Alex Morgan
I'm never just on the couch. Being busy is part of who I am. But it's hard juggling my family, my husband, balancing that time.Collection: Family
I think it's huge, especially in team sports, for players to be able to rely on each other and to really trust in each other.Collection: Sports
I have done 'Sports Illustrated,' but I don't regret it because it portrayed me in a positive way - as an athlete.Collection: Sports
Around the age of 14, I was very discouraged from a coach. It was my first youth club team while playing soccer. She told me at the time that I wasn't good enough to play on the team, that I would never get into the game.Collection: Time
There's really no secret to success. You make your own success.Collection: Success
It wasn't until 1999 when my idols Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly took home the women's World Cup trophy at the Rose Bowl in front of 40 million TV viewers that I remember thinking how rare it was to see women play sports on TV.Collection: Sports
I could always score goals. I loved that feeling of having your team look to you, that feeling of leadership.Collection: Leadership
I rarely felt or noticed any real divide between girls and boys when I was growing up. Maybe it was because I was so involved in sports and competed with the boys. Maybe it was my mom and dad, who constantly instilled confidence in me and never made me feel as though there were boy activities and girl activities.Collection: Mom
Social media has come a long way. With the good has come some bad, and you always have a lot of people hiding behind their computers and being very critical of what you do on and off the field, of what you tweet, of what you say, of everything you do.Collection: Computers
I don't really have many regrets. I did miss a lot of the events in the days leading up to my sister's wedding because I was at a U17 camp. There were moments like that growing up when I felt like I focused too much on soccer. But that's probably the reason I am where I am today.Collection: Wedding
I really started to enjoy Instagram more recently because it's something that shows people what I'm doing and what I'm going through, but it's so simple. I don't have to come up with something witty; it's just a funny photo, and you can be as artistic or as plain Jane as you want.Collection: Funny
At home, my mom and my dad shared equally in the responsibilities of the family and our home and always demonstrated the importance of men and women having an equal role.Collection: Mom
It's great to see women standing up in their own line of work and fighting for fair value.Collection: Women
My goal is to show girls that I'm fighting so they don't have to, so they don't have to fight the same battles, so they don't have to fight for wage equality or whatever it may be.Collection: Equality
I think it's important to keep things positive. Sometimes you don't win, and that sucks, and you work on improving.Collection: Positive
Sportsmanship is definitely an important thing in all sports. In soccer, we all respect each other on such a high level, between Sweden and Brazil and Japan or whatever team it is.Collection: Respect
I played volleyball, basketball, softball, and I started to love soccer the most around 7-8 years old because it was a physical game. I could use my speed and strength to my advantage.Collection: Strength
I started off playing sports when I was five years old. I played three or four sports all throughout the year.Collection: Sports
I have a couple of go-to sneakers off the pitch. I like to have shoes that I can slip on and wear with anything. I travel often, so it's about finding those two or three pairs of shoes that can go with any outfit, whether they go with leggings or a skirt or a dress or jeans.Collection: Travel
It's so easy to lose your fitness and so hard to gain it back.Collection: Fitness
Ninety percent of the time, when I put on my headphones, I forget to turn on my music. Literally 10 minutes will go by before I realize that there's no music.Collection: Music
People know there's more than one side to me. You can have beauty and brains and athletic ability. You can switch up the cleats for heels once in a while. You can do both.Collection: Beauty
Whenever people say 'women's soccer,' I want to correct them to say 'soccer.' Every girl has had their sport diminished because they're girls.Collection: Women
There's those young girls that I once was, looking up to Mia Hamm, Christine Lilly, all those players, and I know how much of an effect they had on me. Knowing that, I feel like I'm in a position where I can really help be a positive influence in girls' lives.Collection: Positive
Winning and losing isn't everything; sometimes, the journey is just as important as the outcome.
When people say, 'You run like a girl; you play like a girl,' it's not what it used to be. That shouldn't be negative. You should be proud to play like a girl.
Honestly, with stats and things like that, I try not to think about them. I just find that the more you think about goals and assists - what you need to do and accomplish - the more you tend to fall short. When you hope for something and you want something, it comes to you.
I try to push myself a little every day. For me, it's doing 10 more seconds of whatever I'm working on. So if I'm on the treadmill sprinting my butt off or doing a grueling core workout, I think to myself, 'You can do 10 more seconds, and you'll be that much mentally stronger.' After a while, those 10 seconds add up!
I feel the most confident when I'm comfortable in workout clothes with my hair up in a ponytail.
I want young girls to dream about being professional soccer players instead of just watching the boys go out and play.
My favorite goals are the ones when there's so much pressure. I focus more when the game is on the line.
I love yoga. There's a lot of stretching involved, which helps with my flexibility and injury prevention. Vinyasa is my favorite as a recovery tool and for me to continue having my legs feel good.
I have to look at myself in the mirror and tell myself that I'm beautiful, even if I don't necessarily believe it.
I'm not gonna sugarcoat it: It sucks to lose sometimes.
It's important to accept your body for what God gave you.
When I play on grass, my body doesn't ache. It can get sore, but it doesn't pulse, and my legs don't ache. When I play on turf, my legs can pulse and ache for up to 24 hours, and it could take 3-5 days to recover, whereas grass, after 24 hours, I'm ready to play again.
The head-banging music gives me a headache. Katy Perry is fun, Rihanna, old-school '90s hip-hop. Salt-N-Pepa. I like listening to that. Get the nerves out before the games.
I certainly don't feel like I have the perfect body type... It's through your own eyes. And for every female, you're going to see flaws in that; you're going to see flaws regardless. So for me, it's just important to have that confidence and self-esteem no matter what body type you have.
I was the biggest tomboy growing up. Now I love playing with a full face of makeup.
I find my motivation from everyone who looks up to me and my teammates. From the little girls that look up to me and tell me they want to be like me when they grow up.
I grew up always having dessert after dinner. Always. It's such a hard habit for me to break. It's fine to have dessert every once in a while, but not seven days a week!
I am hugely honored to represent my country in the Olympics and in World Cups, and I'm grateful for all the advantages being a professional soccer player brings my way - the opportunities to see the world, the camaraderie and friendships, and more.
I never look at the goalkeeper's eyes.
I feel like when there's more on the line and there's more risks, that means there's more reward.
Every time you step onto the field, you have to set goals. My goals are to either score a goal, to have an assist, or to play well.
I feel like I'm always looking to continue improving myself. I'm always looking to win. I'm super competitive, so going into the Olympics, I feel like that's nothing different.
I remember every goal I've scored!
I wasn't the most technical player. But I was fast, and if I push the ball past a player, I can get there. Everyone always made fun of me in a good way for that.
To force a change, sometimes you need to stand up. You know what you're worth - rather than what your employer is paying you.
After I got my gold medal, I thought, 'This isn't just me. It belongs to my team, my friends, my family, the fans, everybody who's impacted my life - this is our gold medal.' So when someone asks to try it on, I'm like, 'Sure, why not?' I might be a little too relaxed about it, but why would I keep it to myself?