Most kids at the Kanga Cup hope to emulate their idols. That might be Spanish teen wunderkind Lamine Yamal, who's been weaving and spinning past defenders at the Euros.
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It might be Sam Kerr, the Matildas' goal-scoring whiz who captured the nation during the World Cup.
The Terrigal under-12s side has a hero of their own standing on the sidelines this week. Matildas legend and former Canberra United coach Heather Garriock is back in the capital but serving a very different role as her daughter Kaizen steps on to the field.
Rather than dominating like she did in her 130 games for Australia, or barking orders like she did when in charge of Canberra United, Garriock is taking on the role of supportive parent.
Which leads us to this question to Kaizen: who's your soccer hero?
"I want to be like Mary Fowler, Ellie Carpenter and Steph Catley. It's mainly the way they play and I want to get to their level one day," Kaizen said.
"They just inspire me to keep going and I hope that in the 2032 Olympics I will play for them."
Not that Garriock is fazed by the family snub, because it proves the Matildas are leaving their mark on a new generation of talent who want to follow in their footsteps.
The same story can be found at any field around Canberra as 350 teams battle each other for Kanga Cup glory at the southern hemisphere's biggest junior soccer tournament.
![Heather Garriock, right, with daughter Kaizen and the Terrigal United team at the Kanga Cup on Wednesday. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong Heather Garriock, right, with daughter Kaizen and the Terrigal United team at the Kanga Cup on Wednesday. Picture by Sitthixay Ditthavong](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/j2iwCiKfwhVWJky39Vsdpt/f5d1bfb8-959d-4038-976e-d9f726683147.jpg/r0_177_5300_3157_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Every goal is another step towards a dream. Every win is another moment to savour with teammates.
Terrigal had struggled in the opening rounds of the tournament, but finally broke through for their first win on Wednesday when they beat Majura FC 5-0.
Garriock coached Canberra United for three seasons and scored 20 times for the Matildas during her playing career, but she said her daughter's inspiration came from a love of athletes and their abilities.
"It was about her falling in love with football on her own, at her own time, and so that's basically what has happened and she absolutely loves it and she aspires one day to be a Matilda," Garriock said.
"The most important thing to be able to see your role models doing what you want to do.
"She wants to almost emulate them. One day she wants to play over in France."
However, it's not just Kaizen who has grown up feeling motivated by her footballing idols playing inside a cauldron of noise with millions watching on.
Manchester United midfielder Marcus Rashford, Brazilian Striker Neymar Jr, and World Cup Golden Boot winner, Kylian Mbappe are all inspirations too.
That's according to Kai McMillan, Koby Lewis, Lucas Scott, Dane Horne and Axel Emmanuel who all shared that it's not just the on-field determination, pace, or "coolness" of a player which inspires them to play one day for the Socceroos.
It's also the off-the-field actions that influence them to get involved with the professional leagues, as Koby said: "I like Marcus Rashford because of how he helps his community with handing out hot food.
Or Lucas, who explained: "I'm inspired by Mary Fowler and the way she helps her First Nations community."
Although all five boys have dreams of reaching a Champions League Final with Real Madrid or claiming Manchester United's first Premier League title since the 2013/2014 season, it's clear that the on-the-field and off-the-field initiatives by football players inspire them to also bolt and dart around the pitch like Kaizen.
Because, what's the point of being a kid, if you don't want to be Australia's next sports star.