"It's a privilege and an honour"

In her final year at Florida State University (FSU), Pickett woke up to an e-mail she had been selected for the United States U23 national team for the Four Nations. 

Pickett took the pitch in the 77th minute against Sweden before going on four days later she went on to play a full 90 minutes against England. 

After excelling at FSU, Pickett was drafted to Seattle Reign and went on to make 36 appearances over two seasons before heading to Brisbane for the winter to play in the W-League.

When Pickett returned to the United States for the 2018 season, she would not be playing for Seattle but moving back to her home state of Florida to play with Orlando Pride as part of a trade. 

While many may call her missing forearm and hand a disability, Pickett doesn't want to be labeled that way.

"I have stated many times that I don't like that word because I feel as if it's something that holds people back and I obviously want to overcome that," she said

"I want other people to see they can overcome something even if you don't have the complete package everyone playing against you has," Pickett said.

Pickett has become a role model not only to young athletes exactly like her but to anyone strives to overcome barriers in their life. 

However, being a role model can be a bit scary at first.

"Sometimes it's a little bit scary because when I was younger I would look up to so many people and when I realised that it could be me I think it's a privilege and an honour," she said.

 

 

 

 

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It’s easy to hide imperfections. But when it becomes an inspiration, it puts it all into perspective. These moments are the ones I live and play for. It’s kids like him that show me what really matters in life #imperfectionisbeauty 💜

A post shared by Carson Pickett (@carson.pickett) on May 4, 2018 at 10:19am PDT

"It just feels good to be able to make a positive impact on peoples lives and to be honest, I probably don’t know half of the stories and half of the people I’m impacting but I just hope anyone will reach out when they can, and know that I’m going to respond and I’m going to help them through anything,” Pickett said.

Her advice to young athletes who doubt themselves: "I think surrounding yourself with positive people".

"Sometimes I have my bad days but the people around me tend to help me and make me a little happier and keep me going," Pickett said.

Brisbane Roar takes on Western Sydney Wanderers on Sunday, November 4 at Marconi Stadium from 3:30pm AEDT.