Alex Morgan
Pregame, I eat pancakes for a meal. I always do mental visualization before the game to prepare myself. Postgame, I typically take ice baths.
I don't want to say names, but there are certain companies I won't work with because of previous people they've worked with. I don't want to be put in the same category as another athlete that I don't necessarily think is a good role model.
When I leave the game, I want to go out on top.
I start warming up before training an hour before at the hotel. That's not because I feel old and my body needs it. It's because it's prehab. It's preventing those injuries.
I don't think the entire world respects women in sport. But if FIFA start respecting the women's game more, others will follow.
You should never be afraid of looking athletic or building too much muscle.
It's an obstacle being a girl when you move all over and don't have half the things you need. It's like everything is wrinkled in your life.
One thing I'm proud to do like a girl is represent my country in the Olympics and at the highest level, at the highest platform that I can.
I always, always decide where I'm going with the ball before I take a penalty shot, stare at the ball, follow through, and never look at the place that I'm going to shoot.
As a professional soccer player, I need to get touches on the ball every day, and obviously it's a lot easier to do that with a team than to motivate yourself to do it by yourself.
I really try to take a step back from the soccer world and going a thousand miles an hour every day. I like to do some sort of either meditation or mental visualization or breathing exercises - something to calm my mind down because a lot of times, it's just going faster than it should.
I've always wanted to skydive.
I really like my legs because I've worked hard for them. With soccer, that's the one thing you're working all the time.
Scoring a goal in a World Cup was my dream as a little girl. I didn't really dream of being in 'Maxim' when I was 5.
At the FIFA World Player of the Year event, FIFA executives and FIFA president Sepp Blatter didn't know who I was. And I was being honored as top three in the world. That was pretty shocking.
My workouts are mostly interval-based, so I'm never running at a constant speed. I'm always switching it up because I don't want my body getting used to one thing in particular.
I've been a big Chapstick fan since I was a kid. I love lathering it on. I probably use a bit more Chapstick than necessary.
I've always wanted to become a professional soccer player.
I want to know I made women's soccer better than it was when I came into it.
I feel like you have to use the platform you're given to voice concerns and also to praise things when they need to be praised.
Once I got to college, I realized that practicing 3-6 days wasn't going to be enough for me to get where I wanted.
I know the trend I would love to bring back is floral. I think that it's just so much fun, whether it's with shoes or outfits or even pants.
I could be a model for one night. But I'm also a professional soccer player, and I like to be taken seriously on the field.
I have experienced sexism multiple times, and I'm sure I will a lot more.
When I prepare for a match, it's like work, even the way I have to shower and put on my makeup.
Music is so huge to soccer, to my life, to working out. I usually have headphones when I'm cleaning the house or making dinner.
I hate being recognized; I hate it, hate it.
I would like to win the Ballon d'Or for women. But every top professional should have that ambition.
What I really appreciate is the people who come up and say, 'Thank you for representing our country.'
My goal against Italy in the World Cup qualifier was probably my most memorable: we had to go to Italy and had to win, or we wouldn't go to the World Cup, and I scored in stoppage time.
I always map out how to get a good eight or nine hours of sleep before I even start my day. And my rule is to put my phone on silent when I go to bed; that way, no texts or emails can disturb me.
I went from never doing interviews to doing 10 in one day and standing in front of 60,000 fans. Now people look up to me, and I'm seeing little girls wearing my jersey.
I'm a big advocate of starting soccer young and always having the ball at your foot, but that's because I didn't do that. If I'd focused more on that when I was a kid, it would've been so helpful. It took me, like, halfway through college to feel comfortable with the ball.
Even when I'm training alone, I always prefer doing soccer-related stuff. On my own, I'll run through cones or do some shooting exercises or pass the ball against the wall.
My dad has been to every soccer game that I've played in, both at the amateur level and at the professional level, and he always had great things to say whether we won or we lost, whether I felt great or not so great.
I think players need to get paid for what they're worth, for what they put up on the field.
In the 123rd minute of the semifinal game at the Olympics against Canada, I scored the game-winning goal that brought us to the finals. You can't replicate those do-or-die moments in practice or a friendly game.
My off-pitch style is probably girly and comfortable. I like a lot of loose-fitting material on top and more tight-fitting material on the bottom.
Everybody has a talent, but its what you do with that talent to make it great.Collection: Talent
Always work hard, never give up, and fight until the end because it's never really over until the whistle blows.Collection: Giving Up
Whatever brings you down, will eventually make you stronger.Collection: Stronger
Dream big, because dreams do happen.Collection: Dream
Keep working even when no one is watching.Collection: Soccer
I want to keep improving, continue to help my teammates improve, make my teammates look good. Continue bringing something new to the game, never getting completely content and always trying to get better.Collection: Games
Soccer is what I grew up doing - it's my passion, and I'm way more comfortable on the field in my soccer cleats.Collection: Soccer
... Really get to know and establish relationships with your teammates because they are your new family and they will be the ones there for you when anything goes wrong.Collection: Anything Goes
The way I've been brought up to is take critiques and turn them into positives in my game.Collection: Games
I think a goal is a goal and not all my goals are pretty.Collection: Thinking
I don't run straight at a constant pace; soccer is always a change of pace and movement.Collection: Soccer