A star soccer player, Mia Hamm competed with the U.S. women's national team for 17 years and until 2013 she held the record for most international goals scored by a male or female player. She has embodied the rise of American soccer and has served as a role model both within and outside the sport. Through her humility, dedication, and strength, she is committed to making every second count in life just as she does on the soccer field.
When she was a teenager, her talent drew attention from top college programs as well as the national team. At the age of 15, she became the youngest soccer player to play for the latter. She competed with the team in four World Cup and three Olympics tournaments. She and her team won the Women's World Cup in 1991 and 1999 and took Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2004, after which she retired.
Hamm has always been interested in sports, but she credits her brother for encouraging her. When she was young, as there were few or no girls' teams in any sports, so she often played with the boys.
Her brother is also the inspiration behind the Mia Hamm Foundation, which she created in 1999 after he died of complications from a rare blood disease shortly after the 1996 Olympics. The organization raises funds and awareness for families in need of a bone marrow or cord blood transplant. It also develops more opportunities for young women to participate in sports.
As such, there is no doubt that she has continually served as an inspiration for women athletes. She was a founding player for the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), the first women’s pro soccer league in the United States, and provided the star power to make it financially viable. She also participates in clinics for girls and exhibition games to promote soccer. She once said, "Things that I have learned through this game that I would share with you: that girls should have every opportunity to compete and develop as boys; that there is no substitute for hard work."
Her dedication as a role model also brought her to write Go for the Goal: A Champion's Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life, an inspirational autobiography and opportunity to share her immense knowledge of the sport.
Hamm has always promoted the sport above herself. Her humble attitude toward her accomplishments seems to be what separates her from other world-class athletes. She once said: "This isn't all about me. I won't bear the entire responsibility for my gender and my sport."