94 oxygenmag.com
For love of
the game
For professional soccer
player Tobin Heath, soccer is
more than a game, it’s life.n soccer, the team that’s able to control the middle of
the fi eld is usually the winner. That’s why the midfi elder
positio n is critical to the success of any team. Portland
Thorns midfi elder Tobin Heath is a versatile and solid
defender who is “perhaps the USA’s most skillful player,”
according to the United States Soccer Federation. Her acco-
lades would certainly support that. Heath was the fi rst overall
pick in Women’s Professional Soccer in the 2010 draft, is a two-
time Olympic gold medalist and a FIFA Women’s World Cup silver
and gold medalist.
Heath fell in love with soccer at age 4 when she played at her
local YMCA, and to this day, the 29-year-old still has that same
love for the game. However, it didn’t occur to her that she could
make it her career. “I never really thought about soccer like that. I
just always enjoyed playing and wanted to get better,” she says.
The demands of a midfi elder are high. The position requires
more running than other positions on the fi eld (and more than
in most other sports), so Heath trains every day. “One day a
week is set aside for recovery,” she says, “but that means I’m still
doing yoga, a light jog, swimming, hiking or even stretching.”
During the soccer season, Heath typically lifts one to two times
a week, and in the off season, she increases that to two to three
times a week. “I love training,” she asserts. “It gives me life.”
To fuel her training and playing, Heath doesn’t follow any
specifi c nutrition trends; she just eats a well-balanced diet.
“Soccer is a high-endurance sport, especially in my position,
so I have to eat to refuel and recover as quickly as possible. For
me, that means eating as much good stuff as I can,” says the
New Jersey native. “Everyone is unique and fi guring out what
works for you is important. For instance, I have to have a big
breakfast, smaller lunch and bigger dinner. All my training is
accomplished by some type of nutritional intake, so right after I
break down my muscles, I can build them right back up. That’s
why my partnership with Six Star is so important. Their protein
helps me recover and perform at my peak.”
Heath partnered with Six Star Pro Nutrition because she
enjoyed its products, and then it developed into something
more. “As an athlete, I want to know about everything I put into
my body because my body is my tool,” she says. “Six Star is all
about quality and so is my soccer.”
When she isn’t on the fi eld, the reigning U.S. Soccer Player
of the Year is giving back as the new assistant youth technical
director for the Thorns Development Academy. Heath is pas-
sionate about making youth just as passionate about soccer as
she is. “I want to go out and play and feel the freedom of not
having it be something organized but to have it be organic and
be driven by just a love of the game and a love for the ball,” she
says, enthusiastically.Tobin Heath’s favorite Six Star Pro Nutrition Product
100% Whey Protein for Her: “Protein is essential for muscle
growth, and with 16 grams of lean protein, this product is
essential for post-training and game recovery.”Tobin’s
favorite Six
Star Pro
Nutrition
Producthow she fuels TOBIN HEATH By Maureen Farrar
“SOCCER IS A
HIGHENDURANCE
SPORT, SO I HAVE
TO EAT TO REFUEL
AND RECOVER.”
Photo by James Quantz, Jr.