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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!
Leah Lauber is the author of Soccer Dreams, which she wrote at the age of twelve to promote the positive values she learned from the team and to encourage readers to dream BIG! Leah and a number of partners are offering multiple free bonuses for buyers of her book at Amazon. http://www.SoccerDreamsBook.com WWCSoccerDreams@aol.com