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Brandi Chastain: Athletes Are In Charge Of Their Own Destinies

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Brandi Chastain (@brandichastain), a PCA National Advisory Board Member, is famed for her iconic penalty kick conversion that clinched the 1999 Women's World Cup Soccer title for the U.S. Chastain’s international career spanned two decades and is highlighted by a 1996 Olympic gold medal and 1999 and 2003 World Cup titles. She now serves as a color commentator for both NBC and ABC, is a volunteer assistant coach at Santa Clara University and the developer of ReachUp!, a foundation formed to empower girls through sports and mentorship.

Chastain has learned a lot through sports, and here she shares what she considers to be the greatest advice for young athletes: All athletes are in charge of their own fates. Whatever they want in the way of success, they are in charge of pursuing it. A coach’s job is to give athletes the resources necessary to improve, but ultimately the improvement is up to the athlete’s own sense of determination, desire and work ethic. This might mean putting in extra work outside of practice or out of season, but it’s in the athlete’s control.