Taking on the world

Melanie Booth is living two lives.

One is as a member of the Canadian national soccer team, where Booth will play in the FIFA Women's World Cup next month in China. The other is right here in Gainesville, where Booth's senior season with the Florida Gators is soon to begin after being on hold for over a year.

As a valuable commodity on both teams, Booth has spent the last year making difficult decisions about which team to play for, when to play, and how not to upset anybody in Canada or Gainesville.

"There definitely have been some tough decisions," Booth said as she returned to Gainesville this week before leaving for Vancouver Sunday to train with her Canadian national team. "Making decisions like that is always tough."

Booth, born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, decided last year to redshirt her senior season with the Gators in order to play for the Canadian National team at several international matches.

Booth's senior year is slated to begin Aug. 31 when Florida hosts Indiana. But Booth won't be there. Booth is expected to miss the first month of Florida's season while at the World Cup, which runs through Sept. 30.

Booth will miss key nonconference matches against 2006 College Cup participants Notre Dame and Florida State - and possibly the beginning of the Southeastern Conference slate, which begins Sept. 28 at Georgia.

"The first couple games back, I'll have to readjust," Booth said. "But in terms of coming back and being with my teammates, I don't think I'll have a problem. I know them inside and out."

Booth will certainly be welcomed back. The defender is a three-time All-American and has started all 68 matches she has played for the Gators. Booth had the option of playing last year, but only sporadically during breaks with the Canadian national team.

"I believe I made the right decision," Booth said. "If I played last season I felt it would have been way to hard to come play off and on during the season. This year I'll miss the first month, but when I come back, I'll be back for good."

Over the next two months, Booth will be embarking on a road trip that will make a weekend swing through Ole Miss and Mississippi State feel like a breeze. Booth will train with her team in Vancouver for several weeks before heading off to Japan and Singapore for mini camps. On Sept. 10, the Women's World Cup begins in China, just hours after Booth's Florida teammates will have battled rival Florida State in Gainesville. That's a feeling she grew familiar with last year.

"It was really tough being on the sidelines after playing with this team for three years," Booth said.

Booth was ecstatic to be on campus this week, an experience she said she has been looking forward to all summer. That's saying a lot considering she has already been to places like Brazil, Korea and France this year.

Booth has seen an ever-expanding role with her national team, starting Canada's first five Pan Am matches earlier this summer. A left hamstring injury, however, kept Booth out of Canada's 2-1 win over Mexico in the bronze-medal match at the Pan Am Games in Brazil.

Booth hopes to be healthy in time for the World Cup, and also for the remainder of Florida's season.

"It's every young soccer player's dream to play in the World Cup," Booth said. "To have the chance to win a medal there, and then come back here and have the possibility to win a national championship is pretty amazing."

Contact Brandon Zimmerman at 352-374-5051 or zimmerb@gvillesun.com.