Tisha Lea Venturini-Hoch (; born March 3, 1973) is a former American

soccer player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

and current National Spokesperson for Produce for Better Health. She is a gold medalist in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and a world champion in the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for women's national soccer teams. It was hosted as well as won by the United States and took place from June 19 to July 10, 1999, at ...

held in the U.S.

Early life and youth career

She was born in Modesto, California and attended

Grace M. Davis High School Grace M. Davis High School, commonly referred to as Davis High School, is a public high school located in Modesto, California, United States. Established in 1961, the school serves students in grades 9-12. Davis High was recognized as a Califo ...

. She attended

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, and played for the Tar Heels women's soccer team. As a Tar Heels team member, she was NCAA Champion in 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994. She won the Honda Sports Award as the nation's top soccer player in 1995.

Career

Venturini played professional soccer in the W-League for San Jose CyberRays, Delaware Genies and Bay Area CyberRays. Venturini is the only athlete in any sport to ever hold all five titles as
1) a Collegiate Champion at University of North Carolina,
2) a four-time NCAA National Champion at University of North Carolina,
3) a World Cup Champion in 1999,
4) an Olympic Gold Medalist in 1996,
5) a Professional Champion at Bay Area CyberRays in 2001.

International career

During her career, Venturini represented the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

in 132 matches, and scored 44 goals. She currently holds the tenth rank among American women top goal scorers. She was awarded a gold medal at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

,"1996 Summer Olympics – Atlanta, United States – Soccer"
(Retrieved on May 17, 2008) and was a World Champion at the

hosted by U.S.A.Athletes Corner
Venturini with her team finished third place in Sweden 1995 World Cup.

Matches and goals scored at World Cup and Olympic tournaments

In two FIFA Women's World Cup: Sweden 1995 and USA 1999; and one Olympics: Atlanta 1996 Tisha Venturini played 13 matches and scored 7 goals.

International goals

Coaching career

Venturini partnered with former national team players

Mia Hamm Mariel Margaret Hamm-Garciaparra (; born March 17, 1972) is an American retired professional soccer player, two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA Women's World Cup champion. Hailed as a soccer icon, she played as a forward for the ...

and

Kristine Lilly Kristine Marie Lilly Heavey (; born July 22, 1971) is an American retired soccer player. She was a member of the United States women's national team for 23 years and is the most-capped football player in the history of the sport (men's or wome ...

to develop th
TeamFirst Soccer
Academy. TeamFirst conducts youth soccer camps throughout the United States.

Personal life

Venturini likes to ski, read, and play cards.

References

;Match Reports

External links

Tisha Venturini Soccer Camp
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Venturini, Tisha 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Modesto, California Soccer players from California American people of Italian descent American women's soccer players Footballers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Women's Olympic soccer players of the United States Olympic gold medalists for the United States in soccer FIFA Century Club 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup players 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup players FIFA Women's World Cup-winning players Women's association football midfielders Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics United States women's international soccer players North Carolina Tar Heels women's soccer players Hermann Trophy women's winners