As a center midfielder and forward for the first St. Catherine's High School varsity girls soccer team, Missy Callender could only imagine where the sport might take her.

But years before the first Women's World Cup or women's soccer became an Olympic sport, Callender was on a career path that would help her contribute to the growth of a sport that has made Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and Abby Wambach household names.

It's been an amazing journey that's taken her from Pershing Park in Racine to Sydney, Australia, for the 2000 Summer Olympics, Athens, Greece, for the 2004 Summer Olympics and Beijing, China, for both the 2007 Women's World Cup and 2008 Summer Olympics.

More than 20 years after the 40-year-old Callender worked in her family's sporting goods store on Main Street in Racine, she's making sure some of the top female players in the world have what they need to train and play in her position as Women's Pro Manager for Soccer Sports Marketing for Nike, Inc.

"I think that even when I was in high school, I always wanted to work for Nike," Callender said. "So when I got out of college, my first year out, I worked at a Lady Footlocker. Niketown Chicago opened in 1992 and I interviewed for a job as a sales associate and got the job. There was always that interest there."

That led to a position at the Nike Employee Store in Beaverton, Ore., home to Nike World Headquarters, and her current position.

"I would play lunchtime soccer when I would have days off when I was working retail," Callender said. "We have three fields at Nike headquarters, so I could jump in there during the lunch time break. I started meeting a number of people who worked at headquarters, especially the retail. I started to get to know people."

Her job takes her all over the country and allows her to play a vital role in the outfitting of more than two dozen current and former U.S. Women's National team members including Hamm, Chastain, Wambach, Lindsay Tarpley and Carli Lloyd, who scored the winning goal for the U.S. in the 2008 Olympic final.

"From head to toe, any team that comes into camp, it's making sure they have the right soccer shoes, shin guards, uniforms, training gear, travel gear and working with all the equipment managers," Callender said. "I also work with the women's pro players and their agents. I negotiate their (Nike) deals, from anything from product to dollar amounts. It's a lot more negotiations now and just a lot of service. Like if a player needs a new pair of boots and shin guards, they'll call me and say 'hey, can you send me these at the hotel?'"

Callender's enthusiasm for her job is evident in the relationships she's built with some of the world's top players and U.S. Soccer staff. From attending promotional photo shoots and attending training sessions to playing Nintendo Wii games in the hotel and petting young pandas at a park in Shendu, China, she's formed close bonds.

"They don't always want to be, 24-7, a player," Callender said. "They're kind of my extended family. I have a really good relationship with everyone on the team and the staff. I go on the road and you see things from an inside perspective. I'm not playing, but I have an appreciation for what they go through the day of."

And while there was plenty of work to keep her busy, Callender said last year's Olympic games were an "amazing experience."

"When they won the gold this year, I was at an Olympic party after the game, it was just amazing to see their families embrace them and their friends and just everyone was there to support them. There are things the outside world doesn't always see and I'm very fortunate to be a part of their lives in that respect."

As with any job, there are pressures and challenges.

"The beauty of it is that every day is a new day," Callender said. "It's a big learning curve. I'm still learning 11 years into my job. I'm pretty open and engaging, very social and working with all different groups and changes is relatively easy for me, but's you still learn as you go. There's always different little things that you learn to grow from."