Hope Solo: Iconic Star Struggles on Dancing with the Stars Debut

If you were looking for Hope Solo to dominate the field like she does the pitch, you would have been disappointed on Monday night's Dancing with the Stars season 13 premier. 

There was a flurry of excitement before opening night. The nation turned on the TV expecting to see Hope Solo blow away the competition. 

The fact that she didn't should hardly give pause as Solo was hardly the worst dancer of the night. That distinction goes to my second-favorite contestant on the cast, Metta World Peace—formerly Ron Artest. 

The Lakers forward had the same issues that hit Solo, but on a grander scale. He was overly muscular in his cha cha, and lacked the technical footwork the judges crave. 

Solo did enough to be wildly optimistic for her future on the show. Episode 1 is always filled with nerves. 

These stars are taken from their comfort zone and tasked with learning an art form that is foreign to them. There are going to be growing pains.

Solo was rough, but in no way a failure. That puts her in the driver's seat as far as I am concerned. We can expect Solo to improve as every star does in each season; Sugar Ray Leonard is exempt from this sentiment. 

By the end of her waltz, the judges informed Solo that she had some work to do, which was evident from her routine. She had the basics, but lacked one thing: grace. 

I think a great deal of that has to do with comfort. This is a woman who has been trained to attack, not submit. She pounces on balls driven to the net with a furious passion. 

On Monday, she was asked to take a step back and be led by her partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Instead of pouncing, she was asked to gracefully step in rhythm. 

Each aspect of the routine is counter to her training as a world-class keeper. The good news is that she is a magnificent athlete who will flourish once the muscles are trained to dance in tandem with the judges' wishes. 

Once that happens, the beauty and personality will win over the voters. This is Solo's competition to lose, and she will show that by this time next week.