FLEMING Jessie

General
CLUB CAREER
She chose to skip the 2020 US National Women's Soccer League draft to focus on her degree in materials engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. In July that year she joined English Women's Super League club Chelsea on a three-year contract. "We train together for a couple of hours each morning and not quite beat the crap out of each other but we're able to drive that standard. It's serious and intense but then afterwards, we're able to sit down, eat a meal together and laugh. It's really special to have that within a team and it's important to success. I've really enjoyed the quality of the players and people here. I think the league is doing really well right now and there is a ton of fantastic players in the league so that really excited me. For Chelsea, it was the players here and I wanted to be in a challenging environment." (theathletic.com, 04 Sep 2020; sportsnet.ca, 22 Jul 2020; cbc.ca, 22 Jul 2020; lfpress.com, 19 Jul 2020)

YOUTH SPORT EXPERIENCE
She says her time playing a variety of sports as a child has contributed to her development as a footballer. "I played boys [ice] hockey for a long time, which was full contact. I'm not a big person or a tall person, so I probably got beat up a little by the guys and had to figure out how to play a not-so-physical game. With cross-country, playing in midfield we do a good chunk of running, so my endurance base has always been a really important part of my game. Other sports contributed to the player I am but at some point, you need to specialise and dive into perfecting your craft at one sport." (theathletic.com, 04 Sep 2020)

In 2013 she became the second-youngest female [at the time] to represent Canada's senior national team when she made her debut against Chile in Brasilia, Brazil, at age 15 years and 278 days. (canadasoccer.com, 09 Mar 2016; sportsnet.ca, 09 Sep 2015; canadasoccer.com, 15 Dec 2013)