Growing up I idolized the members of the United States Women’s National Team. Being a soccer player myself, these girls were living the dream. I remember watching Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, and Kristine Lilly play and wanting to be just like them when I grew up. How cool it would be to get paid to play the sport you love – to have hundreds of thousands of fans screaming your name and cheering you on. At a very young age I had decided that I wanted to be a professional soccer player, and I wanted to play in the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

I played competitively for a while, and soccer was pretty much my whole life. In middle and high school I had school practice every day and then I would go straight to travel practice three days a week. My Saturdays and Sundays were taken up by games and tournaments. There was no offseason either. During the winter and summer months we played indoor soccer and had conditioning practices to stay in shape. Eventually I became worn down and burnt out, and I realized that I liked when soccer was a hobby, not a lifestyle. Realistically my dream of becoming a professional soccer player wasn’t going to happen. I don’t regret my soccer years though, because I learned so much. I learned discipline, responsibility and leadership; traits that continue to help me in my everyday life – not just on the soccer field.

Soccer is a team sport. I know you have heard the old saying, “there’s no I in team,” a thousand times but it’s true. In order to be successful on the field you have to work together and you can’t be selfish. Take Lauren Holiday for example, she had 5 assists this World Cup before she finally scored in the final. She made those 5 goals happen because she passed the ball to a teammate who was in better position to score than she was, thus putting the success of the team before her personal achievements. Good things come to those who wait though, and her goal was a perfect volley to the back of the net.

Only 11 people can take the field at a time, so some of the best players in the country are sitting on the bench. You have to make the most of the opportunities you are given. Kelley O’Hara sat on the bench for 75 minutes in the semi-final game against Germany before she was put in, but she certainly didn’t let that affect her play. Less than 10 minutes after being subbed in she scored the second goal for the US, sealing the win.

No matter how many times you fall down, you have to get right back up. Since winning an Olympic Gold Medal in 2012, Alex Morgan has suffered two ankle injuries and a bone bruise in her knee that kept her off the field all of April. She hasn’t stopped working though, and despite not being able to start the first two FWWC games, she was able to persevere and start the third game, and she even scored the game-winning goal against Columbia in the Round of 16.

Abby Wambach, a great leader on the team, offered a few words to her teammates before the final game. She said that “the only way we win, [and] get to that top podium is if we believe in each other and we fight and we fight and we fight some more.” And they certainly did. From the very beginning the US set the pace for the game, Carli Lloyd had a hat trick in the first 15 minutes. Two of her goals were off of set pieces, and her third was a rocket from half field. Lauren Holiday and Tobin Heath each added a goal as well and the US topped Japan 5-2 becoming the first team to win a 3^rd Women’s World Cup.

Abby also said, “if you have a dream and you want something and you want something so bad you gotta risk everything.”

So thank you Abby.

And Mia, and Brandi, and Kristine, and Lauren, and Kelley, and Alex, and Carli and Tobin.

And thank you to everyone else who has been a member of US Women’s National Team –

for giving little girls someone to look up to

for encouraging them to set goals

for showing them that hard work pays off

for teaching them that girls can do anything boys can do

for inspiring them to want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

Thank you for being great role models.