"My mind-set throughout my career has been to focus on what I can control." -- Carli Lloyd

Although U.S. women's national team player Carli Lloyd became a national hero in 16 minutes, her rise, if you ask her, actually took 12 years. Lloyd owes a huge assist to James Galanis, her personal coach for over a decade.

Yes, Lloyd completed her hat trick -- three goals, including a can-you-believe-it boot from half field -- 16 minutes into the United States' eventual 5-2 win over Japan in the 2015 World Cup championship game.

But rewind to 2003: Lloyd, then out-of-shape and cut from the U.S. Under-21 team, began her transformation. She did workouts that brought her to tears (Galanis can still push her to the point of throwing up, too). She practiced intense visualization. (During a workout in May, she visualized scoring four or five goals in the World Cup final.) And above all, she learned to empty her tank no matter what position she played or what time she came into the game. That served her well in the World Cup; she scored six goals total and won the Golden Ball for the tournament's best player.

The best part for U.S. fans? Lloyd's journey isn't over yet, with Olympic gold in 2016 and a World Cup repeat in 2019 still on her to-do list.

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