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.

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.

I think Id like to be able to heal peoples pain, whether it is hunger, loneliness or whatever.

Well there are two things: Number one is, make sure you always enjoy yourself, because when you enjoy yourself, you'll learn, you'll want more information, you'll push yourself.

The thing I can say about Japan is they were progressive for a country that is very male dominant.

I have a 16 year-old son, so I'm now a soccer mom. I stand on the sidelines and I hear the things parents are saying, so I want them to understand what it is their kids are feeling in any sports environment.

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.