THE ENIGMATIC AMERICAN PLAYER
Female soccer players are a few in number, and good American female soccer players even rarer. However one name which everyone is truly well aware of is none other than America’s most magnificent enigmatic player Tobin Heath. Regarded by many as USA’s most skillful players, Heath has enjoyed an impressive 10 year stint playing soccer for her country. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Heath is that she is quite the anti-these of a female soccer player. There isn’t much known about her away from the soccer field. Unlike other female soccer players Heath refrains from bikini shoots to doing magazine covers and rarely giving interviews. Her aloofness is what sets her apart from the others – she lets her talent of playing beautiful soccer speak for itself. Currently Heath plays for the Portland Thorns FC of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL).
EARLY LIFE
Tobin Powell Heath was born in 1988 in New Jersey, USA and was named after her great grandmother. Born in a religious Catholic family, a young Tobin started playing soccer at the age of four and watching Brazilian soccer addictively. While attending high school in New Jersey, she played for the PDA Wildcats team that won the 2003 Club National Championship. While attending university at University of North Carolina she started playing soccer in her second year, she was on the UNC’s 2006 national championship team and started 22 of the 23 games she played for the Tar Heels at the left midfield spot, scoring four goals with nine assists. By the time she was a senior at UNC; she scored five goals with 10 assists for the Tar Heels and was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Team. She was also the first runner-up for the MAC Hermann Trophy which was awarded to the college soccer’s top player. Heath finished her UNC career with 19 goals and 32 assists.
CAREER
Heath debuted with the American national team in 2008. She has played in two World Cups -2011, 2015 and made her third appearance in the 2016 Rio games. At the age of 20, Heath was the youngest player on the 2008 Olympic team. She played in three games off the bench as Team USA won the gold medal; in the same tournament she was named the 2009 U.S. Young Female Athlete of the Year. She is regarded as one of the most powerful strikers of the ball in the women’s game with her towering height and skillful footing. From 2016 onwards she is the captain of the American soccer team. For their heroics in the FIFA 2016 Women’s World Cup Heath, along with her team members were honoured by the then President Obama in the White House.
AWARDS & ACHIEVEMENTS
Heath was voted the USA’s best player in 2016. Apart from this she was PSG Best Player of the Year in 2013. She has been names US Soccer Young Female Athlete of the year twice in 2009 and 2013. She is a two time Olympic gold medalist and FIFA Women’s World Cup silver medalist and gold medalist as well.
