Mariel “Mia” Hamm, born 1972 in Alabama, evolved into women soccer’s premier international icon.
Acclaimed for her comprehensive skills, competitive spirit and prolific goal-scoring, Hamm carved her legacy, setting records with 158 international goals, later surpassed by Abby Wambach.
She championed the US in clinching World Cups (1991, 1999) and Olympic golds (1996, 2004).
Joining US national team at 15, Hamm’s college years saw the University of North Carolina secure four NCAA championships.
Beyond her 2004 retirement, her influence persisted, evidenced by popular jersey sales and her co-ownership of Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Football Club.
Hamm also co-authored a book in 1999.
Here are the top quotes by Mia Hamm.
Inspiring Mia Hamm Quotes
I love watching gymnastics, swimming, and track and field. ~ Mia Hamm.
It is more difficult to stay on top than to get there. ~ Mia Hamm.
Golf is social. It brings a lot of people together. ~ Mia Hamm.
I don’t like to play rough, but I will if I have to. ~ Mia Hamm.
The person that said winning isn’t everything never won anything. ~ Mia Hamm.
If you don’t love what you do, you won’t do it with much conviction or passion. ~ Mia Hamm.
Every single day I wake up and commit to myself to becoming a better player. ~ Mia Hamm.
I’m a part of a team, and I’m no better or any worse than any single player on this team. ~ Mia Hamm.
A winner is that person who gets up one more time than she is knocked down… ~ Mia Hamm.
The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking. ~ Mia Hamm.
The whole team enjoys playing exciting soccer for the fans and my part in that makes me feel good about myself. ~ Mia Hamm.
Goals have never defined me as a player. What has defined me is my impact on the team. If that means passing or playing defense to win, I’ll do it. ~ Mia Hamm.
Best Mia Hamm Quotes
I’ve worked too hard and too long to let anything stand in the way of my goals. I will not let my teammates down and I will not let myself down. ~ Mia Hamm.
I think making the team at such a young age made me realize that I wasn’t a very good soccer player. I was a good athlete, but so was everyone else I played against. ~ Mia Hamm.
I’d never got a pair of running shoes before in my life, so we went out and got those because I needed to be fitter, I needed to be faster. I had to commit every single day to being better. ~ Mia Hamm.
It’s my role to create scoring chances, and to come through for my teammates is extremely satisfying. ~ Mia Hamm.
Being a good teammate is when you try to sprint down a ball that everyone thinks is going out of bounds. But you go after it anyways and you get it. ~ Mia Hamm.
I’m not someone who goes around the locker room before a game trying to motivate my teammates. I don’t say a lot before the game… It takes too much energy to do that. ~ Mia Hamm.
Famous Mia Hamm Quotes
Somewhere behind the athlete you’ve become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back… play for her. ~ Mia Hamm.
You can’t just beat a team, you have to leave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see you again. ~ Mia Hamm.
Failure happens all the time. It happens every day in practice. What makes you better is how you react to it. ~ Mia Hamm.
You’re worth the investment in yourself and what you feel, you can and want to be. ~ Mia Hamm.
Chicken, brown rice, and veggies is a great healthy dinner option. It’s full of whole grains and protein and will keep you full for a long time. ~ Mia Hamm.
Every morning, I wake up trying to be the best mom and the best role model for my kids in a healthy diet and active lifestyle. ~ Mia Hamm.
Ultimate Mia Hamm Quotes
It isn’t sacrifice if you love what you’re doing. ~ Mia Hamm.
The most important attribute a player must have is mental toughness. ~ Mia Hamm.
I don’t like to stop. I’m a big person who looks at where the hubs are because I hate changing planes. ~ Mia Hamm.
I am happy that young girls have a lot more choices these days and an opportunity to feel better about themselves. ~ Mia Hamm.
My coach said I run like a girl, I said if he could run a little faster he could too. ~ Mia Hamm.
You may get skinned knees and elbows, but it’s worth it if you score a spectacular goal. ~ Mia Hamm.
If you’ve got hips, you can’t be a gymnast or dancer. That ruled me out. ~ Mia Hamm.
As a mother, I think you often get so caught up in trying to take care of everyone else that you forget to take care of yourself. But I’m a much better wife and mother when I take the time to take care of myself. ~ Mia Hamm.
Each day I attempted to play up to their level… and I was improving faster than I ever dreamed possible. ~ Mia Hamm.
Every day I look for ways to be inspired, to learn, and to grow. And trying to be the best for my kids, my husband, and my family. ~ Mia Hamm.
Popular Mia Hamm Quotes
If a team intimidate you physically and you let them, they’ve won. ~ Mia Hamm.
I was this shy, introverted kid and through the game and through athletics I was able to gain a lot more confidence and express myself on the field. ~ Mia Hamm.
My coach said I ran like a girl, I said if he could run a little faster he could too. ~ Mia Hamm.
Sports are not about awards or world championships, though those are great. They’re about the relationships we have with each other. ~ Mia Hamm.
Celebrate what you’ve accomplished, but raise the bar a little higher each time you succeed. ~ Mia Hamm.
I’ve enjoyed every minute of it and to be able to do it as long as I’ve had, I’ve had a lot of support from my family. The game has yet to see so much more growth. ~ Mia Hamm.
To me, one of the reasons we were so successful was that we respected and cared about the game and felt the same way about each other, … [Teammates] always understood there was a greater purpose. That the opportunity to play was extremely special, and let’s try to make sure as many young girls have that opportunity. ~ Mia Hamm.
I could just have chips and salsa for dinner every day. ~ Mia Hamm.
Motivational Mia Hamm Quotes
I played basketball and soccer my freshman year in high school. ~ Mia Hamm.
Good players create opportunities. The great players and the great people seize them. ~ Mia Hamm.
English muffins with avocado is one of my favorite breakfasts. ~ Mia Hamm.
There are always new, grander challenges to confront, and a true winner will embrace each one. ~ Mia Hamm.
Learn to differentiate between what is truly important and what can be dealt with at another time. ~ Mia Hamm.
I know I wouldn’t be here, and all of us wouldn’t be here, without certain sacrifices and certain stands that people have made, not just women, but men stepping up and supporting what we do and how we do it. ~ Mia Hamm.
No-one gets an iron-clad guarantee of success. Certainly, factors like opportunity, luck, and timing are important. But the backbone of success is usually found in old-fashioned, basic concepts like hard work, determination, good planning, and perseverance. ~ Mia Hamm.
Focus on what you know you can do. Know what you’re capable of on any given day, and what you can count on. Do the simple things well, and then use the confidence to build up the rest of your game. ~ Mia Hamm.
I hope all you young girls see yourself up there… we were just like you. ~ Mia Hamm.
It’s not about me. It has never been all about me. If it had, this would have been a really lonely journey. ~ Mia Hamm.
Inspirational Mia Hamm Quotes
I make a lot of mistakes, too, and I’m constantly re-evaluating how I’m doing things and trying to be better every day, whether it’s as a mom or taking care of myself. ~ Mia Hamm.
Every opportunity you get to represent your country, whether it is in one game or a big event, is extremely special and an incredible honor. ~ Mia Hamm.
Experience means you did a lot of things wrong. ~ Mia Hamm.
I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match. ~ Mia Hamm.
When players go out and train on their own, they usually do it at half speed. This kind of training is valuable, but it doesn’t prepare you for competition, where you must perform at full throttle. ~ Mia Hamm.
Sure, there are games I’m going to dominate and there are going to be games when I struggle. But it doesn’t mean I give up. ~ Mia Hamm.
Sports have become increasingly more specialized, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be fun. ~ Mia Hamm.
Many people say I’m the best women’s soccer player in the world. I don’t think so. And because of that, someday I just might be. ~ Mia Hamm.
Top Mia Hamm Quotes
Take your victories, whatever they may be, cherish them, use them, but don’t settle for them. ~ Mia Hamm.
Sports can do so much. It’s given me confidence, self-esteem, discipline, and motivation. ~ Mia Hamm.
We all want to see more young girls finding confidence and playing the game, more outreach. ~ Mia Hamm.
I played soccer because my friends did. Besides we got sodas afterwards. ~ Mia Hamm.
True champions aren’t always the ones that win, but those with the most guts. ~ Mia Hamm.
One thing I really wanna do is being there for my kids, be part of my siblings and my parents. ~ Mia Hamm.
I learned a long time ago that there is something worse than missing the goal, and that’s not pulling the trigger. ~ Mia Hamm.
Great Mia Hamm Quotes
Sport taught me how to goal set, it really gave me a voice and identity. ~ Mia Hamm.
I am a member of a team, and I rely on the team, I defer to it and sacrifice for it, because the team, not the individual, is the ultimate champion. ~ Mia Hamm.
People ask me, ‘Would you ever want to play professional golf?’ And I’m like, ‘No. No, no, no, no. Just because I can hit a good shot every now and then doesn’t make me a pro’. ~ Mia Hamm.
It is about enjoying themselves and that’s what I could tell about all of these girls. They played hard, respected the game, and just had fun doing it. ~ Mia Hamm.
I got to experience soccer at the highest level at a young age; I decided I wanted to be part of that for as long as possible. ~ Mia Hamm.
The whole concept of teamwork is what keeps us all going. ~ Mia Hamm.
The trick is to schedule regular sessions of intense practice, while always leaving time to juggle and generally goof around with the ball. ~ Mia Hamm.
Go for the Goal! ~ Mia Hamm.
Wise Mia Hamm Quotes
I could sit there and eat pasta all day long and not worry about it when I was younger, and now I really have to focus on making sure I set a good example for my kids. ~ Mia Hamm.
Follow your heart and make it your decision. ~ Mia Hamm.
We play because we love the game, we love each other, and we love to win. ~ Mia Hamm.
You don’t just want to beat a team. You want to leave a lasting impression in their minds so they never want to see your face again. ~ Mia Hamm.
This is emotional, and I’m truly speechless, … I was expecting to be a follower tomorrow night, just to go wherever I was pointed, and now I’m carrying the flag. It’s a tremendous honor and I thank my fellow Olympians for thinking of me. ~ Mia Hamm.
I was given a tremendous gift in terms of athleticism. Maybe it was because I wasn’t so confident in other areas. ~ Mia Hamm.
After each game, I want to be able to say: I gave it all I could, I gave it my best. ~ Mia Hamm.
So these were the 82 top Mia Hamm quotes on soccer, teamwork and hard work.
If you like these quotes and sayings, then you can also read my other posts on Lyndon B Johnson quotes and John Dewey quotes.
