaments, and at different stages. She took over the senior program in November 2020 from Kenneth Heiner-Møller.

Previously, Priestman has been on the coaching staff of Canada and England's various national women's and youth programs. Although she was familiar with the team, Preistman came during the pandemic.

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She took the team to the Tokyo Olympics and made history. I recall watching a beaming Priestman run onto the pitch after Julia Grosso converted a penalty kick to clinch the gold medal. She looked elated as we all felt.

Fast forward to Australia 2023, I saw Priestman at a restaurant in Melbourne two days after Canada was eliminated from the group stages at the World Cup. A bunch of Canadian journalists were having dinner as most of us would be departing to return home. Priestman came over and thanked all of us for our work and our coverage of the team.