U.S. national team striker Mia Hamm joined Michelle Akers as the only athlete to win back-to-back U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year awards when soccer’s national governing body honored for her play in 1995.
Hamm, who was instrumental in the U.S. campaign to qualify for the this year’s World Championship in 1994, was invaluable in Sweden, where the U.S. placed third. Hamm led the U.S. in scoring with 19 goals and 18 assists in ’95.
Hamm has also been key in promoting soccer off the field. One of Hamm’s activities is City Block Soccer, which brings soccer into the inner city areas of Boston, Baltimore, New York and Chicago to teach underprivileged youths the fundamentals of soccer.
An integral member of the national team since 1987, Hamm is currently a volunteer assistant coach at George Mason University, where she’s joined former U.S. goalkeeper Kim Maslin-Kammerdeiner on the staff under head coach Jac Cicala. Hamm, who is a lock to earn a berth on the team that represents the U.S. at the 1996 Olympics, says while she enjoys coaching, her stay at GMU is only scheduled through this fall
“I like it a lot, but I don’t know if it’s for me,” said Hamm, who will move back down to Florida and the U.S. national team’s full-time training camp after the college season.
by Soccer America Associate Editor Dean Caparaz