When former soccer star Mia Hamm returned to her hometown of Selma, Ala., last winter, she was presented with a key to the city.
When Carli Lloyd, the U.S. team’s current star, returned to Burlington County, N.J., after last summer’s World Cup, she was presented with the key to the Evesham Township Recreational Facility.
It may have been the most appropriate gift she’s ever received, given that Lloyd has spent more hours in the rec center than anywhere else near her South Jersey home.
“Every morning, we’re here,” said James Galanis, Lloyd’s personal coach. “This is what built her.