Heather Mitts Feeley (born Heather Blaine Mitts; June 9, 1978) is an American former professional soccer defender. Mitts played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, and thereafter, she played professionally in the

Women's Professional Soccer Women's Professional Soccer (WPS) was the top-level professional women's soccer league in the United States. It began play on March 29, 2009. The league was composed of seven teams for its first two seasons and fielded six teams for the 2011 sea ...

(WPS) league; for the Philadelphia Charge,

Boston Breakers The Boston Breakers were an American professional soccer club based in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. The team competed in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). They replaced the original Breakers, who competed in the defunct Women's ...

, Philadelphia Independence and Atlanta Beat. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and was a member of the U.S. women's national team. She played in four matches in the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, where the U.S. national team finished second. Mitts announced her retirement from soccer via

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

on March 13, 2013.

Early life

Mitts was born in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

, on June 9, 1978,GatorZone.com, Soccer History, 1999 Roster
Heather Mitts
. Retrieved May 3, 2011. and began playing soccer at the age of six. From 1993 to 1996, she attended St. Ursula Academy in Cincinnati, where she played high school soccer and helped the team tally a 70-5-1 record during her time with the team. During her freshman season, the team won the state title. During her junior and senior years, Mitts earned all-state honors.

University of Florida Gators

Mitts received an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, and played for coach Becky Burleigh's

Florida Gators women's soccer The Florida Gators women's soccer team represents the University of Florida in the sport of college soccer. The Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They ...

team in

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) competition from 1996 to 1999. Mitts was part of the defensive line that helped the Gators win their first-ever NCAA Women's Soccer Championship in 1998. She was named a third-team All-American in 1998 and a first-team All-American in 1999, and became the Gators' all-time record holder in appearances (95), starts (94), and minutes played (7,547). She graduated from the University of Florida with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

in 2000. She was inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great" in 2013.

Club career

Tampa Bay Extreme, 2000

Straight out of college, Mitts played for Tampa Bay Extreme of W-League in 2000 while waiting for the launch of the new

Women's United Soccer Association The Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) was the world's first women's soccer league in which all the players were paid as professionals. Founded in February 2000, the league began its first season in April 2001 with eight teams in the Un ...

league.

Philadelphia Charge, 2001-03

Upon the WUSA's launch and inaugural season in 2001, Mitts was drafted to the Philadelphia Charge. With the club, she appeared in twenty games (1,751 minutes) in the inaugural season and added two assists. Throughout her Charge career, Mitts appeared in fifty-one games (4,414 minutes) and recorded eight assists over three seasons. She was named as a WUSA All-Star in 2003. Unfortunately, after the 2003 season, the WUSA ceased operations.

Central Florida Krush, 2005

Mitts returned to the W-League in 2005, playing sparingly for Central Florida Krush while splitting her time between the United States Women's National Team. She appeared in four games (360 minutes).

WPS Years, 2009–11

Upon the introduction of

, Mitts and fellow USWNT players Angela Hucles 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 ...

were allocated to the

on September 16, 2008. In the inaugural

2009 Women's Professional Soccer season The 2009 Women's Professional Soccer season served as the inaugural season for WPS, the top level professional women's soccer league in the United States. The regular season began on March 29 and ended on August 9, with the postseason being held ...

, Mitts appeared in nineteen games (all starts, 1,631 minutes) and added an assist. After the season, the Boston Breakers declared Mitts a free agent. On October 14, 2009, Mitts signed with 2010 WPS expansion team Philadelphia Independence, marking her return to play professional soccer in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

following the demise of the WUSA's Philadelphia Charge. In January 2011, Mitts signed with the Atlanta Beat and played right defensive back during the 2011 season.

NWSL, 2013

In 2013, Mitts was allocated to the

in the new National Women's Soccer League; however, she retired before the start of the season.

International career

Mitts is a three-time Olympic gold medalist as a member of the U.S. National Women's team in the 2004,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, and 2012 Summer Olympics winning gold in all three Olympics. She has also represented the

United States 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 territori ...

in over 100 international matches. She was also a member of the U.S. national team who finished second in the 2006

Algarve Cup The Algarve Cup is an invitational tournament for national teams in women's association football hosted by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF). Held annually in the Algarve region of Portugal since 1994, it is one of the most prestigious an ...

. On May 12, 2007, Mitts tore her

anterior cruciate ligament The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligament Cruciate ligaments (also cruciform ligaments) are pairs of ligaments arranged like a letter X. They occur in several joints of the body, such as the knee joint and th ...

(ACL) in an international friendly match with

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The injury put Mitts out of contention for the

2007 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup, the fifth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, was an international association football competition for women held in China from 10 to 30 September 2007. Originally, China was to host the 2003 edition, but th ...

. On May 9, 2011, Mitts was named to the U.S. roster for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup tournament in Germany. She was on the United States women's soccer team roster for the 2012 London Olympics, and played all 90 minutes of the match against Colombia in group stage. On March 13, 2013, Mitts officially announced her retirement from the national team as well as the Breakers. She serves as a sideline reporter for Philadelphia Union games and has become a team ambassador.

Career statistics

International goals

Mitts scored 2 goals in international matches, which are both game winners.

Personal life

Mitts has held a number of television commentary jobs. She has served as a studio soccer analyst for ABC,

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

and

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially fo ...

during the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup and was a sideline reporter for several

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

broadcasts in 2005. In addition to broadcasting soccer, she also was a sideline reporter for American college football during fall 2005 for ESPN. Mitts married NFL

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

A. J. Feeley in February 2010. They have a son born in 2014, a daughter born in 2016, and a son born in 2018. Mitts runs a soccer camp every year throughout the United States in which she teaches the basics of soccer including: dribbling, juggling, foot-skills, passing, receiving. These are one-day soccer camps that teach children to grasp the fundamentals of soccer and allow them to continue their growth and understanding of the sport.

Honors

CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament The CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament was an international football (soccer) event in the North America, Central America and the Caribbean region, and was the qualification tournament for the Olympic Games. Women's football tourname ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

CONCACAF Women's Championship The CONCACAF W Championship (previously known as the CONCACAF Women's Championship, CONCACAF Women's Invitational Tournament, CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup and CONCACAF Women's World Cup Qualifying) is a football competition organized by the Confede ...

: 2006 *

Olympic Gold Medal Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

: 2004,

References

External links

* *
US Soccer player profile

WUSA player profile (archive)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitts, Heather 1978 births Living people American women's soccer players Women's association football central defenders Women's association football fullbacks Atlanta Beat (WPS) players Boston Breakers (WPS) players FIFA Century Club Florida Gators women's soccer players Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in soccer Soccer players from Cincinnati Philadelphia Charge players Philadelphia Independence players United States women's international soccer players Washington Freedom players 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup players USL W-League (1995–2015) players Boston Breakers (NWSL) players Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Major League Soccer broadcasters Women association football commentators Women's United Soccer Association players Warrington College of Business alumni Women's Professional Soccer players