In Their Own Words: Colleen Quinn

Oct. 29, 2007

Throughout the course of the 2007 season members of the <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Kansas soccer team will share their thoughts in the first person. Today, senior goalkeeper Colleen Quinn reflects back on her four years in the Crimson and Blue and talks about the next step for her.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>

On returning to Colorado and posting a shutout (last weekend):

“That was probably the most excited that I’ve been for a game, just because I knew there were going to be so many people in the stands that I knew. I probably had 30 people at that game. Usually I’m pretty nervous when I know there are people to see me, but I was just really excited to play, and I don’t think it could have gone any better.”

On the difference in the team now compared to earlier in the year:

“We’ve played so well as a team (lately). Throughout the year, we had some pretty good performances, but we’ve been a lot more consistent lately. The defense has done so well in front of me. We’re playing well at the right time of the year.”

On choosing to play at Kansas:

“It helped that (Kelsey Archuleta and Afton Sauer) had already committed to play at Kansas. And it was really between here and one other school. I took both visits, and after coming here, I saw that the team chemistry at KU was so much better. Everybody really got along, the team and the coaches, which is important to me. I’m all about relationships and being close to people; I’m not here just for the soccer. These are people you’re going to spend 95 percent of your time with, so you need to have good chemistry.”

On choosing to play soccer at an early age:

“My parents told me that I could do ballet or I could play soccer, and I’m not about to put a tutu on.”

On when she realized she was going to be able to play soccer at a Division I school:

“When I was 13, I had the opportunity to go to a soccer camp at the University of North Carolina and after going to the camp, I realized how much I liked soccer and I wanted to do everything I could to get better and play at the top level of competitive soccer. It was after that when I joined Afton (Sauer) and Kelsey’s (Archuleta) club team in Denver. That was probably the biggest step I took which got me to college.”

On what she does to stay in the game when she doesn’t face a shot for a long stretch:

“It’s difficult. I try to communicate with my defenders because that keeps me attached to them. That’s the main thing I do. I probably don’t do this as much as I should, but mentally, I try to envision what could happen in different situations. I move around a lot to try to make sure I’m in the right place for the ball and stay focused. It’s hard if there are dogs there.”

On her first experience longtime roommate and teammate Emily Strinden:

“I was roommates with Emily freshman year in (Hashinger Hall), and the first night we were having the whole awkward conversation where you ask where you’re from and who your friends were and all that. Well, we had been talking for a while, and I start to tell her a story when she starts snoring. She had fallen asleep. When I first met her, she was that `snobby blonde girl from Texas’. Little did I know, we had the same personality.”

On studying abroad in Italy next semester:

“For 16 years, I played soccer. That’s all I’ve done, that’s all I’ve had time for. It’s something that had nothing to do with soccer and it’s a good experience that will help take me to the next level. I don’t think I’ve always been able to take full advantage of the opportunities that college provided, because I’ve always been busy with soccer. I had a little crisis situation going on (earlier this year). I had no idea what I was going to do with my future and I have nothing to put on my resume besides soccer, I had zero real life work experience. I don’t do stuff on my own, it’s always with the team. I’m not usually a big risk-taker, so this is something that can help me with all of that.”

On how she’s going to remember about playing soccer at KU:
“I just want to be able to look back and not regret anything. You never want to look back and say `oh, I should have worked harder, or done this’. I don’t think I will. I put a lot into it, and I’ve taken a lot out of it.”