“I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion.” -Mia Hamm

If you give a girl some soccer cleats, you give her the power to rule her own world. If you give a girl some soccer cleats, she will have inspiring Olympic athletes to look up to. She will get bruised and maybe a little broken, but she will become as fierce as the fire that roars within her.

When you give a girl some soccer cleats and you enroll your child into the beautiful game of soccer, you are making many sacrifices as a parent. Soccer is both a physically and time demanding sport, which will force your daughter to make tough decisions from a young age. From the early age of five years old, boys tell girls that, "Girls aren't strong enough to play soccer," and "I bet you can't kick it as far as a boy can." Girls all over the world are taught that they are more than strong and more than capable all because of the game of soccer.

When you give a girl some soccer cleats, you are teaching her that in life, she will need to work as a team player. The entire team is one band of hard-working, dedicated individuals who have one goal... to be the best they can be. The offensive players are nothing without the midfielders. The midfielders are nothing without the defenders, and the goalie is nothing without the entire team standing in front of her. You can be the best defender in the country, but you can't stop every single ball from being shot at the goal without the help of an amazing team. Soccer is a team sport. As players, one of the most important lessons we are taught is: "There is no "I" in team." A team is not just a team, it is a family. Through every injury, heartbreaking loss and successful win, they are there, standing right behind one another building each other up. They are the ones who grab your hand after you've been shoved to the turf and they are the girls you trust to make winning possible. Every day a girl spends practicing with her team is another day added to the list of reasons why she continues to play.

When you give a girl a pair of soccer cleats, you are giving her the strength to persevere through anything. Soccer is a physical game that requires more endurance than you could imagine. Players all over the world average between 7 and 9.5 miles a game depending on the position they play. That requires tremendous athletic ability no matter how you look at it. When a girl wants to win, she will give it her all to make sure that she tried with 110% effort. Consequently, she is going to get injured, it happens to the best of us. The important question is, will that stop her? No. Injuries are part of the game. As girls progress from recreational to travel to premier and then onto elite premier and so on, the game intensifies. Slide tackling, shoving, tripping, elbowing and body slamming are all part of the game. If a team that plays physically gets under your skin, you have already let them win. In soccer, you fight fire with fire until the final whistle is blown. And if someone falls, you don't stop until the ball is out of play or the referee blows his whistle to either give a penalty or a red/yellow card. To play soccer, mental and physical strength is by far the most important attribute to have.

When you give a girl some soccer cleats, you are giving her a different childhood than most other little girls. She won't be playing with dolls, she will be putting on her shin guards and cleats and kicking around a soccer ball. She will be taught discipline and obedience from her many coaches. She will have more structure than some others but it will pay off in the end and she will thank you.

When you give a girl a pair of soccer cleats, you are signing an invisible contract that makes you a "Soccer Mom" or "Soccer Dad" no matter how hard you try to just be a normal parent. You will be your daughter's saving grace when she grows old enough to reflect on how much you have given up for her to do what she truly loves, no matter whether she continues to play or not. Your SUV or minivan will not be a normal car anymore, it will become a Soccer Taxi for your daughter and her teammates. You will be the parents who give up their weekends to drive across your state to towns you would have never heard of if it wasn't for games. Money will have to be forked over for the out-of-state and indoor tournaments, hotels, tuition for her premier league and the cost of her full kit (not including cleats!) You will learn the terminology of the game and as you meet new parents, you will pass it onto them. As parents of a soccer player, you will give up so much, but you will gain an extraordinary amount of pride. You will be able to say, "Look at number thirteen, that's my daughter!" Your love for the game will be just as strong as hers and she will be forever grateful for that one day in history when you put on her fist pair of black and pink Nike cleats, tied them up, and sent her on her way to begin conquering her world.

So do yourself a favor and give a girl some soccer cleats.