In Their Own Words: Kim Boyer

Oct. 11, 2007

During the 2007 season, members of the <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas soccer team will offer their thoughts on various topics in the first person. Today, sophomore forward/midfielder Kim Boyer is profiled.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

On the difference in her play the last two weeks:

“In the last two weeks, we’ve started conference play, so I think that changes how I approach things a little bit. Last year, everything was new; you didn’t know what to expect at all. This year, I know what to expect a little bit more. When you get to conference, you want to be better, because that’s what it comes down to.”

“I think (early in the year) when we played all of those harder teams, made it rough for us. But we seem to have more confidence when we got to conference play, because we know what’s out there. We’ve seen the best, and we know what to expect.”

On coming off the bench compared to starting:

“Of course everybody wants to start, that’s what you work for. But sometimes I feel like I am a better player when I come off the bench. You just have that break in between warm ups and the game, and that makes it a little easier for me. When you start, everything is intense right away, but when you come off the bench you kind of get to relax and ease into it.”

“I don’t really look at the other team (when I’m on the bench). I just prepare for how we’re going to play. I look to see what I can contribute. I look at who I’m going to sub in for, what’s working for them and what isn’t, and I think about what I can do better.”

On what she brings the Jayhawks:

“I think I bring speed to the team. Up front we have a lot great players that you can play the ball to, but I’m the type of player who can use my speed and get through the seams. I’m also a little taller, so that helps sometimes on corners and free kicks.”

On the Jayhawks’ sophomore class:

“We’ve had that experience from last year; all four of us (myself, Monica Dolinsky, Estelle Johnson and Shannon McCabe) got to play quite a bit last year. Shannon had quite a season last year, and so did Monica and Estelle. I guess I did too. This year, we’ve gotten comfortable with each other, how we all play and that’s helped us a lot.”

“The four of us are all totally different, personality-wise. I know for me, it was a little bit of a struggle early, just because I didn’t know anyone else before I came here. Sometimes our personalities clashed a little bit. But I think gradually we got to know each other better and now we all get along great. It’s fun getting to know different people.”

“When I was looking at where I wanted to go to college, I looked at a lot of different places, but it came down to Colorado and here. One of the reasons I chose to come here was because it was away from home and I knew a lot of people who were going to Colorado. CU probably would have been more comfortable for me right away, but I felt to grow more, I needed to go out of state somewhere.”

On why she chose to pursue soccer over other sports:

“When I was little, I actually hated basketball. I wanted nothing to do with it. Granted, I do like the sport better now, but back then I hated it. I tried to play volleyball a little bit when I was younger. I liked it, but never really thought of it as a competitive sport for me.”

“With soccer, I had been playing since I was four. I had played on competitive teams, been through tryouts, done all of that, so that was my sport. I think I knew I wanted to play collegiately when schools started recruiting me in high school.”

On how she got the nickname “Timmy”:

“That was all Coach (Francis). One time last year, we were at practice and he grouped us up in a huddle and was trying to tell us what players were scrimmaging together. And he pointed at me and said `Tim, up front’, and he kept going through, because he didn’t realize what he had said. And then when everybody was like, `Who are you talking about?’, he figured what he had said. He said that he wasn’t sure how it happened, because he hadn’t coached boys for a few years, but the nickname stuck. I know Kelsey (Archuleta) still calls me that, and so does (Volunteer Assistant Coach) Jenny (Anderson-Hammond).”

On her taste in music:

“I am really into the rap scene, but I do have a lot of different kinds of music on my iPod. I have some country on there, like Rascal Flatts. I like some rock, like Limp Bizkit. I really do love oldies too. I’m a big Beatles fan, because my dad loves the Beatles, so growing up that’s what we listened to. My range is kind of all over the place. I even like jazz. My mom has some jazz CDs that I’ve put on my computer. They help me relax.”

“For pregame music though, I definitely need the rap and the rock. I need to get pumped up.”