My wife and I have never pressured our kids to play sports. We encourage them to stay active and fit and to choose a sport that they are interested in playing. Both of my daughters played soccer this spring. I love the game of soccer. Chase played it for several years before moving on to other activities. I miss it. It's fun to watch and requires a level of fitness that few other sports do. Yesterday, we sat down as a family to watch the U.S women take on Japan in the Women's World Cup final. Carly and I sat together and watched as another Carli took over.

Carli Lloyd scored a hat trick in 16 minutes of play. Japan never recovered as the U.S. went on to win 5-2. My Carly thought it was awesome that someone with her name scored so many goals. I thought it was awesome that she was paying attention. She watched the entire first half with me, informing me when Japan was driving and telling me when the U.S. had the ball back. We high-fived when the U.S. scored. It was a fun moment. Hopefully it was a moment being duplicated in households across the country. Households like mine with daughters watching.

This group of U.S. players were youngsters just like my daughters when the U.S. won the World Cup back in 1999. That win was a watershed moment for women's soccer and women's sports in general. It's been 16 years since women's soccer has had that kind of moment. And when you want your sport to grow and thrive, you need moments like those. I want my daughters to believe that they can achieve anything in life. They can be anything. And in a sports world where men dominate the headlines, it sure was nice to see the U.S. women take over the 4th of July weekend.

Do I want my daughters to become world class soccer players? I'd take it. But I realize that they probably won't. But I want them to believe they can. Because 16 years ago, a group of young girls watched the United States win the World Cup. They won one for themselves on Sunday.

Ryan Brainard
Ryan Brainard
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