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A World Cup Champ's Guide to Killer Confidence and Ponytails

Here's why you should know Alex Morgan, the inspiring woman who is changing the face of women's soccer

Alex Morgan is exactly the kind of girl you'd want to have in your #squad: funny, well-spoken, chill-but-driven. She's also completely gorgeous and has killer legs, thanks to approximately one and a half hours a day lifting weights, and another hour and a half practicing on the field. I caught up with the superstar soccer player at the Ion Rooftop Lounge at the JW Marriot Hollywood Live to chat about her partnership with Tampax Pearl, her recent World Cup Championship (to celebrate, she bought herself a gorgeous Chanel bag), how it feels to be a role model for young girls and boys, and to get the secret behind her always-flawless ponytail.

On teaching girls about self-esteem:
Confidence is a big thing with young girls, and everyone has gone through highs and lows of self-esteem. It's important for as many of us to say that we've been there ... We've been able to go around the country and work one-on-one with these young girls who look up to my teammates and me. It's not just about soccer ... it's encouraging them, motivating them and showing them that I was in their shoes at one point.

When I partnered with Tampax Pearl I was excited, because I felt like it was an authentic and natural partnership. They're all about feeling confident in your own body. We've been able to go around the country and work one-on-one with these young girls who look up to my teammates and me. It's not just about soccer ... it's encouraging them, motivating them and showing them that I was in their shoes at one point.

Some things don't go right, like the weather or the surface you're playing on or the fact that your coach might not start you. You're not in control of those things, but what you are in control of is your attitude, your confidence and what you can show off. Those are the things you can change, and that's what I want to be able to show girls they're in control of, because there are a lot of things that are uncontrollable in this world.

As for that fantastic ponytail:
I only wash my hair like every five days. I rinse all the time because I sweat every day, but I only shampoo and condition every five days or so. And I mostly air-dry and don't use a lot of products or irons.

The products she relies on on the field:
I really enjoy Coola sunscreen. They have face sunscreen and a tinted moisturizer. That's one sunscreen I've kind of stuck by the last couple years because we are out in the sun all the time ... I feel like it's very natural and doesn't have a lot of additives. For me, it's all about putting the right things on your body.

I have a Tarte bronzer that I wear when I play. I don't use waterproof mascara unless it's raining. I feel like [regular mascara] doesn't run. And then I'll wear some concealer, like Kevyn Aucoin. Right now I'm on Kevyn Aucoin.

On her fans and being a role model:
It's been really exciting to see. We had a rally in Los Angeles, and we saw double or triple the amount of people we thought were going to come.

Afterward I was on Twitter just looking back at it, because it was one of the most amazing experiences I've been through. Seeing all the little boys with Morgan shirts and Wambach [Abby, her teammate] shirts was really coo,l because you just don't see little boys or older men with female sports jerseys on.

On whether the World Cup trophy is heavy:
Yeah, it kind of is. But we did have Taylor Swift hold it with one hand -- so you could hold it with one hand. But, yeah, it is heavy.

On whether superstar athletes let themselves indulge:
We were eating four to five meals a day during the World Cup. It was a really strict diet but also we need to fuel ourselves... And then our fitness coach would email us every night and ask if anyone wanted a protein shake, which would be a sixth meal, which I declined every day. I could not put anything else in my body.

Now, though, I thought I was going to go smoothie and juice, just no food at all. But, it's been quite the opposite. I've been eating whatever comes on the table and I don't even care. So, I need to settle that down after a couple days, but I'm enjoying it. I'm giving myself a week or two and then I'll get back on it.

How she keeps her cool with thousands of fans watching:
You almost have to forget about everything. With sports, it's like letting intuition take over, and that can only happen when you're focused on one thing. Soccer is so mental, so emotional -- just as much as it is physical. It's more about clearing the mind. Every game, if I'm preoccupied I try to take deep breaths or imagine myself in the game 30 minutes later. Deep-breathing exercises help. Six seconds to breathe in, hold it for two seconds, six seconds to breathe out, and immediately my pulse slows down and I become calmer.

On what it took to win the World Cup:
It was honestly the fact that it wasn't really perfect... It was almost like not perfect at all, so we had to push to prove that we wanted it that much more. It wasn't given to us. So everything was going against us, and that forced us to come together, all of us, and buy into everything the coaches were telling us -- if not, we weren't going to win.

On what's next for her:
I hope I play soccer for a lot longer -- a couple more World Cups and the Olympics -- but I really want to promote the game. I feel like women's soccer has reached a high point here, and it continues to grow here in the U.S., but not around the world ... I want to promote women's soccer at a young age and show five-year-olds and ten-year-olds that they can play soccer, they can do all the things boys are doing, things their culture has told them that they can't do.

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