By all appearances, Sarah Hermina is a normal teenager. She?s an A student and faces the daily worries of what to wear, how to fix her hair and where to sit in the school lunchroom. Then, there?s juggling a social life that includes pizza parties and sleepovers.
But Sarah is hardly normal ? not even close. She?s a 14-year-old soccer standout who plays on Egypt?s national soccer team. The Pharaohs ? yes, that?s their nickname ? certainly won?t be confused with mighty Brazil or the powerhouse United States. But it?s still an impressive achievement for a girl who is only a month into the ninth grade at Reservoir High School in Howard County.
“It?s been amazing, learning as much as I can from them about their culture,” Sarah said of her Egyptian teammates. “They?ve help me improve my game, and they are really fun to be around. Sometimes the communication is hard, but it all works out.”
It was in January when Sarah told her father, John, who holds citizenship in both his native Egypt and the United States, that she wanted to try out for the team after watching the Egyptians play on television. Her dad and mother Aimee were not surprised, since Sarah has been kicking a soccer ball since the age of 10, and more than one coach has told them that the world?s sport could be her ticket to college.
Training with the Best
For Sarah, Sunday?s women?s World Cup final, won by German over Brazil, 2-0, took on a special meaning.
In August, Sarah and her family made the long flight to Germany to train not only with coaches from the German Bundesliga professional league but also with highly respected German national team coach Tina Theune-Meyer, who has been instrumental in accelerating Sarah?s development. She also saw her first international action, playing for Egypt in a full match against Tunisia as an attacking midfielder.
“It was more for practice, but [there was] lots of cheering from the bench,” her father said. “They wanted her to get an international match with the team, and she did. Now they want her to continue to play and train with the women.”
Egyptian coaches have made it clear they want Sarah in their future.
“We toyed with the idea of her enrolling at The American University in Cairo,” her father said. “But with how infrequently the team gets together [five to 10 times a year], she is able to make her commitment for the team without leaving this country ? and she wants to be here. It?s what she brings to Egypt that makes her special. American women?s soccer is the most advanced in the world and has that respect around the globe. Her Egyptian coaches are actually encouraging her to stay and train here.”
Dealing with jet lag, extensive international travel and world-class competition can be tough for veterans, let alone a teenager. But Sarah has done well balancing travel, school and soccer.
Her idols are former United States stars Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy, and she dreams of leading Egypt to the world-class level. But as talented as she is, Sarah is not the female version Freddy Adu, a soccer prodigy who was drafted No. 1 overall in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft and made his professional debut at age 14. She possesses great natural talent and ability but realizes that moving to the national stage isn?t just a step up, it?s a mountain climb.
“I was trying not to get overwhelmed, but I [told myself] ?I can play with these girls,? ” Sarah said. “They are really good, but so am I.”
Sarah learned she made the team after several weeks of January tryouts in Egypt. Not the under-17 team. Not the under-21 team. She had made the team.
“I was so excited,” Sarah said. “Just being around the other players was awesome. I was trying to keep up with them just to make myself better, and that?s what I?ve done.”
Sarah, who was born in the United States, was eligible to play on the national team because of her father was born in Egypt. Her father, a native Egyptian, moved to America from Egypt as a teenager in the 1970s, met his future wife, Aimee, on his first day as an intern in a New York congressman?s office, and today heads the Hermina Law Group in Laurel. John Hermina, a soccer enthusiast himself, said there is nothing that gives him more pride than seeing his daughter succeed at the game he cherishes.
“She?s done amazingly well,” said Hermina, who also coaches the girls? junior varsity soccer team at Reservoir. “Even though she is very young, she carries herself with respect and dignity.”
That maturity has helped Sarah gain many friends on a national team that is all Muslim, except for Sarah, who is Christian.
“At first, it seemed like the cultural differences were huge, but every time I go back and play, those differences are less and less. It feels now like I?m more around friends,” Sarah said. “A lot of girls learned English in school, and I know some Arabic. I do have to explain slang sometimes.”
World Cup Dreams
Egypt is ranked 85th in the world and eighth in Africa by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport?s governing body. In 2005, the team had climbed as high as 58, but a revolving door of personnel changes has prevented the team from laying a foundation.
Sarah, who will turn 15 in January, is joining the team at an opportune time. Qualifying for the 2011 World Cup will begin in the next 20 to 24 months. The final tournament field is composed of 16 teams, but that may be expanded when FIFA officials meet in November. The men?s World Cup has 32 teams.
“I would love to see them go to the World Cup,” her father said. “It?s a great group of girls.”
In the meantime, Sarah has plenty of soccer to play at home.
“We didn?t know what to expect from [Sarah],” sophomore goalie Marissa Bearden said. “For her, it?s a different speed of play and a different level of physical play.”
She is a starter for Reservoir and also plays for a traveling team and in an indoor league. Sarah has yet to score for the Class 3A Gators (3-4), but coach Michael Scarff is expecting that to change.
“Skill-wise, she can hang [with the more experience varsity players], but she has to build her upper body ? and I?m still worried about her jet lag,” Scarff said of Sarah?s recent trips abroad.
“Her body hasn?t checked in yet, and she?s struggling with that. But hey, she?s only 14.”
Still, late in the team?s 5-1 loss to Fallston earlier in the season, Sarah showed why she?s a star on the rise.
“She hit a 30-yard pass right to the striker?s feet, and you have to love that,” Scarff said. “Sarah brings so much poise to the game, and when she gets the ball, she does good things. She is a humble, hardworking, and she has the skill and vision to play. If I said ?You are lacking on this,? she would go home and beat herself up until she got it right.”
In the classroom Sarah is just as dedicated.
“She has done nothing but impress me,” said Philip Rogers, Sara?s algebra teacher. “In terms of her work ethic, she?s always on the ball, excited to answer questions.”
Sarah even has found time to keep an active social life. But with all the attention she gets, it can be hard.
“We don?t want her to be separated from her friends or be singled out after she comes back,” her father said. “We try to keep her involved with her friends.”
Sarah, who had an autograph session for young girls in Egypt, said she tries to keep her soccer career in perspective. Around her wrist, she wears a multicolored bracelet she made for herself and for each of her Egyptian teammates. Beside that, she wears a band with her school?s motto for the year. It reads: “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” She?s well on her way.
