What an amazing experience being part of the inaugural Women's Professional Soccer season has been! I'm a part of history. I'm a PRO athlete. But now it's the offseason, and so what next?

The difficulty as a player within this first-year league is that there is very little to count on once the season ends.

What an amazing experience being part of the inaugural Women's Professional Soccer season has been! I'm a part of history. I'm a PRO athlete. But now it's the offseason, and so what next?

The difficulty as a player within this first-year league is that there is very little to count on once the season ends.

Los Angeles Sol striker Marta plays with the baseball as if it were a soccer ball before throwing out a ceremonial first pitch in Dodger Stadium at the MLB National League baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, California, August 17, 2009.

Los Angeles Sol striker Marta plays with the baseball as if it were a soccer ball before throwing out a ceremonial first pitch in Dodger Stadium at the MLB National League baseball game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Los Angeles Dodgers in Los Angeles, California, August 17, 2009.

Charlize Theron

I'm a huge fan of Charlize Theron so was delighted to learn that she's a celeb who gives back. As a native of South Africa, it makes sense that her charitable efforts focus on the youth of her struggling but extraordinary country.

The Charlize Theron African Outreach Project and the LAFC Chelsea Soccer Club have joined forces to give kids living in underserved communities – in Southern California and Umkhanyakude District of the KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa – more opportunities to play competitive soccer.

Charlize Theron

I'm a huge fan of Charlize Theron so was delighted to learn that she's a celeb who gives back. As a native of South Africa, it makes sense that her charitable efforts focus on the youth of her struggling but extraordinary country.

The Charlize Theron African Outreach Project and the LAFC Chelsea Soccer Club have joined forces to give kids living in underserved communities – in Southern California and Umkhanyakude District of the KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa – more opportunities to play competitive soccer.

The year was 1999. A team of inspired women and a tournament of historic proportions captured the hearts and minds of an entire nation. I was just a young girl (well not that young) and one of 90,000 fans at the Rose Bowl watching the epic final and witnessing history.

The 1999 Women's World Cup ran from June 19-July 10, 1999, in packed stadiums across the United States, raising the profile of women's soccer globally, creating new heroes in the sport and setting the bar for future FIFA Women's World Cupâ„¢ tournaments

Now, 10 years later, U.

Just prior to the start of the Women's Professional Soccer season, global sport lifestyle brand PUMA and WPS announced an exclusive partnership making PUMA an official founding partner of the new league and an official sponsor of all WPS franchises.

The multi-year partnership makes PUMA the official sport and lifestyle apparel, footwear and equipment supplier of WPS, including the official WPS Match Ball.