All About Sophia Smith's Parents, Mollie and Kenny Smith

Soccer star Sophia Smith has always had her parents' support.

The forward, who is the first player born in the 2000s to play for the US Women's National Soccer Team (USWNT), was born in Colorado to parents Mollie and Kenny Smith. It was clear from the beginning that Sophia would be a star athlete — she played club soccer from an early age before attending Stanford University.

The Olympic athlete has proven herself to be a strong player, leaving her college career to join the National Women's Soccer League. The outside noise of others' opinions has occasionally got to her, but through her parents' support, she found her confidence again on the pitch.

"Something my parents always told me was no matter what, you can't let someone else control your confidence," she told NBC Bay Area. "When you control that, other factors at least don't affect how you feel about yourself."

From her early days playing club soccer to performing on the world's biggest stage, Sophia's parents have been a driving source of support through it all.

Here is everything to know about Sophia Smith’s parents, Mollie and Kenny Smith.

Mollie and Kenny have three daughters: Gabrielle, Savannah and Sophia. Although the soccer star is the youngest of the three, Kenny shared in an interview with CPR News that her age never held her back when it came to competing alongside Gabrielle and Savannah.

"She has two older sisters — they are four and five years older than her. They were very competitive kids in sports as well," he said. "When Sophia would go to their games, she would actually watch quite a bit, and I think she would learn a lot of things from her sisters. And then just playing in the backyard, they would compete at everything: who could jump the highest on the trampoline, who could make the most baskets, or things like that.”

Her sisters were not the only athletic members of her household growing up. Both Mollie and Kenny played sports in college.

Kenny played basketball at the University of Wyoming and Mollie played volleyball at her alma mater.

From an early age, it was clear to Mollie and Kenny that Sophia had what it took to be a -

This Peacock Promo Gets You 12 Months fo,...

soccer star. They nurtured that by driving her from their suburban Colorado home to Denver to play for the club soccer team Real Colorado.

"I remember thinking to myself, ‘If we decide to go to Denver, she better not complain one time about the drive.’ And she never complained one time! There were times when we were stuck in traffic, it took us two and a half hours to get to practice." Mollie told CPR News. "She never complained. She thanked us probably daily. She was so grateful that I probably would've done anything."

"Sports were always what she loved and what she lived for, so we were willing to do whatever to help her achieve that," she continued. "Looking back, the driving was terrible sometimes, but the time that I got to spend with her in the car is probably one of the most special moments for me as a mom."

Mollie and Kenny are always there to support Sophia before, during and after her games. Kenny told CPR News that he always texts his daughter before she walks onto the field.

"Sometimes my text will say, ‘Go out there and play with crazy confidence.’ But I also want her to know that having fun is a big part of that," he said. "And then just, 'Go be Sophs.’ Go be yourself. Play the way that you know how to play."

Kenny continued, "Even at home games when we're there in Portland, I'll see her all day before she goes to her game. I'll see her walk out the door to the game, and I'll still shoot her a text when I know she's getting ready, just to let her know that I love her, I believe in her, and I want the best for her."

Raising a star athlete is no joke, and Kenny and Mollie have advice to share with parents who are in the same position: don't push your child into one specific sport or activity.

"I think kids ought to play everything they can, as much as they can. I think the kid will gravitate to what they enjoy the most," Kenny told CPR News. "We were never the type of parents to push our kid to one sport or the other, and we were just going to make sure we supported them and kept them busy, as well."

Related Articles

Follow Us

 ! New Kids on the Block Announce Their ,...