When Jenny Benson was eight, her mother took her to soccer practice for the first time.
"She's never played soccer before," Mrs Benson told the coach. "I'm not sure how she'll do. "
Jenny ran onto the field and joined the other players. Over the next hour, Mrs Benson and the coach watched as Jenny outran many of the more experienced players.
"I knew then that soccer would be Jenny's sport. " Mrs Benson recalls. And she was right.
It may have helped that Jenny had spent much of her time trying to keep up with her three brothers. "I wanted to be just like them," Jenny says. "My family has inspired me for my entire life. "
Jenny has retired from the United States women's national soccer team. She started out on her professional career in the Philadelphia Charge, a team in the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA). Later on, she joined FC Energy Voronezh, and then New Jersey Wildcats.
When the WUSA was being formed, league officials watched many college soccer games, looking for players good enough to join the league. They were very interested in Jenny, who played for the University of Nebraska.
"Throughout that college season, I knew I was being watched," Jenny says, "I knew I couldn't be perfect, so I just tried to be very consistent and have fun. "
As a professional, Jenny relied on her focused but funloving attitude. "In a game, I try never to put too much pressure on myself. The more I concentrate on having fun, the better I play. " She says. "I have good and bad days, just like everyone else, but I know the sun will always come up after a bad day. So all I have to do is to adjust myself, either to the change of my inner feelings or to the change of circumstances. That helps me get through anything. "
