Tobin Heath: Prodigy, Artist, Architect
Equal pay movement
It wasn't just about being paid equally. It was about being treated fairly. And at the time we were just kids... we were looking at our counterparts that were getting more opportunities than us and we were saying why don't we have that? That was the beginning of it.
Tactical analysis
I'll watch players that are some of the best in the world in terms of stats and accolades, and I'm like, 'yuck, ick.' I can't watch them. It just doesn't mesh with my art. Football should look and feel a certain way.
Training philosophy
I think everything can be trained, but you can't train desire and love and connection to something. You have to be a maniac at it and you have to be obsessed with your craft.
2011 World Cup
I had a way that I liked to go with my penalty kick and when I got up there I switched. My biggest learning really was to just be sure. We didn't have the type of infrastructure then in 2011 that we got in '15 and '19.
USMNT future
The US was the youngest team at the 2022 World Cup. All of those players are now entering their prime. I don't think it's a golden generation. I think it's a pipeline that's been built.
Early career inspiration
I didn't live in this generation where you could turn on the television and watch Champions League. I had to really like invent the game in the very few ways that I could find it. It kind of became my secret world.
Player mindset
I wanted to see what my limit was. I wanted to see what I could not do. And I truly believe I still hadn't reached that limit of what I could do in football.
Player personality
I'm a disgusting competitive monster and I don't usually apologize for it. Sometimes I have to because I'm even disgusted by it myself. I have to try not to be competitive, and I don't think I've once succeeded in that.
USWNT prospect analysis
Watching Giselle Thompson play, watching her step in, I think she's smart, especially for her age. I can see Giselle being an even better overall player [than Alyssa Thompson].
Player development
I really believe that, you know, sports in general and me moving my body to express myself, I really found joy in that. And I feel like as soon as I was introduced to a soccer ball, there was just this click.
Psychology of winning
I'm really big into spaces and people and things all holding energy. If someone believes that that holds some kind of energy, absolutely. I think that's the power about being in these types of environments... when you put that crest on, it's almost like you turn into a superhero.
