Mia Hamm

BY: SAMANTHA STONEY

Younger years

Mariel Margaret Hamm- Garciaparra

Born- March 17th, 1972

Born in Selma, Alabama

Fourth of six children, born to Bill and Stephanie Hamm.

Spent childhood on United States Air Force Bases.

Family lived in San Antonio and Florence, Italy.

First introduced to soccer in Italy.

High School

Freshmen and Sophomore year played soccer at Notre Dame Catholic

High School in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Hamm then attended Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke,

Virginia for one year, where she led the team to a state Championship
in 1989.

Played forward at both schools, but never scored at Notre Dame

Catholic High School.

Accomplishments

Played at Chapel Hill 1989-1993

Played for the Washington Freedom 2001-2003

Played on the US Womens National Team 1987-2004

FIFA World Player of the Year the first two times the award was given in
2001 and 2002.

Listed as one of the best 125 living players.

National Soccer Hall of Fame

Alabama sports Hall of Fame, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, World Football
Hall of Fame.

Honors and Awards

1997 Sportsman Women of the Year.

May 1999, she broke the all-time international goal record

with her 108th goal in a game against Brazil.

FIFA Female Player of the Century

Named to FIFA 100

Elected U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year 5 years in a row.

Won 3 ESPY Awards

Third most capped soccer player with 275 matches.

Style Of Play

Mia Hamm was known for her speed and footwork.

Powerful and Accurate Striking ability

Very big team player.

Accuracy

Control and grace on the field.

year

Team

Championship

1989

UNC

NCAA National Champion

1990

UNC

NCAA National Champion

1991

USA national team

FIFA World Cup Champion

1992

UNC

NCAA National Champion

1993

UNC

NCAA National Champion

1995

USA national team

FIFA World Cup Third Place

1996

USA national team

Olympic Gold

1999

USA national team

FIFA World Cup Champion

Other Hobbies

Mia Hamm also wrote a book called, Go For The Goal: A Champions
Guide to Winning in Soccer and Life.

She appeared in a HBO documentary called Dare To Dream:

The Story of The US Womens Soccer Team.

Hamm was also into cooking, golf and watching college

Basketball.

Global Ambassador for FC Barcelona.

Life After Soccer

Announced her retirement May 14, 2004.

Divorced from her college sweetheart Christian Corry in 2001 after

being married for 6 years.

Remarried on November 22, 2003 to Boston Red Sox short stop Nomar
Garciaparra.

March 27, 2007 she gave birth to twin girls Grace and Ava.

In 2012 they had a son named Garrett Anthony in 2012

Critics

No bad critics.

Everyone loved watching her play and seeing her succeed.

Sources

"Mia Hamm." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

"Soccer Wish News." Soccer Wish News. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Betzold, Michael, and "Hamm, Mia." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th

Ed.. 2016. "Hamm, Mia." Encyclopedia.com. HighBeam Research, 2004.
Web. 06 Apr. 2016.

Christopher, Matt. On the Field With-- Mia Hamm. Print.