🏆 From Two World Cups to a Microphone: Julie Ertz's Next Game

Julie Ertz spent more than a decade as one of the most decorated players in U.S. women's soccer history, winning two World Cups and an Olympic gold medal before stepping away from the game in 2023. Now she is building something new. Alongside former NWSL star Kealia Watt, Julie co-hosts Style of Play, a media platform covering women's soccer from the inside out, featuring athletes, personalities, and unfiltered conversation about what elite looks like today. It is part podcast, part cultural commentary, and entirely built on the credibility two of the sport's most respected names have spent careers earning. The transition has not been seamless. That is exactly the point.

Rookie Again, On Purpose

Julie knows what it feels like to be the best in the world at something. Media is not that; not yet. "There is definitely a feeling of being a rookie again," she says. "This new chapter has been challenging in the best of ways and just like a game, it takes a lot of practice." What is notable is how deliberately she has leaned into that discomfort rather than managed around it. The same competitive instinct that pushed her through World Cup knockout rounds is now aimed at a microphone and an audience she is still learning to read. The stakes are different; the posture is identical.

The Skills That Transferred

Not everything from a playing career crosses over cleanly into media work, but two things did for Julie almost immediately. The first is the ability to connect with people. "I have always loved to connect with people and that is obviously the case with media." The second is process orientation, the willingness to grind toward improvement even when results aren't visible yet. "I truly loved the process of striving to be the best I could be, which led to a lot of growth, and it is the same thing in the media world." Both are transferable because they are habits, not positions. Habits move.

Building With Kealia

Style of Play works because of what Julie and Kealia share: genuine investment in the project and the sport, two spouses who play "other football," and a willingness to be unfiltered on subjects most sports media avoids. But the partnership has also reminded Julie of something she had not fully anticipated. "Working with K has reminded me how much I love being a part of a team." She also points to something more specific, something about conviction. "I have learned the power of your voice and instincts because when you are truly passionate about something, it's hard for others not to believe with you." That is not just a note about Style of Play. It is a competitive advantage in any media market.

Preparation for Conversations, Not Competitions

Julie still prepares. The format has changed; the discipline has not. Where she once broke down film, she now researches guests and thinks through the questions she is genuinely curious about. But she has also had to adapt. "In conversations there is a lot of surprise and even with preparation, in order for that conversation to flow, you have to be able to react." That adjustment, from a controlled high-performance environment to the live unpredictability of interview work, is a real transition. She is figuring it out the same way she figured out defensive midfield at the highest level: by doing it, repeatedly, until it becomes instinct.

Seeing the Game Through a Different Lens

The opportunity that excites Julie most about Style of Play is not the platform itself; it is what the platform will show her. "I have a feeling I will fall in love with this sport in a completely different way. By seeing the game through a different lens, I think I will grow to love this side of the sport." With the 2027 Women's World Cup on the horizon and the global women's game growing faster than it ever has, the timing is deliberate. Julie and Kealia want to surface the sacrifices, the balance, and the full humanity behind elite women athletes in ways traditional sports coverage rarely does. That is the gap Style of Play is built to fill.

Start Before You're Ready

For athletes navigating the identity shift that follows retirement, Julie keeps it honest: "I have told myself to embrace the growth. It is okay to miss the player, and the mindset that comes along with being a player, and honor that season of your life." And for anyone intimidated by beginning something new, she does not reach for inspiration. She reaches for accuracy. "Everyone makes mistakes and it's those moments that actually teach you more than the victories." Say yes to things before you feel ready. The next passion tends to be found on the other side of the uncertainty, not before it.