In a soccer game, Steffens once delivered a perfect pass across the field to a teammate, who never saw the pass coming. So Steffens ran laterally across the pitch to track down her own pass, dribbling forward and beating the goalkeeper for a score. She was five years old.

At a swim meet, Steffens, a freestyler, was called upon to swim breaststroke in the top heat of the day. Attacking the race with extreme effort, Steffens injured her groin during the race. She recorded a time faster than her team's top breaststroke swimmer.

In Mr. Philaphil's geometry class during her freshman year at Monte Vista High School in her hometown of Danville, California, Steffens displayed such intensity attacking polygons and parallelograms, the teacher became convinced her passion would help get her to the Olympics. She made her first National Team travel squad that summer.

What everyone in Maggie's life knew since she was born to Carlos and Peggy Steffens in the summer of 1993, the entire world realized in the summer of 2012. This woman lives to compete and loves everything that comes with it—namely, teamwork, goal setting, and enjoying the moment.

At the root for Steffens it has to be about the competition, because it certainly isn't about the accolades. She could have said farewell to six hours a day of water polo training, spending summers zigzagging across the world, and just became your above-average college student at Stanford University. Her last two years alone featured accomplishments that water polo players work their whole lives to achieve.

2014 saw the 21-year-old Steffens win her second FINA World Cup crown, preceded by her first NCAA Championship at Stanford, which was preceded by the 2012 Olympic Games where all Steffens did was win a Gold Medal, set a record for goals in a game, and earn MVP honors. Add to it in late 2014, the FINA Women's Water Polo Player of the Year honor, for the second time. If one wants to pick nits, and Steffens will, she's still missing a FINA World Championship and the Cutino Award as the college game's best player—but rest assured the trophy case is already overflowing.

The youngest of four children, Steffens battled her older siblings in a variety of games. "Once they started doing something, I started doing something," she says. "I'm a competitive person. I want to do what my siblings are doing."

"She just had the best time playing any sort of game, it was natural and easy for her," older brother Charlie recalls. "I remember thinking, 'Why does she keep wanting to play with us? She never wins.' I know what you're thinking, 'You never let your little sister ever win?' No, we didn't."

"Maggie has always had the natural talent, the smarts, the drive and work ethic to be the best," mom Peggy says. "But bottom line, she wanted to be better than her brother and sisters."

Before long the thing she wanted to be better at, was water polo. Carlos Steffens played for the Puerto Rican National Team and collegiately at California Berkeley leading the Bears to the 1977 NCAA Championship. Peggy Steffens, formerly Peggy Schnugg, is part of a massive water polo family that featured Peter Schnugg, a member of the 1980 Olympic Water Polo Team. Add family friend and 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist Maureen O'Toole, and it was a given water polo would come along at some point, but it wasn't a requirement.

"He (Carlos) definitely didn't force water polo. If anything he subconsciously forced it upon us," Maggie says. "We would play Keep Away in the backyard; it was fun for him to bring water polo into our backyard pool." Eventually all the other sports fell by the wayside and she committed herself to water polo. "This is something I'm passionate about and I enjoy; I think that's why I ended up choosing water polo. I even loved practice," Steffens stressed. "I still have that (feeling) after 13 years—obviously you gotta love it!"

Carlos helped fuel the passion, challenging Maggie to be great. Sports teams all across America from the NBA to the CYO have parents like Carlos at their games—perhaps minus the trademark white fedora. Excited, loud, gregarious, and intelligent. After her games, Dad didn't pull punches helping Maggie to get better. "He would always give you the harsh truth; he's letting you know what you can do better," remembers Maggie. "It's hard to soak up when you are younger, but now it's like wow, he was developing me and my mental toughness. I can't imagine how I would be if he wasn't there, it was truly a gift."

With coaching from O'Toole and guidance from Carlos along with competition from siblings Jessica, Charlie, and Teresa (all who played water polo), Steffens love for the game started to merge with excellence in it. It also uncovered a desire to compete on the world stage, the Olympic Games.

The summer of 2008 saw the USA Women's Olympic Water Polo Team ranked first in the world headed to Olympic competition in Beijing, China. One of the anchors of that team was defender Jessica Steffens. In the stands for every game was the Steffens family, including 15-year-old Maggie, face painted with stars and stripes, locked on every movement in the pool.

"While I was taking selfies with my mom in front of the pool, Mags was watching warm-ups, studying, and analyzing with my dad which players Jessica should mark and predicting what plays they were going to try," Teresa Steffens says. "I don't think I was allowed to talk to her during the game, it was focus time."

"In that moment, watching the games, I was sweating—I thought I was playing," Maggie says. "I felt a part of that team." The USA women would come up just short, losing by a goal in the Gold Medal match. It set the stage for a seminal moment in Maggie's Olympic journey. "I remember my dad looked at me right after that game and said, 'It's your turn now.' That for me was like, 'OK, I can do this, I know I can be in that water, I want to be there, I want to be in that same situation but redeem that team and help that team win that Gold, and not have that feeling.' Seeing those faces in the water, it takes a toll on you; it was such a great inspiration for that 2012 team," Maggie recalls. "We were one team, we respected our teammates, we wanted to win it for each other."

"I was testing her, she loves to be challenged," Carlos concedes. "I really didn't know she was going to participate in the next Olympics. She was sad, we were all really sad. She had tears; I had a tear in my eye. I just looked at her and tried to turn a bad thing, which wasn't really that bad, and challenge her. I said this is actually good—now it's your turn to get the Gold Medal. I was just thinking she was young, she was 15; I didn't know she was going to grow so fast and she did."

"Him expressing that to me allowed me to put my dream into reality," Maggie says today. "I know I'm young. It was more like in four years it is your turn, you can make a difference."

Whatever the timeline, the belief was there on both sides—and for Maggie Steffens it was all she needed to hear. Less than 18 months after Beijing, Steffens was vying for her first senior team roster spot. Much to her shock, Maggie was named to the USA roster at the 2009 Holiday Cup held in Newport Beach, CA. She followed that with a breakout moment at the 2010 FINA World League Super Final in La Jolla, CA. Locked in a tie with rival Australia with the Gold Medal on the line, the final match went to a shootout. After four shooters and the game in the balance, Head Coach Adam Krikorian called up Steffens to take the fifth shot. After the shot went in and the medal was clinched, Steffens wasn't focused on her success: "I wasn't thinking, 'If I make this I can make a team,' I was thinking, 'Let's make this so I can help this team."

That moment launched Steffens' international water polo career at the highest level. An excellent defensive player, she would join sister Jessica on the 2012 Olympic roster as the youngest player on the team. The memories that rush back to Steffens at this moment all involve the team, but fans will have a different recollection.

On July 30, 2012 the United States opened play at the Olympic games with a match against Hungary. Ranked sixth in the world, the expectations weren't as high externally as they had been in 2008, but the same goal remained for those on the team—a Gold Medal. Steffens would score seven goals in that match, leading the U.S. to a one-goal victory. She equaled the most goals ever scored in a single game at the Olympics and set a record for goals in a debut match.

While family and friends watched in near disbelief as Steffens became a star overnight, Maggie focused on other things. "Normally I can remember every play of every game, but that game is a blur. (When I was told) I scored seven goals, I think I was in disbelief. If I scored a goal, I don't remember how; I remember swimming back to half and nodding at Betsey (Armstrong). I remember a pass from Lauren Wenger or Kami (Craig) getting a goal when we needed it."

It must run in the family because sister Jessica saw the same blur. "I honestly don't remember—was that when she scored a bajillion goals? I do remember thinking, 'Well if no one wants to guard her, awesome—keep it coming.' Maggie does not back down, she does not get scared, she's a friggin' animal. I'm so proud of her attitude and determination more than anything else."

Siblings Charlie and Teresa watching from the stands remember Maggie treating it like any other game, despite the fans and media feeling otherwise. "We all jumped up and yelled good job and her response was, 'Well that was fun. Uh, I just really want Chipotle,'" Teresa says. "In a sport where good plays can't always be quantified, I felt she had played an all-around perfect game," Charlie says. "After the game though—business as usual."

There would be redemption in 2012 for Team USA; with Maggie Steffens leading the way, the U.S. would win Gold. After outlasting Australia in a harrowing semifinal that only strengthened team resolve, Team USA topped Spain in the final behind five goals from Maggie.

Afterward she was officially a star at the Olympic games, chatting with the likes of Ryan Seacrest, Dan Patrick, Bruce Jenner and more. While the talk was about the goals, the wins, and the bond with sister Jessica, something less reported was that this teenager had become a leader. The youngest in her family, the youngest on her team, had quickly become confident in showing the way in and out of the water. "What many people don't know is that she's been leading since her first days with our team at age 15," USA Head Coach Adam Krikorian says. "I'd always tell her that her leadership doesn't have an expiration date nor a born in date. She was a tremendous leader for us through the last Olympic cycle, and a huge amount of credit goes to the experienced players for seeing that ability in her and allowing her to lead and flourish despite her age."

With the retirements in recent years of veterans Brenda Villa, Heather Petri, Betsey Armstrong, Elsie Windes, Kelly Rulon, Tumua Anae and Lauren Wenger—along with Jessica—the role of leader is clear for Maggie Steffens as a mixture of athletes new and old prepare for another run to the Olympic games.

Steffens and company have retooled with the likes of goalkeepers Sami Hill and Ashleigh Johnson, defenders KK Clark and Alys Williams along with attackers Rachel Fattal, Kaleigh Gilchrist, and Kiley Neushul. Not to mention returning Olympic teammates and Gold Medalists Kami Craig, Annika Dries, Courtney Mathewson, and Melissa Seidemann. Coach Krikorian will try and navigate the team through a qualification process that only holds one avenue for Team USA to reach Brazil—the Olympic qualification tournament in early 2016, adding a new wrinkle and a new challenge for Steffens and company.

The competitor in Steffens remains as hungry as ever to achieve greatness and compete. "I'm not done, there is so much more I want to do," she says. "I've never won a World Championship. We've never even made the semifinals. You can do new things, have a new role, be a leader. I think that's why people stick with it—even being able to go to the next Olympics is a gift."

"I think she likes to leave her mark," Carlos says. "She is not done. She would like to leave her mark. Right now everybody from the (2012) team has a Gold, but very few will have two. She loves the challenge."

Rio de Janiero is looming in 2016 but first there is the upcoming college season with Stanford University followed by Pan American Games, World Championships, and qualification for the Olympic games. Steffens isn't going anywhere because there's still more competition to take place, still more leading to be done. She admits it will be tough to top London in regard to her individual statistics, but it doesn't matter because it was never about that in the first place.

"I think it is truly just my passion and my love for the sport, my love for the team; it's special. I don't remember the goals I scored, but I remember being in a circle with my teammates, the looks of my teammates—that's something not a lot of people get," she says. "Because of my stats everyone thinks that I shoot or score a lot, but if you look at any other tournaments, those weren't my stats at all. Whatever needs to be done, I will do. How do I do that (2012) again? It'll be in a completely different way—what is it that this team needs in this moment and what can I do to make sure it is happening?"

After competing with Stanford in 2015, Steffens will red-shirt the 2015-2016 year to focus on preparation for the Olympics; she deferred her entrance in 2011 to train for London. Following 2016, however it shakes out, she can return for her senior year in Palo Alto in 2016-2017 where at age 23 the youngest will likely be the oldest. From there it is too soon to say—she has thoughts of playing overseas, perhaps in Spain (her father's side has Spanish heritage), but she reminds herself to not look too far ahead: "I'd love to go abroad. I always have other dreams, too. I'm fortunate enough to go to Stanford. What that (next thing) might be I don't know."

There is time for Steffens to figure out the rest of her life; right now her team needs her. The United States is surprising nobody as they barrel toward another Olympic games following a summer that saw Gold Medals at the FINA World League Super Final, Kirishi Cup, and FINA World Cup. The opposition will be fierce as the battle for an Olympic berth begins to unfold.

Maggie sums it up best.

"My dream is still to be an Olympian and still be an Olympic champion," she says. "It hasn't changed—it just happened once before."

Spoken like a true competitor.

This article originally appeared in the FINA Aquatics World Magazine and will appear in the Winter 2014 issue of SkipShot Magazine.