This Surprising Fact About Alex Morgan Could Change the Way Your Daughter Thinks About Soccer

At ten, my youngest stepdaughter was hardly star athlete material. She was tiny and fragile-looking and wore an adorable head band with cat ears on it everywhere she went. She played on a recreational soccer team twice a year, but the team wasn't very good– In fact, they hadn't won a single game all season.

Not surprisingly, the team's coach stepped down. My husband stepped in to replace her. He didn't know a whole lot about soccer beyond what he saw on the sidelines, but he was eager to learn. In preparation for his new role as coach, he read many youth soccer training books, subscribed to soccer magazines, and went to coaching seminars. Armed with the latest drills and training techniques, he set out to turn my stepdaughter's lackluster team into a powerhouse, which was a crazy goal given what he had to work with — Most coaches would have quickly given up hope.

Luckily, my husband isn't 'most people.'

When the season began, he enthusiastically began teaching the girls all he had learned. They called themselves the Red Hot Chili Peppers and they drilled and practiced and played and came up with a team cheer and nicknames (which my husband had printed on the backs of their jerseys) —  and it wasn't long before they actually began winning. They won half of their games the first season. The next season, they won all but two games. The season after that, they won every single game– and they never lost a game again, y'all.  They won all of their rec league tournaments and even after they aged out of rec league several seasons later, most of the girls went on to play middle and high school soccer, where they went right on winning.

My stepdaughter was one of those girls. The unlikeliest of athletes became part of a vision for success– one that every player and parent on the team believed in. She was a starting midfielder on both her middle school and high school soccer teams.

Even today, I run into parents from the Red Hot Chili Peppers team from time to time and they fondly recall the days when our girls went from 'worst to first.' It was a special time in all of our lives because we got to watch a force take hold of a group of girls and literally change their lives. Being part of that team taught them that even the most unlikely athletes can develop the skills to go far, if they work hard and believe in themselves. I've gotten to watch some of the most exciting sports games in history from the stands, but I don't think I've ever gotten more satisfaction as a fan than I did watching our Chili Peppers out on the field.

I thought about this time in my family's life as I watched Always’ video about U.S. Women’s Soccer star Alex Morgan. The video is narrated by Alex's mom, and it is truly inspiring to hear her take on 'Raising an Olympian.' Take a look:

Embedded content: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw8VRN6sCCA

I was struck by the fact that Alex didn't make the cut the first time she tried out for a travel soccer team. Can you believe it?! I've known so many girls who gave up on their soccer dreams after being turned down by a travel team– I wonder if seeing this video would have changed their minds and potentially changed their futures.

Whether you're raising a future Olympian or simply reveling in a rec league victory from the sidelines, you'll love P&G's latest videos profiling some of our favorite Olympians and the mothers who helped them get where they are today. In preparation for the Olympic Games next month, be sure and check them out — and prepare to be inspired!

Writing Suburban Turmoil has led to all sorts of interesting experiences for Lindsay Ferrier, from writing a weekly newspaper column to covering the 2012 presidential election for CafeMom and Headline News to creating and writing her own show, I'll Take That Dare, for YouTube. But her most important jobs by far are being a wife, mom, and stepmom.