As a successful soccer player in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), one might think that María Sánchez’s journey to the top of the soccer world was easy. Currently playing as a forward for the San Diego Wave, Sanchez sent shockwaves through the soccer world when she signed a $1.5 million contract with the Houston Dash, making her the highest-paid woman in the league. As such, it’s easy to assume that someone with her talent must have had a platform to display her skill or a mentor to guide her along the way, but nothing could be further from the truth… Her road to success was one made up of many obstacles and challenges, but thanks to the values instilled in her as a child, she had the work ethic and perseverance to overcome them.

Growing up in American Falls, Idaho, Sánchez would spend time on the weekends with her father watching Liga MX, the top division for soccer in Mexico. She and her older brother took the passion they saw on screen and applied it to their games.

“I would like to play soccer with my brother when we were younger because we lived on a farm and we had a big yard,” she shares. “So that's all we would do.”