The U.S. Women’s soccer team is bringing the hardware back to the states after defeating Japan 5-2 Sunday night to win the World Cup. It’s an inspirational story for young soccer players here who are hoping to one day do the same.
The U.S. Women’s soccer team is bringing the hardware back to the states after defeating Japan 5-2 Sunday night to win the World Cup. It’s an inspirational story for young soccer players here who are hoping to one day do the same.
Just 7-years-old, Elise Larimer has a competitive edge that’s hard to miss.
Her favorite part of playing soccer?
“Probably beating the boys,” Larimer said.
It’s a big day for the girl soccer players at the Davidson Soccer Camp, with Sunday night’s U.S. World Cup win still fresh in their minds.
“These are heroes,” said Camp Director Matt Spear. “For the boys and the girls, quite frankly.”
Just 9-years-old, Molly Feighery says she was nervous as she watched Sunday night’s final, but not for long.
“When I saw that they scored a goal like two minutes into the game, then I kind of believed that they would win,” Feighery said.
Watching the national team is fun, but it helps Molly on the field, too.
“My first year playing soccer I pretended I was a pro,” Feighery said, “So that kind of kept me going to make myself better.”
That’s an answer that’s music to Spear’s ears. He says throughout the tournament they’ve been showing World Cup highlights during their camps.
“For me it’s just an example for the boys and the girls to learn, to enjoy it and realize that soccer is the world’s largest phenomenon,” Spear said.
Before Sunday night’s victory, the U.S. Women’s team hadn’t won the World Cup since 1999. That’s years before any of the girls at Monday’s camp were even born.
https://www.wcnc.com/article/sports/young-soccer-players-inspired-by-world-cup-win/275-213153241