I know this is not very relevant here but I always think about my sister every time I hear about women's soccer because she was Mia Hamm before Mia was Mia, if you know what I mean. My sister was probably one of the best girl soccer players of her time.
She freakishly dominated as a young girl - no joke - she was fast as hell, accurate with her shots (scored on just about every one), had more determination and guts than anyone in any sport I've ever seen, and was downright mean when it came to obtaining a loose ball. As a teen - the same thing - unstoppable even when she separated her shoulder when she got flipped over the netminders head when she charged the ball - never stopped her. But then came college and she met up with a big ass defense(girl)man who gave her a major leg break freshman year. She never really came back from that injury. Funny thing is that even as a broken down old lady she can still run your ass into the ground no matter if it's an adult league or teens that she coaches. As a kid player she had no equal (of any age) within driving distance, even at the college summer camps she attended she would make the college kids look stupid. I use to say she was like the Bobby Orr of girls soccer - she changed the game to suit her game. She did make it to a semi-pro level back about 20 yrs ago but the old injuries were nagging. It always bums me out a bit to think of what could have been.....
On a side note - I coached hockey for a number of years and always used my sister as an example (in my head) of what I wanted to get from every player. I never picked the great skaters or fancy stick handlers, I picked the kids with guts and determination and I tried my best to pull this out of them as best as I could. This tactic proved to be just the ticket - we kicked major ass to the very end. A simple system of hard work ethics and basic structured plays is all that's needed to win any sport - half the game is in the head really. Anyway, my point in this is that my sister showed me what I needed from these boys - she was and is an inspiration to me.
I just wish that I could go back in time and watch her play one more time, that'd sure be cool.