Tobin Heath
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- Friday, 24 Dec, 2021
Tobin Heath is an American professional soccer player. She started her professional career with ‘Atlanta Beat’ and was later traded to ‘Sky Blue FC.’ She signed a six-month contract with ‘Paris Saint-Germain’ (PSG) to play for the French league. She joined the ‘Portland Thorns’ after the end of her stint with ‘PSG.’ She has played for the ‘Under-16,’ the ‘Under-17,’ and the ‘Under-20’ national youth teams. She was also part of the ‘FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Championship.’ Heath made her senior national-team debut in 2008 and was a reserve midfielder on the US squad at the ‘Summer Olympics’ in Beijing. She made her ‘FIFA Women’s World Cup’ debut in 2011 and earned four caps during the tournament. Heath played for the US at the 2012 ‘London Olympics,’ where she was instrumental in three assists: against France, Colombia, and New Zealand. She was a starter for the US women’s national team at the 2015 ‘FIFA Women’s World Cup’ in Canada and played for her country at the 2016 ‘Rio Olympics.’ Tobin Heath was voted the ‘US Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year’ in 2009 and was part of the gold-winning teams at the 2008 and 2012 ‘Summer Olympic Games.’ She was also part of the winning team at the 2015 ‘FIFA Women’s World Cup.’ She is currently considered one of America’s most accomplished sportspersons.
Childhood & Early Life
Tobin Powell Heath was born on May 29, 1988, in Morristown, New Jersey, US, to Jeff and Cindy Heath. She grew up with her younger brother, Jeffrey, and two older sisters, Perry and Katie, in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.
Heath was raised in a close-knit Christian family, which was active in sports. At the tender age of 4, she started playing soccer with the ‘Young Men’s Christian Association’ (YMCA).
She graduated from ‘Ridge High School’ in 2006. According to ‘Soccer Buzz’ magazine, she was the second-ranked recruit for professional soccer in her batch. While in school, she played soccer for her school team and was part of the ‘PDA Wildcats’ team that won the ‘Club National Championship’ in 2003.
She soon joined the ‘University of North Carolina’ (UNC), where she trained with male athletes. She was part of the 2006 ‘All-America’ national championship team and made 23 appearances as a left midfielder. She scored a number of goals and made assists that promoted her to the ‘NSCAA All-American’ first team and the ‘All-Atlantic Coast Conference’ (ACC) first team.
During her senior year, she was included in the ‘NCAA All-Tournament’ team and was the first runner-up for the ‘MAC Harmann Trophy.’ She was instrumental in the ‘UNC’ winning the ‘NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship’ titles in 2006, 2008, and 2009.
Career
She started her professional career in 2010, with ‘Atlanta Beat.’ An ankle injury in her third game ruined the rest of the season for her. In December 2010, she was traded to ‘Sky Blue FC,’ for whom she made 12 appearances.
She joined ‘New York Fury’ in 2012 and then played for the national team that year. Heath signed a six-month contract with ‘PSG’ to play for the French league ‘Division 1 Féminine’ in 2013. After the end of her contract, she spent a short spell with the ‘Portland Thorns’ and returned to ‘PSG,’ where she served from September 2013 to June 2014.
Heath was allocated to the ‘Portland Thorns’ when the ‘National Women’s Soccer League’ (NWSL) was established. Her team won the championship in 2013, and she was voted the ‘Most Valuable Player’ of the tournament.
In 2016, she earned the title of the ‘Player of the Month’ for April and scored her first goal of the season against the ‘Washington Spirit.’ The goal was voted the ‘NWSL Goal of the Week.’ She was voted the ‘Player of the Week’ in the sixth week and was made the captain of the team when Christine Sinclair was injured.
In 2017, she suffered a serious back injury that kept her out of the game for the first half of the year. She returned on the field in September that year, in a match against ‘Orlando Pride,’ and was instrumental in her team winning the ‘NWSL Championship’ that year.
She suffered an ankle injury again, in the first half of 2018, and had to undergo surgery. She returned in a game against the ‘Utah Royals,’ in which she scored an equalizer within 10 minutes of coming on the field.
She played for the ‘Under-16’ national youth team in the 2003–2004 season, for the ‘Under-17’ national youth team in the 2004–2005 season, and for the 2006 ‘FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Championship in Russia. She made 24 ‘Under-20’ appearances in 2006, scoring 5 goals.
She made her senior national-team debut in January 2008, against Finland, and was a reserve midfielder on the US team for the 2008 ‘Summer Olympics’ in Beijing. At 20, she was the youngest member of the squad and earned three caps during the tournament.
She made her ‘FIFA Women’s World Cup’ debut in 2011, against Germany, when she was 23 years old. She earned four caps during the tournament and was one of the players who were chosen to take a penalty kick in the finals.
Heath played for the US at the 2012 ‘London Olympics,’ where she was instrumental in three assists: against France, Colombia, and New Zealand, in a total of six matches.
She was a starter for the US women’s national team during the 2015 ‘FIFA Women’s World Cup’ in Canada. She earned six caps during the tournament and scored a goal in the finals. She also played for her country at the 2016 ‘Rio Olympics’ and earned three caps.
Major Works
She played for ‘PSG’ in the 2012–2013 and the 2013–2014 seasons. Thereafter, she has been a regular player for the ‘Portland Thorns.’
She has played for the ‘Under-16,’ the ‘Under-17,’ and the ‘Under-20’ national youth teams and the ‘FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Championship.’
Heath made her senior national-team debut in 2008 and was a reserve midfielder on the US team for the ‘Summer Olympics’ in Beijing.
She made her ‘FIFA Women’s World Cup’ debut in 2011 and earned four caps during the tournament.
Heath played for the US team at the 2012 ‘London Olympics,’ where she was instrumental in three assists: against France, Colombia, and New Zealand.
She was a starter for the US women’s national team during the 2015 ‘FIFA Women’s World Cup’ in Canada and played for her country at the 2016 ‘Rio Olympics.’
Awards & Achievements
Tobin Heath was voted the 2009 ‘US Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year.’
She was named the ‘NWSL Olympics Player of Match’ for Day 1 and Day 2 at the ‘Rio Olympics’ in 2016.
She was part of the gold medal-winning teams in the 2008 and 2012 ‘Summer Olympic Games.’
Heath was a member of the winning team at the 2015 ‘FIFA Women’s World Cup.’
Personal Life
Heath is an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys tennis and surfing, besides football. She is a devoted Christian and is close to her family. Her family, too, is fond of sports. There have been rumors of her being gay and of her having a relationship with a man younger than her. However, according to her social-media profiles, she is currently single.
After winning the 2015 ‘FIFA Women’s World Cup,’ she, along with her teammates, was honored with a ‘Ticket Tape Parade’ in New York City. They were also honored by President Barack Obama at the ‘White House.’
She was featured in ‘FIFA 16,’ part of the ‘EA Sports FIFA’ video game series, and was ranked as the number 15 women’s player in the video game.
Trivia
She prefers to nutmeg her opponent, rather than dribbling around them.
Her first goal for the US women’s national team was in a match against China at the 2008 ‘Algarve Cup.’
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