Just Women's Sports: Kaleigh Kurtz Feature
Kaleigh Kurtz, Defender for the North Carolina Courage.
When Just Women's Sports called us about shooting an interview with an NWSL player in early August, we were ready to go. After our successful roundtable production in June, JWS trusted us to capture another important story in women's soccer—this time, a one-on-one sit-down with North Carolina Courage defender Kaleigh Kurtz.
The Project
Kaleigh Kurtz isn't your typical NWSL success story. She's the league's "Iron Woman"—holding the record for most consecutive minutes played and embodying a journey that started as a trialist competing against 30 others for a single roster spot. This interview, produced by JWS in partnership with Amazon Prime, gave fans an intimate look at her mindset, her resilience, and the mental toughness that took her from nearly retiring to becoming one of the most reliable players in the league.
Shot on August 6th, 2025, the piece was designed to showcase Kaleigh's story through authentic conversation and visual storytelling that matched JWS's signature style—clean, polished, but never overproduced.
Production
We set up at Bond Brothers Brewery in downtown Cary, capturing the interview before the venue opened to the public. The location turned out to be perfect—not just logistically, but personally meaningful to Kaleigh. As she shared in the interview, Bond Brothers has become her family's post-game tradition spot, located just five minutes from her new house and the stadium where she plays.
Our two-camera setup focused entirely on Kaleigh, giving us multiple angles to cut between during the edit—a tight shot for emotional moments and a wider frame for context. We dialed in our lighting specifically for her complexion, creating a warm, flattering look that felt natural rather than overly stylized.
The timeline was efficient: 11:30am load-in through 4:30pm wrap. This included setup, lighting tests, the full interview, and b-roll coverage to support the edit. Despite some torrential rain that afternoon, our crew worked efficiently to maximize shooting time while ensuring every technical element was dialed in.
Produced by Just Women’s Sports. Production provided by Locals Video.
The Story
What makes Kaleigh's story so compelling is the honesty. She opened up about calling her dad the week before tryouts in 2018, crying because she didn't think she'd make it. She had told herself that if she didn't get the spot, she would retire from soccer entirely. She got the spot—and hasn't stopped playing since.
Her consecutive minutes record isn't just a stat; it's a testament to showing up, doing the work, and proving yourself every single day. As she described her journey, it's been a constant climb—"bottom of the barrel" at every new level, from club soccer to college to the NWSL, always fighting to get to the next rung on the ladder.
The interview covered everything from her training routines and recovery methods (lots of couch time with her dog Luca) to her mental health journey and therapy sessions. She discussed modeling her game after players like Abby Dahlkemper and Virgil van Dijk, studying game footage in slow motion to learn specific techniques. She shared her philosophy shift from individual goals to mentoring younger players, embracing the Courage's "we over me" mentality.
And yes, she absolutely wants Amazon to help her get a robot vacuum that can handle her dog's shedding situation.
Why We Keep Working with JWS
This was our second collaboration with Just Women's Sports in as many months, and it won't be our last. What we appreciate about working with their team is the shared understanding that these stories matter. Women's sports media is growing rapidly, and JWS is leading that charge with content that treats athletes as the multidimensional people they are.
JWS and the production team know what they want, communicate clearly, and trust us to execute. That kind of partnership makes our job easier and the final product better.
The Kaleigh Kurtz interview has pulled in nearly 60,000 views on YouTube and continues to resonate with NWSL fans who appreciate the "Iron Woman" mentality. Stories like this remind us why we got into video production in the first place—to capture moments that inspire people and elevate voices that deserve to be heard.
Behind the Scenes
Bond Brothers Brewery turned out to be a great location choice—spacious enough for our lighting setup, visually interesting without being distracting, and accommodating to our production schedule. The venue staff was professional and made sure we had everything we needed to get the job done.
The rainstorm that rolled through mid-afternoon added some atmosphere but didn't slow us down—just another day of production in North Carolina.
Watch the full interview: Kaleigh Kurtz: From Trialist to Iron Woman
From sit-down interviews to multi-camera roundtables, documentary work to commercial campaigns, we're always looking for stories worth telling. If you've got a project that needs a team who understands both the technical craft and the importance of the narrative, let's talk.
Locals Video is a full-service video production and post-production company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, serving clients across the Carolinas and beyond.
