Madison Hammond

Madison Hammond is an Indigenous American soccer player.[1] Hammond is the first Native American to play in the National Women's Soccer League.[1][2] She plays for the club Angel City, in Los Angeles, California, USA.[3] Hammond made her debut on September 26, 2020. She aims to inspire and be a role model for young Native American girls.[2]

Madison Hammond

Early life

Madison Hammond was born in November 1997.[2] Her mother was in the military.[2] Her father was not very involved in her life.[2] Hammond grew up in Albuquerque[2] and moved to Virginia when she was 9 years old.[2] She is Navajo, San Pueblo, and African American.[2] Her uncle was a golf PGA Champion and played with Tiger Woods.[1] He was a big inspiration for her.[1] She joined a girls' soccer club near her mother's base when they moved to Virginia.[2]

Making history

Hammond made history when she subbed on to a game on September 26, 2020.[1][2] She became the first Native American player to play in the NWSL. She was subbed on in the 76th minute of a game against Utah. Hammond played in 3 games during the fall season for a total of 105 minutes.[2][1]

Journey

Madison Hammond graduated from Wake Forester in 2019. She went undrafted and had a test run for a club in Spain.[1] Hammond decided to do another tryout, this time with the club OL Reign. During the tryouts, the Covid-19 pandemic hit and shut down the league. She signed a 2-year contract right away once it started opening back up.[2][1] In March, 2022, she was traded to Angel City, in Los Angeles, USA.[3]

Inspiring others

Hammond wants to inspire young native girls.[1][2] She wants other indigenous girls to try to play professional soccer, too.[2] She realizes that she now has responsibility.[1] She sees both positives and negatives from her achievement. She is happy that the league is starting to change and be more diverse. Hammond is also a little disappointed that it took till 2020 to have a Native American player.[1][2]

Madison Hammond Media

References

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Hamlin, Steve. (2020-10-30.) "Following Her Milestone Madison Hammond Wants to Inspire the Next Generation of Native American Atheletes." The Seminole Tribune. Retrieved 2021-12-08 - via ProQuest.
  2. 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 "OL Reign's Madison Hammond is the NWSL's first Indigenous player. She wants to make sure she's not the last. | The Spokesman-Review". www.spokesman.com. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Rantz, Susie (2022-03-11). "OL Reign trade Madison Hammond to Angel City". Sounder At Heart. Archived from the original on 2022-03-13. Retrieved 2022-03-18.