Stephanie Hamm was born in California, the eldest of 11 siblings and the daughter of an Air Force pilot. She found dance at an early age, as well as sand lot baseball. Her mother was a ball player with the Irish Maidens - so Mia's athletic ability traces back generations.

Stephanie married her high school sweetheart, Bill Hamm, and had four daughters. They also adopted 2 sons. When Garrett, an eight-year-old boy's boy, was adopted into a household of girls who read and played drama games, "he just wanted to get out the door, jump on his bike, and run like the wind. When Mia (five at the time) saw that, she just ran right out the door after him. She made him feel at home in this family, and that was the beginning of the release of her real self."

Mia quickly picked up any sport Garrett played, including football in the seventh grade. Garrett called her his "secret weapon."

Stephanie says that Mia's best attribute is her compassion, and that Mia inherited her face, her eyes, as well as her temper.

Though her daughter is considered the greatest player in women's soccer history, and famous for her intensity on the field, as a spectator Stephanie still doesn't get wrapped up in the details of the game, preferring to enjoy its simpler pleasures. "I get involved with the personalities and how they're playing that day. I love all of these women that play for the national team. It's always amazed me that we could be at the World Cup in China, sitting in the stands, this little group of Americans, and the Chinese would come over to me and tap me on the shoulder and say, "You number nine, you nine? My girl, my girl!"

Stephanie was a founding member of Liv In the Game, a non-profit organization aimed at empowering girls through physical activity and sports. She is now development director for The First Tee of Greater Austin.

For more information on Mia, log on to www.miafoundation.org.

"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother." —Author Unknown

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