This isn’t an ordinary post you’d see on my blog but the message behind it hopes to be as inspiring as the woman who’s number is on the jersey I am wearing. If you’re familiar with the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team then you know who I’m referring to but if not, #3 belongs to not only the team’s captain but also a dear family friend I’m lucky to have – Christie Rampone.

Background story: I played soccer when I was younger and at the time, Mia Hamm was the only player I knew on the Women’s National Team. Although I never pursued the sport, it remained an important one in my family and what my sister Piper was recruited to play in college. It was through the rigorous training and various traveling team games that we were able to meet Christie and her husband Chris Rampone. Piper’s dedication to the sport allowed her to train with Christie on occasion through the connection of Piper’s coach who happened to work with today’s U.S. Team Captain at the time as well. Over the course of the years, the Rampones became close. We not only enjoyed the sport of soccer with the Rampones; we also shared the elation of winning the 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympic Gold Medals, rejoiced at the arrival of their two daughters, marveled at Christie’s leadership of Sky Blue’s 2009 WPS Championship, and weathered the tough loss of the 2011 Women’s World Cup to Japan in Germany.

      Image from:  Disney Institute.com

Christie Rampone is a super woman, and someone I greatly admire. She has two of the toughest jobs in the world – leading as Captain for starts but also her role as a mother while keeping her family and passion of the sport of equal importance over the years. Balancing an act as equally demanding on both sides is truly impressive and motivates me to strive the same diligence with my current situation of two full-time but more independent jobs as well.

Seldom do we find ourselves looking beyond our profession to seek inspiration, and this is unfortunately due to the competitiveness of each industry we indulge in. They have us jaded in our attempts to explore. Christie plays soccer and I write a blog yet I can relate more to her than I can most other role models out there. What it comes down to is the passion being greater than the risk, and the root of dedication branching into motivation. Work ethic versus social responsibility. When you meet middle ground, you might as well call it walking on air and that’s something to be proud of. Christie exemplifies all of that, and on a public platform – proving anything is possible with the right mindset.

The jersey I’m wearing above is signed by all 23 players on the U.S. WNT World Cup Roster and this Saturday (5/30) I’ll be attending the last match of the 3-match Send-Off Series at the Red Bull Arena in nearby Harrison, NJ. The first two matches resulted in 3-0 and 5-1 wins over Ireland and Mexico, respectively, and this upcoming match will be versus the Republic of Korea (South Korea).

I’m so lucky to be able to know such an incredible person and have the opportunity to witness her inspiring talent both on and off the field. Even if you’re not a soccer fan, try to include this Saturday’s activities around this game — you don’t want to miss the excitement!  And I believe the 25,000 person capacity Red Bull Arena will be completely full — so, if you can travel to the game get your tickets now. I’ll be traveling to Canada this summer and have already bought my ticket to the 2015 Women’s World Cup final in Vancouver on July 5 – clearly you can see that I Believe!  Go U.S.!   #SheBelieves