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When I first met him [James Galanis], he just said, "Look, if you want to be a professional soccer player, if you want to make the national team, you have to do everything possible to work hard. You’ve got to put it number one."
I don't think anyone would say that the women on the United States national team are not great role models and ambassadors. Everywhere we go, we connect with fans, sign autographs, and represent our sport and federation with class.
For so long, I've been a little misunderstood as a person. You know, I do have this strut about me. I don't know if it's the Jersey girl in me. I like to think of myself as an egg, you know? Hard on the outside but soft on the inside.
I didn't like playing with dolls; I didn't like getting dressed up. A lot of my friends and people I went to school with were into fashion and their clothes, so I lacked a bit of self-belief and confidence... I wasn't really comfortable.
I want to be strong. I want to be able to hit people. I want people to be able to bounce off me. When I go out there and play, I play to intimidate people. If someone gets hit down by me, they're going to think twice about coming near me again.
If I am training on a holiday, most likely nobody else is - and that gives me the edge. If I'm supposed to run for 20 minutes and I get back and it's only been 19:34, I'm going to jog in a circle for 26 more seconds. I'm never going to cut it short.
You can be angry and pissed off at the coach and put your head down and pout. Or you can rise above it, respect the decision, but also know that you're going to go and work that much harder and prove everybody wrong. And that's the road that I chose.
I'm hearing in youth sports where you're not allowed to post scores of games online; everybody's gotta get a trophy. I mean, that's ridiculous. If you're a winner, you're a winner and you get a trophy. If you got second place, you don't get anything.
I don't get too upset or bent out of shape from things that go on on the field. But I think that you always want to try to keep it classy. You don't want to do any stupid fouls, and sometimes - sometimes the game gets to you; people react differently.
When I first joined the team, I was playing with the likes of Mia Hamm, Shannon MacMillan, Tiffeny Milbrett - all those big-time players. It was very intimidating. I had some of these players' posters on my wall growing up, and now I was able to play with them.
I have scored some big-time goals. I've done well in Algarve Cups. I've done well in World Cup and Olympic qualifiers, Olympics. In big games when we're playing top-five teams. But yet, you never see my face or my name out there. And it has frustrated me my entire career.
I usually eat a salad for lunch and before a game since it keeps me feeling healthy and energized on the field. I love piling on the toppings: the more colorful the better! I usually do nuts, fruit and avocado, but I also mix up my creations with different toppings and lettuces.
I think - you know, I want to intimidate people when I'm on the field. I want people to be scared of me. That's just kind of the nature of who I am as a person and player. But I also know that you have to be emotional. You have to be in touch with your feelings. I think that's important.
Basically my whole life revolves around soccer. I don't take many vacations. Everything just gets put on the back burner because of my training. I miss out on a lot of weddings and family functions. But at the end of the day, I'm sitting here as a world champion, and it feels pretty good.
Every time I step onto the field, whether people like it or not, I'm not trying to play dirty - I'm just playing tough. And I'm trying to earn my spot on the team. I'm trying to earn a starting spot. I'm trying to become a complete midfielder who attacks, who defends. So that's the mindset.
I think recovery is around the clock. Are you sleeping enough? Are you hydrating enough? Are you stretching? Are you eating well? Pretty much everything that I do is a reflection of how I'm going to feel on the field. I take great pride in getting in an ice bath after training and just taking care of myself.
I think that what we do out on the field is oftentimes a little bit better than what men do. I don't think that we flop around as much. I think we're tough. I mean, I've got battle wounds on my legs from the turf and sliding. And we're gritty. And we're feisty. And I think that I would never back down from a guy.
Nobody has done more for me than my parents, who devoted untold amounts of time and money that allowed me to play the game I love. It's no exaggeration to say I never would have gotten anywhere near a World Cup, an Olympics, or even the U.S. national team without them. I have never forgotten that, and I never will.
In men's sports, people criticize coaches and managers all the time, call out teammates, too, and it's not that huge of a deal. Often, the guy speaking out is even lauded for having the courage to tell the truth. When it happens in women's sports, though, it always seems to be viewed as a nasty, claws-out cat fight.
Getting recognized and doing shoots and signing on partnerships and signing on deals, that's all great, and I'm so appreciative of that, but it's more the reward that's the most satisfying. I know the importance of working hard, and I appreciate pretty much everything that has come my way; I don't take any of it for granted.
I kind of play like a guy. I don't hold grudges. I don't get dramatic with things. If somebody slide tackles me in training and we leave the field, I'm still talking to them. I think that there's very few of us out there that can just take confrontation, and if you've got an issue with something, you can go to that person and say it.