The "r" word [racism] is a scary word to me - I don't like to say it. I'm not trying to say it doesn't exist. It's incredibly inflammatory and invites a lot of awful mistakes and injustices that have happened and still do happen. It's a word that has been thrown around in a way that incites a lot of bad feelings in most people.

You'll be dedicated and that's what you should want to be in anything in life - whether it's sports or academics or your relationship. It all stems from finding that fun, that thrill, that excitement.

So along with that is spending a lot of time with the ball. For me it was, I loved to juggle the ball in my front yard, and I always challenged myself - how many juggles can I get today? I think for players to get better, it's just about spending the time.

I was the kid who always liked to take the ball down to the school even in my free time, kick it against the wall, juggle it in the front yard and so it was kind of a perpetual state of playing soccer for me.

When I was younger it was twice a day with a game on the weekend. Then when I got older, three times a day everyday in college and on the national team.

I think there are a lot of things that soccer does in the communities that transcend the soccer field.

I cannot keep myself away from ice cream. I have two flavors that are my favorite: chocolate chip cookie dough and vanilla swiss almond. I can eat a whole pint of ice cream in one sitting, no problem!