Patrick Mahomes may be an NFL superstar, but he thinks his young daughter may have a knack for football of a different variety.
The two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player told People that his 2-year-old daughter, Sterling Skye, has taken to soccer.
Patrick Mahomes and his daughter, Sterling Skye. AP Photo/Brynn Anderson
“I think the genes are going to be good,” Mahomes said.
The little tyke comes by it honestly. Sure, her dad is an elite talent on the gridiron, but her mom — Mahomes’ high-school-sweetheart-turned-wife, Brittany — played Division III college soccer for The University of Texas at Tyler Patriots. She set the program record for most goals in a single season with 18 through the same number of games her senior year and finished her NCAA career one goal shy of tying UT Tyler’s all-time goal-scoring record.
Mahomes (left) and his wife, Brittany. Omar Vega/Invision/AP
Brittany went on to play professional soccer in Iceland before returning home to the states and marrying her now-famous husband. But even despite his wife’s obvious talent for the game, Mahomes says neither he nor Brittany “taught her how to play soccer.”
Instead, she learned it by watching the pros. Brittany is a founder and co-owner of the National Women’s Soccer League club in their home city, and Mahomes later joined the ownership group after having attended a number of games.
Sterling has seemingly picked up some skills from her proximity to the team, which is home to international superstars like USWNT stars Sam Mewis, AD Franch, and Morgan Gautrat, Brazil’s Debinha, and Canada’s Desiree Scott.
“She watched it from going to the Kansas City Current games with Brittany,” Mahomes said. “Then we got home and all of a sudden she was kicking the soccer ball around.”
Despite the promising developments in his family’s backyard, Mahomes says he’s being careful not to pressure his kids to play sports. He told People “it doesn’t matter” what Sterling or her younger brother, Patrick “Bronze” Lavon Mahomes III, choose to pursue so long as they “work hard at it and try to achieve” their goals.
“We just want them to follow their dreams,” Mahomes said. “And if it’s sports, that’s awesome. If it’s something else, we’ll support them the same way.”