By Steve Hartman
Correspondent
Updated on: April 24, 2026 / 9:04 PM EDT / CBS News
Denver — In the Denver Summit FC women’s team’s home opener at Mile High Stadium last month, the new NWSL club didn’t score. For 9-year-old Hayden Stine, though, the night felt like a major victory because she met a player who changed how she sees herself.
“I want to be a professional soccer player when I grow up,” Hayden told CBS News after meeting Summit defender Carson Pickett. “And she was able to do that. And it really fills me with hope that I’m able to as well.”
Hayden was born without most of her right arm. Seeing Pickett — who also has a limb difference — on the field made Hayden feel she could follow the same path. Her mother, Christina Hayden, said Hayden’s confidence “has skyrocketed” since the encounter, from how she carries herself at school to how she plays on the soccer field.
The family described meeting Pickett as life-altering. Pickett, however, said the moment almost didn’t happen.
“For years I hid my arm in pictures and avoided even talking about my limb difference,” Pickett told CBS News. “I didn’t want to be known as the girl with one arm that plays soccer. I just wanted to be known for the girl that plays soccer.”
That changed after Pickett’s mother pointed out she was missing a chance to help others. Pickett later wrote on social media, “Finding out that the journey is a lot less about myself and a lot more about the hearts I can touch along the way.”
Now she’s embraced that role. “I want to meet all the kids, all the families, all the adults,” Pickett said. She surprised Hayden this week by showing up at the girl’s team practice, and plans to keep in touch and possibly help Hayden discover her own purpose.
Asked if she’d be a role model one day, Hayden replied, “Yes, I am up for it.”