The most common issue (especially for older golfer) is flexibility. Not being able to rotate your body fully on backswing, creating that power and torque for maximum clubhead speed. If your back swing is cut short, you will LOSE yards on your drives! And I say again; no amount of lessons or hitting balls will make that any better. You’ve got to do specific golf stretches to improve this limitation.

Now on other side of these limiting factors is strength, specific to golf. And one of most common limitations is weak hamstrings (the back of upper leg). The role of hamstring is critical. It allows you to maintain your golf posture throughout swing and for 18 holes. It prevents undo strain on your lower back. And can give you a steady, comfortable position while putting.

If your hamstrings are weak, I can almost say with certainty, you’ve got some low-back pain or injury. This is prevalent in older golfers and even younger ones too. Back pain is number reason to keep a golfer from playing his/her best. Have you ever walked off course with your back in pain? I’m sure at one time or another you have. Now do you think hitting more balls or taking more lessons will improve this? I think you know answer.

If you have a difficult time, “staying in your swing”, it most definitely could be above scenario. In order to maintain forward flex in your upper body (golf posture), your hamstrings need to have optimal strength (and flexibility). If not, your hamstring will send a message to your brain saying, “get out of this position, I can’t hold it any longer”. Do you think his has ever happened to you?

So working on physical side of your game improvement may be missing link. I can assuredly tell you with this approach, your game WILL improve. There is no doubt. Getting your body to move just a little better will make a huge difference in your ability to make an optimal swing for 18 holes. So before you take that next golf lesson, take a look at your BODY first!

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"We try to work hard some days and other days it's easy. It's not hard work every single day. It's a high level of concentration every day, but not physically hard, because we'd just wear team out,” Coach Tony DiCicco said later. “It wouldn't be fun to play and it's gotta be fun to play."

Of course, fun part of soccer is playing game, executing what you've practiced and defeating your opponents.

The next day team took on Brazil in an exhibition game.

I had passes that allowed me to be on field during game to shoot photos and to interview players after game (The other photographers there looked at me as if I was just tagging along with my dad, but really, my dad was tagging along with me!

At that time, Mia Hamm had already tied record for most international career goals at 107. The players, media, and more than 10,000 fans, were expecting her to break record that night. She had an opportunity to do so early in game, but goalie saved it. Right at end of first half, Mia shot and scored record-breaking goal. I was standing 15 feet away from her! AWESOME!!! After referee blew whistle for halftime, Mia was interviewed by ESPN. As she was going into locker room, I stuck my hand out and she slapped me a high-five!

During second half, U.S. scored two more goals. The last goal was a set play exactly way they practiced day before: one player crossed it from left side over goalie to another teammate who headed it back to middle, where Tiffeny Milbrett converted easy shot from five yards out. That's what practicing is all about!

After 3-0 win over Brazil, I was with a pack of reporters and used my tape recorder to capture Mia Hamm's comments about her record-setting 108th goal.

"It was a great ball coming from Cindy Parlow's one- touch pass. She touched it outside because I was running forward. I didn't touch it very well, and I thought I was leaning back, but I guess I hit it right through her legs, so I was lucky this one got through," she said.

"It means a lot to me right now, but it will probably mean even more once I stop playing and look back on my career. I just love fact that I could be here and share it with my teammates - they're a big part of all these goals,” Hamm said. “The fact that they all ran out on field was awesome. They were telling me how proud they were of me."

She signed my Mia Hamm jersey, as well as my copy of her book, Go for Goal. I also had a binder signed by most of other players.

Coach Tony DiCicco was sitting on stairs eating pizza so, between slices, I asked him to sign binder too. I laughed when his assistant said, "Here's head coach of best women's team in world, eating pizza on some stairs."

After he finished his late dinner, coach talked about what makes a national team. "I look for players with character, players that I can trust when we're not together as a team, they're going to work hard even by themselves," he said. "I also look for players that have a special quality. Maybe they're fast, maybe they're leaders, maybe great headers on ball, but they have to have a special quality. When you get all those qualities together, you can kind of piece puzzle together."

So now you know what it takes to be a world-class athlete. If you want to become one, get to work!