Abby Wambach

📍Pittsford, NY 14534, USA

“Mary Abigail Wambach was born in Rochester, New York, in June 1980, the youngest of seven children of Pete and Judy Wambach, and grew up in Pittsford, a leafy suburb of Rochester, in a house on a quiet cul-de-sac off Clover Street. Her parents ran a garden centre, and the family were devoted to sport; Abby has said she grew up surrounded by jocks, learning by watching her older brothers and sisters. When her oldest sister, Beth, wanted to play football, her parents went to the public library to learn how to coach it, and that, Abby has said, was how the game came into the family. She played with her brothers in the backyard, where they did not go easy on her, and she learned to be tough and to win the ball in the air. At about four she started playing in a local league and scored so many goals that she was moved to a boys' team. She went to Our Lady of Mercy High School in Rochester, where she played football and basketball, and she credits the school with giving her strong values and self-confidence. In her senior year she was named national high school player of the year, and she played for the Rochester Spirit club. She went to the University of Florida, winning the national championship, and joined the US national team in 2001. She became one of the greatest headers of the ball in history, winning two Olympic gold medals and the 2015 World Cup, and retired with 184 international goals, then a world record. Rochester is enormously proud of her, and she has remained close to the city where she grew up.”

Sources: ussoccer.com rbj.net Wikipedia: Abby Wambach