Street Style: Meet Katie Brooks and Sarah Christie of Alexandria Soccer Association
When Katie Brooks first reached out to Stylebook about featuring the new jerseys that ASA (Alexandria Soccer Association) was going to introduce, I thought – they must be amazing! And oh, they are! If you don’t know ASA, you’ve definitely seen their crest magnet proudly displayed on the back of many an SUV or car while stopped at a traffic light. It’s a rite of passage to play on one of their teams in this community, and it has expanded into so much more since they were founded over fifty years ago.
I met with Katie and Sarah Christie over coffee (a few times) and learned so much about these women, their roles at ASA and what they bring to the Alexandria community. It goes beyond planning, media and logistics – there is literally nothing they don’t touch. From stomping field divots to unloading pallets by hand (when there’s no loading dock) to advocating for a water-filling station to reduce plastic bottle waste to hosting podcasts to driving sports tourism, they’re in constant motion. And the most amazing thing about them – they’re always laughing and smiling. Humor is the key to getting through the most challenging days!
From UW-Wisconsin, Sarah has a degree in psychology with an emphasis in neuroscience and ran soccer at a facility before moving here. “I grew up in rural Wisconsin…we played soccer in the fields…actual fields,” she smiles. “When we moved here, I worked in admissions at St. Mary’s and began to volunteer at ASA. Eventually it turned into a full-time position.” Today she is the Operations & Strategy Director, where she says she spends at least 50 percent of every day working on schedules and the safety of the fields for the players.
Katie acknowledges Sarah’s modesty and says the team at ASA had their eyes on her for a long time. “We wanted her full-time! I actually coached Sarah’s daughter’s team and while I was a young coach she was my team manager, helping me get a lay of the land.” Katie is from Springfield, Missouri, and shares that her mom was her first soccer coach, and checked books out of the library to learn more about the game. It was Katie’s husband who directed her to ASA. “He was like, ‘that place I coach on the weekends…they’re hiring, you might be interested.’” With extensive experience in media and communications, she definitely was. She’s now in her eighth year as PR & Communications Director.
Katie Brooks (left) & Sarah Christie (right) of Alexandria Soccer Association (ASA)
KATIE BROOKS & SARAH CHRISTIE
Photography: Renée C. Gage Photography
Wearing: ASA Jerseys by Capelli
Hair & Makeup: Katie: Glamsquad; Sarah: Facial and Brows by Timi at Sugar House Day Spa
Shoot location: Simpson Soccer Fields, City of Alexandra, RPCA
“The world has changed because of sports, and we’re always trying to meet people where they're at for soccer. Whether you’re a brand new mom learning the sport for the first time, or a 17-year-old kid whose life is soccer, we want to support that dream. No matter how often you play, or the competitive level, we want you to have a place in Alexandria,” says Katie.
ASA was founded in 1970 and has supported kids across the DMV for 50+ years. “Back then, it was the olden days of youth sports in general, everything was volunteer-run. It was a franchise model, where you were able to put together a team under the ASA name. It was just rec soccer and travel soccer, volunteers doing everything down to mowing – and lining the fields,” she adds. In 2010, they hired full-time staff for the first time and professionalized the board, hiring Tommy Park as Executor Director. He went on to hire part-time coaches, and bring on more camps and training programs, creating one specifically for Tots. “Previously, it had all been fliers on phone poles and libraries, very grassroots.”
Today, ASA offers 14 annual programs and has over 7500 participants, from age two to 70. They host six major tournaments a year, which has a massive local economic impact – 17 million dollars is brought in annually through hotel stays, meals and other travel expenses. Sports tourism is a very real, economic driver. “It bounced back faster than all other tourism in the nation. Alexandria is sitting on the inside of the Beltway gold mine. I’ve gone to far-flung areas, and we’ll go blueberry picking,” says Sarah. “But if I'm a family that’s looking to travel because of a tournament and I have money to spend – being within striking distance of visiting the Nation’s Capital and having the lovely streets of Old Town to walk down, is definitely a draw.”
Added Katie, “In the last year or two, we started telling the story of how many visitors we’re bringing in; we're very mindful of it. We want to offer our community and kids this amazing experience. And to the small business owners, we’ll walk around and say, ‘hey we’re just letting you know about our tournament this week.’ They’ve happily responded with more ice, more staff – and having Gatorade. We’re involving the city as a host – this is a point of pride for our city, too.”
They have an open door for those who want to volunteer. “We have over 300 plus volunteers in our program. There are lots of ways to jump in and you do not need soccer experience. We will train you, give you all the tools, the equipment, and mentors to show you how to teach kids to play.” They also have an adult women’s program, whether someone is looking to play in a pickup game or have more training. “It’s really growing and the group is looking to expand and support different ways to introduce women to the game, through either travel or a speaker series. We want the play to be multi-generational.”
Sarah says they also take coaching very seriously. “Many coaches are young people and this is their first job. We train them – we’re one of the biggest employers of youth in the city. We tell them, ‘You’re going to be coaching children and focused on sport, but also you need to be able to talk to parents, to officials, to program directors. Katie does an amazing job of supporting them with all these different levels of communications. Our reps are at multiple places in one evening. We don’t have one single home to be in one place. They're out there, making decisions…Is that lightning? Let’s get the kids off the field! We’re communicating on platforms in real time. These are adaptable skills they can take to any job.”
As for their wish list, they would love for a bubble to be put over an outdoor space to alleviate the stress from weather concerns. They also really want to maintain the quality of the spaces that already exist and enhance them, where possible, in addition to taking advantage of additional spaces that are under-utilized. On a broader scale, they love everything that Washington Spirit Owner Michelle Kang is doing. “The money she’s donated to research and development to keep young girls in the sport is truly amazing – and inspiring.”
Grateful for a successful Spring2ACTion, they’re always open to fundraisers and in-kind donations. They have a strong commitment to make sure all kids have the opportunity to play. Through their Access4All Project, financial aid, safe places to play, in-school programming, PE takeovers, and free afterschool programs are made available. Visit Alexandria-Soccer.org to learn more.
The amazing jerseys you see modeled in these photos are also a point of pride, with the redesign process taking about a year. “We looked at jerseys we liked, including professional ones and added them to a big inspirational deck. We then shared it with our uniform distributor, Cappelli, and went back and forth with their designers, sharing samples and giving feedback. There is some voting and we try to make it a collaborative process while sticking to our deadlines. We redo our jersey every two to three years and we designed these to go together; three complementary jerseys to streamline our style, our branding. It allows parents to buy one less jersey – and to help with laundry!” says Katie laughing. Two of the jerseys will be released this spring with the third KIT in the fall.
Check out the jerseys in Katie and Sarah's Street Style (also modeled by Sarah’s kids):
ABOUT KATIE
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill, Washington DC
Hometown: Springfield, Missouri
What would surprise people about you? I’m a HUGE WNBA and women’s basketball fan. I also sew quilts in my spare time.
Favorite movie: Ohhhh I have too many! The most recent move I saw was the animated movie Flow and it was incredible.
Guilty Pleasure: Sea salt dark chocolate.
Latest binge-watch: Silo on Apple+
Bucket list travel destination: I would love to explore Colombia.
ABOUT SARAH
Neighborhood: Fairfax, Alexandria
What is your hometown? Town of Erin, Wisconsin
What would surprise people about you? I was a backpacking guide in college in Colorado, I performed autopsy research, I used to drive & cater a mobile pig-roasting gig to parties…
Favorite book and movie: Ooooo, The Ten Thousand Doors of January (book) and Ocean’s Eleven is a classic.
Guilty Pleasure: Cheese curds and beer, of course!
Latest binge-watch: The Diplomat on Netflix.
Bucket list travel destination: Milford Track backcountry in New Zealand.
STYLE
Define your style in three words or less.
Katie: Colorful, comfortable, thrifted.
Sarah: On the go.
The go-to piece in your wardrobe?
Katie: Ha — anything with the ASA badge on it.
Sarah: Black blazer.
Favorite trend?
Katie: I love that bootcut jeans are coming back!
Sarah: Well, this
Beauty product you can’t live without?
Katie: La Roche-Posay moisturizer.
Sarah: Jones Road miracle balm.
Boots, heels or sneakers?
Katie: Sneakers!
Sarah: Sneakers!
WELLNESS
Go-to way to de-stress?
Katie: Jogging or heading out to the field to see kids playing soccer, giving high fives and taking photos.
Sarah: Being outdoors and active.
Most fun way to stay active?
Katie: Recently I’ve gotten into rowing and it’s really nice to be on the water after a long day at a computer.
Sarah: Playing soccer or futsal with my kids.
Wellness goal?
Katie: Be strong!
Sarah: Return to pilates and yoga for core strength and flexibility.
Want to try:
Katie: This is a little bit random but I’d love to get good at jump roping (have you seen all the cool things people can do while jump roping?!).
Sarah: Alloy Old Town.
Proudest wellness achievement:
Katie: I ran a marathon when I turned 30, and shaved 40 minutes off the time I ran when I was 24.
Sarah: Cooking almost everything from scratch for my family.
HOME
Favorite room in your home?
Katie: Kitchen.
Sarah: Kitchen where all the action is.
Antiques, modern, or a mix?
Katie: A mix — I source a lot of things from Facebook Marketplace, which doesn’t necessarily mean Vintage, but sometimes it is!
Sarah: Mix and match.
Last item bought for your home?
Katie: A floral couch for our basement.
Sarah: A piano off FB marketplace.
Favorite way to entertain?
Katie: Parties with an activity (games, crafts, etc).
Sarah: Outdoors with games and a grill.
Clutter-free or well-lived in?
Katie: In between. :)
Sarah: We are the definition of well-lived in.
Next planned purchase?
Katie: I am patiently waiting for the universe to present the perfect “hutch” for our dining room… NOT a buffet, NOT a china cabinet. My Facebook Marketplace algorithm is on a specific search right now.
Sarah: Art—we have a goal of purchasing a piece of art for our anniversary each year.
ALEXANDRIA
What do you love about Alexandria Stylebook?
Katie: The variety! I like that I can learn about community events, fashion, interior design, etc, etc. I’m always learning new tidbits and finding out interesting things about community members and businesses!
Sarah: The genuine conversation and positivity.
Favorite spot in Alexandria?
Katie: We don’t have private meeting space in our office so we have a lot of offsite meetings at Cafe du Soleil!
Sarah: Futsal courts built on Witter turf to keep my family active all winter long.
Your go-to shop?
Katie: Current Boutique
Sarah: Mint Condition for treasure hunting.
Best food spot?
Katie: Honestly there’s no way to narrow this down! Alexandria has some great pizza spots, tacos and a few Indian restaurants that I love.
Sarah: Daytime - Misha’s Coffee as an ASA extended office space and Night time is Momo Sushi.
Favorite local organization?
Katie: I’m not sure if this counts but we LOVE working with the team at Visit Alexandria — we work together to share all of the great things about Alexandria to families visiting for youth soccer tournaments!
Sarah: Christ House.
Annual Alexandria event you most look forward to?
Katie: I have to say that I love the annual SoccerFest celebration that we host at the end of the spring season each year. It’s fun to see the thousands of families all gather at GW Middle School for soccer and fun. (A close second is Art on the Avenue!)
Sarah: Alexandria City’s Birthday and Fireworks.
