Meet Trinity Rodman: US Soccer’s sensational young talent that bases her game off her dad’s

Even if you’re not the biggest basketball fan, you’ve definitely heard of Dennis Rodman. The two-time NBA defensive player of the year and five-time NBA champion is widely considered one of the most recognizable players to ever play professional basketball. Rodman, together with Scotty Pippen and Michael Jordan, formed an unstoppable trio which helped the Chicago Bulls become one of the most decorated and iconic teams of its era.

Rodman developed somewhat of a cult following for his off the court antics too. With his in-game clashes and party persona, he quickly earned the reputation of being the NBA’s number one ‘bad boy’,becoming one of the most controversial figures both on and off the court.

Despite all the noise and excess baggage that came with him, Rodman was an outstanding player and a true entertainer, which appears to be something his daughter Trinity has inherited.

Her father’s high-profile and colorful career- if you can call it that- inevitably follows Trinity around. She has on many occasions been asked about him and his time as a player, and what’s it like to be the daughter of such a prominent figure and sportsman. It’s perhaps unfair on Trinity, who deserves a chance to make a name for herself away from her father’s legacy and the name on the back of her shirt.

Trinity Rodman is one of the biggest stars of US Soccer right now. She plays as a winger for National Women’s Soccer League team Washington Spirit, where she was recently offered a whopping $1.1 million four-year contract, which made her the highest paid player in the history of the league.

After seeing the impact she’s made in her first couple of seasons playing in the League, it’s not hard to understand why she was awarded such a lucrative contract. After becoming the youngest ever player drafted (she was selected second by Washington Spirit at just 18-years-old in January 2021), she received virtually all the accolades you can achieve in a rookie season: ‘Rookie of the Year’, ‘US Soccer Best Young Player’ and NSWL Best XI. To top it off, she was also nominated for the most prestigious individual prize of them all: The Balon d’Or, ultimately finishing 18th in the vote.

This year, she managed an excellent four goals and two assists in the league, numbers which helped confirm her place in Vlatko Andonovski’s World Cup roster- which funnily enough was announced via a congratulatory message from NBA legend Shaquille O’Neil on the USWNT’s official Instagram page.

Despite not having what might be considered a “normal” relationship with her father, Trinity is in contact with him. In fact, the winger confessed that despite not having frequent communication with Dennis, she has spent hours upon hours watching his basketball highlights which have helped her work on certain aspects of her soccer game.

“I watched my dad play a lot more than people really know. I think obviously he was pretty good at rebounding,” she said during the USWNT’s press day last week. “Rebounding in soccer is hunting in front of goal, hunting when you lose the ball. I think that is a huge part of my game: reading the game, tracking back and being the first person to get a foot, a head, a knee or a shin on something that pops up.

“Even if he wasn’t the first guy under the basket or if he was next to Shaq, who was way bigger and way taller, you knew he was going to get the rebound. It was timing, it was anticipation, it was body movement, it was positioning, it was everything. I think he was so intelligent, and people take that away from him. He was a freak of nature, and an insane athlete, but at the end of the day, I think he was one of the smartest players of all-time,” she concluded.

Sports is certainly something that runs in the Rodman family. Trinity is a huge football prospect and if she continues to grow and improve at such a rate, it’s more than likely that she’ll go on to be one of the great female footballers of her generation. Trinity now has the chance to display her talent on the biggest stage at this summer’s World Cup. She’ll be determined to make a big statement.