Mia Hamm.

             Mia Hamm! What an athlete and role model for all women in the world. I picked her because I think she"s awesome. She had many achievements while growing up and had friends and family that supported her and helped her get through the difficulties in life. Before we get to the important facts, here is some general information about her just to get to know her better. She likes to eat Italian food, watches Seinfeld, her favorite Number is five of course, and is married. Well, lets move on now, shall we.

             As one of six siblings in the family. Mia grew up a "military brat", moving many times throughout her childhood from Selma, Alabama, to Monterey, San Antonio to Lake Braddock, Virginia, and ending up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. There, she played on a couple of all-girl teams but mostly played with the boys. This gave her a competitive edge and a combative spirit. While growing up, Mia fell in love with soccer while her father was serving in Italy. By the age of 14, she was dominating women"s soccer in Texas and attracting attention from soccer circles around the country.

             At the age of 15, after a scouting trip to watch Mia play in action, Coach Anson made Mia the youngest member of the national team. The ultimate compliment to her was getting her number retired from a school. Her number was retired at halftime of Duke Vs. North Carolina basketball game. Basketball is a huge sporting event in North Carolina and with rival Duke, it was a good time to do it.

             Mia had many accomplishments during college, but I"ll just name some of the highlights. In 1992-93, she was two-time Missouri Athletic Club and Hermann Award winner, three-time all- American, Conference"s all time soccer in goals (103), assists (72), and points (270). She also had her number 19 retired. In 1994-1996, while on the national team was first-ever there time U.S. soccer Female Athlete of the year, member of the Gold Medal Winners at the 1996 Olympic games in Atlantic, and first player named U.