Mia Hamm

Mia during the Olympics (thesportsbrareports.files.wordpress.com)

Webster's New Dictionary describes a Hero as any person admired for courage, nobility, and other heroic characteristics. A hero to me is someone who stands as a role model to all; young, old, or middle aged. A hero should be someone you can try to model your life after or take their methods of life and apply them to yours.

My hero is Mia Hamm, a wonderful soccer player and awesome role model. She was born in Selma, Alabama on March 17, 1972. She was given the name Mariel Margret Hamm, but her family and friends call her Mia. One year after she was born, she and her family moved to Florence, Italy for her dad's job. While she was in Florence, Mia saw her first soccer game. Before that the Hamms didn't really know much of the sport, but they then became players of it. Once they moved back to the US., they started playing soccer. At age fifteen, she was the youngest person ever to play on the US. National Team.

Mia Hamm Foundation Poster (www.we-do-care.org/files/Mia.com)

It was in her teen years that Mia became a pro. She is the best soccer player of all time! Between the years of 1987-1999, Mia won Athlete of the Year, or Female Athlete of the Year. She has played in four World Cups-1991, 1995, 1999, and 2003. She also went to the Olympics three times. In the 1996 Olympics, Mia's team won gold. But for Mia, life wasn't always so rewarding. In April of 1997, Mia's adopted brother, Garret, died of aplastic anemia. He needed a bone transplant in order to live, but it was hard finding one because Garret was adopted. Garret did finally find a donor, but after awhile he got sick again and sadly couldn't fight it off. To honor the loss of her brother, Mia opened the Mia Hamm Foundation.

Mia Hamm is my hero not only because of her awesome soccer skills, but because of her focus on her sport, and her spirit. She is a role model for all because she has proven that when you loss something very close to you, you can take that loss and help others who are also in the same process as you. She has proven to the world that anyone can do pretty much anything if they set their mind to it and stick with it.

Mia after she shot the winning PK (http://sherunsbrooklyn.files.wordpress.com)

I want to live by Mia's example, and her quotes. She is now retired from soccer, but not the game. This means that Mia is done with her sport, but will always be cheering on others and will be playing with spirit. Mia will always be a champion in my eyes not just because of all her awards and medals, but because she was a champion at heart. “True champions aren't always the ones that win, but those with the most guts.”-Mia Hamm