Lauren Barnes had no intention of being an NWSL player. After being drafted by the Philadelphia Independence of Women’s Professional Soccer in 2011 and moving across the country, her rookie season was riddled with uncertainty about the viability of the league and a feeling of homesickness, and she never saw the field during the club’s 18-game season. After the league folded, she returned to California and got a job coaching at UC Riverside, thinking her professional days were behind her. When rumors began surfacing a few months later that a new league might launch, Barnes had her doubts after her WPS experience.
“When I was playing [in WPS], every day you were talking about, ‘Is there gonna be a job? Is it folding? Is it what not’, and I was like, I don't really know if I even want to be a part of that,” Barnes reflected at a press conference on Tuesday, celebrating her long and storied career. “That's stressful. I was making $0, I was making 3 times as much as I was playing going into coaching right away, so I was like, you know, maybe that's not it for me, and then I heard talks about the NWSL coming in, and I was a little hesitant because you couldn't trust much at the time.”
At the urging of her boss at UC Riverside, she decided to consider it. When she got a call from Laura Harvey pitching the vision for a new team in Seattle, they immediately clicked. The promise of staying on the West Coast sealed the deal, and Barnes agreed to enter the NWSL Supplemental Draft to be selected by the Reign.
A rough beginning becomes something great
That first season in the NWSL ended up being difficult for everyone on the Reign, but the culture that Laura Harvey, original team owners Bill and Teresa Predmore, and the players were building helped see them through it, laying a foundation for the incredible successes of the years that followed.
“It was rough. It was rough,” Barnes acknowledges. “So I think when you're able to get through something like that with the group, especially we had a core group after that, it's so easy to buy in and you just know it's your people and this is where you wanna be, and that's how it felt for me, you kind of just got thrown into the deep end and it was just like sink or swim and we swam and we’re here now.”
The last 13 years have seen the NWSL grow tremendously, expanding from 8 teams in that first season to 16 next year. Minimum salaries have climbed from $6,000 in the inaugural season to $48,500 this year, plus housing and other benefits, but there is still a lot of work to be done to get the league on par with its male counterparts. Barnes feels a twinge of sadness about leaving just as the league is growing exponentially, but is also proud of the foundation she and other NWSL players have established to help elevate the sport and the next generation of players and to see the league grow like they always felt it could.
“I think how fast women's soccer has grown, especially in the last 3 to 5 years, has been really incredible to see,” she remarked. “I still think there's so much to kind of dig into and really reflect on for me, because I think from outsiders looking in, it always looks incredible – and it is – but I think what I've seen with the new ownership is that investment is so important. And I think that's what has really helped women's soccer take off, is the genuine and legit investments going back into us, and that's been what's been exciting for me and that's why you can see salaries go up, that's why you can see this be a lifestyle and, you know, in 2013 I probably had 8 different jobs, with soccer being your number one, so just seeing that these players now can just focus on football and not have to worry about anything else is the overall goal that I've always wanted to see in football and it's close, it's getting there and I think everyone's like, oh, old people are bitter about leaving and stuff, and I'm like, yeah, of course I want to be a part of that, but I'm also so proud that we built that so this next generation can be a part of that and you know, that's just as fulfilling for me.”
Establishing community and culture
There has been a lot of change at the Reign over the years – different stadiums, different coaches, different ownership, but one thing that remained a steady and guiding focus through all of that upheaval was the three remaining original Reign players, Lu Barnes, Jess Fishlock and Megan Rapinoe.
Reign General Manager Lesle Gallimore credits Barnes first and foremost with being the cornerstone of that culture.
“When you talk about Lu and what her stamp and legacy will be on the club,” Gallimore explained. “This club is Lu. Laura [Harvey] took a little blip in the middle somewhere. Pinoe played a certain percentage of games… Jess [Fishlock] went on a lot of national team duty trips and has obviously been an O.G. as well, but when you talk about Lu Barnes, she is the stalwart of the team. This team, the standard, the standard of play, the demeanor, the acceptance, the inclusion, that's all Lu. I mean, that's the only way you can put it.
“It's Lu Barnes and for anybody that's ever been outside, inside, around the club, the people in the league know it, players in the league know it, the number of players that have come through our club know it, the people that have worked here know it, the coaches that have had the opportunity to coach her and watch her entire career, not just as a professional, but as a collegiate player and a youth player like I have, know the mark she's left as a human being and as a player. And I don't want to take away from the playing piece because she is such an extraordinary human. She's also an extraordinary player, extraordinary, so it'll be lasting.”
One thing Barnes came back to several times when talking about why she and others stayed with the club for so long is the sense of family. She described how the Predmores welcomed the team into their home and were present in a way that few other team owners were doing, how the Sounders have been active owners, boosting investment and also just being present and responsive to the club’s needs, and how that reflects her experience in Seattle as a whole.
“I think when I came in here as a player and then the Reign itself, there's just a sense of belonging and purpose,” she said. “And I think that's why we probably have the most players that have been with one club for the longest. There's a reason for that, and that is the community, and that is Seattle in general. And I think for me, it was so easy to be a part of something that felt bigger as well, and that's always what soccer has been for me, and the city provided that, supported it.
“I think about just things I love outside of football. It aligns with the city of Seattle so much, and you know they've loved that as well, which is why I think I've been so connected with the community for so long, And I think when you have, you know, you feel that love and support and that backing, like, why would you want to go anywhere else? And to see what we've built from 2013 to now, it's just a testament to that. It truly is a village that have done that.”
Her legacy
Harvey echoed Gallimore’s sentiments when describing the enduring legacy and impact of Barnes on the club.
“I think it will be felt forever, honestly,” said Harvey. “It's never really been about Lu. It's always been about the bigger impact of what she does to the club and everybody around her, but I know what we're gonna do. We're gonna celebrate her for being her for the next however long this season goes on for and beyond, but her legacy will live forever.”
As part of a new back-of-kit sponsorship with Paula’s Choice Skincare unveiled by the Reign on Tuesday, the club will now be presenting the Lu Barnes Award, an annual honor recognizing a Reign FC player who exemplifies integrity, leadership and excellence. Barnes will be the first recipient of the eponymous award, and she got choked up when talking about how much it means to her to be honored in this way by the team.
“Obviously, there's been so much going on around retirement, and I remember reading an email from Maya [Reign president Maya Mendoza-Exstrom] and I was like, that's perfect. I didn't know that's what I needed and what I wanted, and we talked about legacies living on. This is a great way to do it for me personally. But it's humbling, for sure, and I think football has always been bigger than football, you know, and this is like spot on, and I think this is what we've always been about. Being very excellent on and off the field.”
What’s next?
She might not be in the Reign kit again after November, but this won’t be the last you see of Lu Barnes around Lumen Field. After over a decade in the Pacific Northwest, she now considers the area her home, and she wants to continue with the club in some capacity and continue contributing to its culture and growth.
“I want to be a part of this growing club as much as I possibly can,” she said. “I feel like I have still so much to give. I gave all I could on the field. And the next chapter for me is to continue that fight in whatever it looks like, and I've been so fortunate that this club will allow that and wants that and sees that – we’re aligned on that. So yeah, I don't know what exactly it looks like yet, but I hope to stay here – this is home.”
