BECKIE Janine

General
OLYMPIC VETERAN
She believes that passing on her experience of playing at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will assist the younger members of the Canadian squad in Tokyo. "I think I'll have a bigger responsibility to get the players that haven't been in an Olympics ready for that experience. That was a big part of our preparation for Rio. There was a big chunk of the team that hadn't played in an Olympics, and obviously there was a big chunk of the team that hadn't made the podium. Now an even bigger part of the team will have been to an Olympics, so it's incredibly important that you prepare the players that haven't. It's a much different experience than the World Cup because games come fast. It's a difficult tournament to manoeuvre, and you've got to be in the best physical shape and the best mental place that you can be." (tsn.ca, 30 Apr 2020)

DEFENSIVE DEVELOPMENT
She has spent most of her playing career as a forward, but was played at right-back by Manchester City during the 2019/20 season. She says playing as a defender helped developed new areas of her game. "I really had to go into the position with an open mind and a learning mindset, but it's been good. The club is about playing out, keeping possession, and to have been able to do that from a deeper position has added to my game." (mancity.com, 20 Aug 2020)

PLAYING FOR CANADA
She is a dual citizen of the United States of America and Canada, with her parents coming from Saskatchewan, Canada. She was a member of the United States of America team at U18 level. "I had the opportunity to play with Canada in the U20 World Cup in 2014 and after playing in that tournament, the head coach of the senior Canadian team said he saw a long-term investment in me on that team, and posed the idea of capping me later that year. I chose, in that moment, to take the opportunity to play with Canada and have never regretted the decision." (reddit.com, 26 Jun 2020; ottawasun.com, 07 Jun 2016; nationalpost.com, 14 Jul 2015; texastech.com, 2015)

CLUB CAREER
She began her professional career with Houston Dash after being selected as the eighth overall pick in the 2016 National Women's Soccer League draft. In January 2018 she was traded to Sky Blue FC before joining English Women's Super League club Manchester City in August that year. In April 2020, she signed a new contract to stay at Manchester City into 2022. (mancity.com, 14 Apr 2020; skybluefc.com, 09 Aug 2018; chron.com, 18 Jan 2018; sportsnet.ca, 15 Jan 2016)