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]
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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
Hammond with Angel City FC in 2023.
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References
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 2.00 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.
- ↑ 3.0 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.