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Home-grown hero Holiday helps US win in World Cup

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – If parents are looking for a role model for their kids, they will want to take a look at Lauren Holiday of the U.S. women’s soccer team.

She scored a goal in the Women’s World Cup championship game on Sunday. That helped her fulfill a dream she’s had since childhood.

Sean Bosley, her former coach at Ben Davis High School when she was still Lauren Cheney, knows all of the stories.

“She used to always tell her dad, you know, I want to win a gold medal.  Well,” Bosley said, “now she’s won two gold medals [Olympics] and a World Cup and that’s pretty fantastic.”

Bosley told 24-Hour News 8 that even in high school, Lauren Holiday trained as hard as possible to be physically ready for matches and that approach still pays off.  “She looks just as good at the end of the game as she does at the beginning,” said Bosley.

The coach also said Holiday was always determined to know the game, technically.  “She does all the things [that] don’t necessarily get put in the stat book.”  And, part of that is always being ready to do whatever the team needs.

But, because of the position she plays, she doesn’t get enough credit for what she does.  Other players get the glory because they score goals.  Bosley said Holiday is quietly effective.

She did have one special scoring shot on Sunday.  “For her to hit that ball in stride, she doesn’t take an extra touch and just hit a laser in the back of the net. That’s an unreal shot,” said Bosley.

All of that explains why she’s such a role model. “You know, as much as we love Andrew Luck, Andrew Luck’s not from Indianapolis,” Bosley said. “As much as Larry Bird being from Indiana, he’s still not from Indianapolis. Lauren Cheney? From Indianapolis. On the biggest stage, she’s done it.  On more than one occasion.”