Mia Hamm

Mia Hamm

Chapel Hill, NC

by Jenny
All rights reserved. 11/00

Beginnings:	- Born on March 17,1972 - Born in Selma, Alabama - Full name: Mariel Margaret Hamm
Family:	- Married to Chrstian Corry - no children - Has an adopted brother named Garrett - 5 siblings (names unknown)
Education:	-Went to the University of North Carolina
Sport(s):	- golf
Interests:	- soccer, forward position (she played this sport in the Olympics) - cooking - watching college basketball - golf
Accomplishments:	- 1st, Women's World Cup -U.S.- 1999 - 1st, Olympic Games -Atlanta, Georgia -U.S.- 1996 - 3rd, Women's World Cup -Sweden- 1995, MVP - 1st, Women's World Cup -China- 1991 - 2000 Olympic Games, Sydney, Australia - 4 NCAA titles - 2 college player of the year awards
Interesting Facts:	- Height - 165 cm / 5'4" - Weight - 56 kg / 123 lb. - record setting scorer on May 16, 1999 - Moved a lot in her childhood - played mostly on boys soccer teams - her favorite candy are gummi bears - sprained her ankle in round 1 of the 1996 Olympics - named after a ballerina

To learn more about Mia Hamm, click here.

History and Rules of Soccer

No one is sure about who invented soccer, but in some of the information I have gathered, they have made a prediction. The prediction was that the Chinese, Romans, Greeks, Mayans, and Egyptians invented soccer. The Romans and Greeks played soccer like games called "harpastum" and "episkyros." Soccer, like today, started in the 19th Century in England. All different kinds of football were created there. In 1848, the rules of soccer were made up by Cambridge University. Some people also called this sport "football" because the object of the game was to use your feet to score in the opponent's goal. In 1863, the Football Association (PHA) was created. In North America we call soccer, "soccer" because of the S, O, and C in association. Ever since 1930, we have had a soccer world championship called the World Cup, which is held every four years.

There are a lot of rules in soccer and some of them you might not have heard of. Soccer is played on a a large rectangular field that is about 100 yards long. They play for 90 minutes nonstop. In that 90 minutes, they run about 6 to 7 miles. The most important rule in soccer is no "handball." Only the goalie can use their hands in soccer inside the "goalie box." A player can only use hands on a "throw in". A throw in is when a ball is kicked out of bounds on the long ends of the field. On a throw in you must hold the ball over your head, keep both feet on the ground, face the direction you are throwing the ball, and throw the ball. If it is kicked out on the short end of the field, it is either a goal kick or a corner kick. If the team that is attacking the goal kicks the ball out of bounds, the other team is to take a goal kick. On a goal kick, everyone must clear the goalie box, and wait until the ball gets out of the box. If the team that is defending, kicks the ball out on the short end of the field, the attacking team is awarded a a corner kick. On a corner kick you place the ball in the corner of the field and kick the ball to a teammate. These are the basic rules of soccer.

To learn more about soccer, click here.

United States of America

My athlete represented the United States of America. The United States is located in the Northern Hemisphere on the continent of North America. Forty-eight of the United States are between Canada and Mexico. Alaska is located next to Canada (North of the U.S.) and Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean (west of the U.S.). Some important landmarks are the Golden Gate Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, and the White House. The population of the United States is about 250,000,000. The area of the U.S. is about 10,000,000 km (4,000,000 mi). The flag of our country has 13 stripes (that represent the 13 colonies) and 50 stars (that represent the fifty states). The 13 colonies were formed in the 1700's. Our country, the United States of America, is a wonderful place to live.

To learn more about United States, click here.