Editing Mia Hamm (section)

==Early life==
Born in [[Selma, Alabama]], Hamm was the fourth of six children of Bill and Stephanie Hamm.<ref name="cnn_pitn">{{Cite web |title=Soccer star raising goals in women's sports |url=http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/hamm/profile.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421222323/http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/people/shows/hamm/profile.html |archive-date=April 21, 2022 |access-date=December 20, 2012 |website=CNN.com}}</ref> She wore corrective shoes as a toddler after being born with a [[club foot]].<ref name="Hilton2004">{{Cite book |last=Hilton |first=Lisette |title=Feet of Gold |url=https://www.espn.com/classic/s/add_hamm_mia.html |work=ESPN |date=August 30, 2004 |access-date=July 8, 2009}}</ref> Hamm spent her childhood on various [[United States Air Force]] bases around the world with her family. While living in [[Florence, Italy]], Hamm first played soccer, which was hugely popular there; her entire family quickly became involved in the sport.<ref name="christopher_book_onthefieldwith">{{cite book|last1=Christopher|first1=Matt|title=Mia Hamm: On the Field with ...|date=2009|publisher=Little, Brown Books for Young Readers|isbn=978-0316095259}}</ref> At age five, then living in [[Wichita Falls, Texas]], Hamm joined her first soccer team. Her father coached Mia and her newly adopted brother, 8-year-old Garrett.<ref name="cnn_pitn" />

Hamm played sports from a young age and excelled as a football player on the boys' team at junior high school.  She played at the 1987 [[U.S. Olympic Festival]], the youngest player to play for the [[United States women's national soccer team]]. As a new player, she often started as a forward but did not score a goal during her first year on the team.<ref>Pettus, Elise. "Soccer." Nike is a Goddess. Ed. Lissa Smith. New York: Atlantic Inc., 1998. 255–256. Print.</ref> Hamm attended [[Lake Braddock Secondary School]] in [[Burke, Virginia]], and helped the Lake Braddock soccer team win the 1989 state championships.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Kurspahic|first1=Mirza|title=#4, Mia Hamm, Lake Braddock Soccer, 1989|url=http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=308753&paper=69&cat=105|publisher=Mount Vernon Gazette|access-date=June 3, 2017|date=August 16, 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111218043343/http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/article.asp?article=308753&paper=69&cat=105 |archive-date=December 18, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Goff|first1=Steven|title=All Grown Up, Hamm Comes on Strong|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/olympics/longterm/locals/hamm1.htm|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=March 25, 2024|date=May 23, 1995}}</ref>