Author Description

Soccer Dreams describes the true adventure of Leah Lauber as a fan and 12-year old Junior Reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, while following the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, as they prepared for, and won the history-making 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup. Widely acclaimed as a watershed event for women's sports, as fans packed the arenas nationwide, the U.S. Women's National Team took the country by storm, earning vast media coverage and a devoted following. Leah shares her experience from the stands, in the locker room, on the field, and under the press tent interviewing her heroes.Soccer Dreams is divided into three sections. The first section sets the stage for Leah's incredible journey, by describing her own youth soccer experience, her love of the game, and her early adventures following the U.S. National Team, including a trip to the 1996 Olympic Gold Medal game.Section 2 starts with her first one-on-one interview with a member of the National Team eight months before the tournament and culminates at the victory rally the day after the U.S. Team won the Women' s World Cup. In between, Leah details her journey attending games and training sessions, gathering comments from the players and coaches. Section 2 also describes Leah's work behind the scenes, including letters to secure press credentials. Each of her five feature articles are included, as they appeared in the St. Petersburg Times.Section 3 provides the complete, unedited interviews and comments from the players which Leah recorded on seven different occasions. The U.S. Women's National Team proved that dreams DO come true, if you love what you do, and you work really hard at it! Leah's unlikely-but-true story parallels, on a smaller scale, the achievements of the National Team, and further proves that dreams come true!