Q: What sport did you play in high school?   

A: Soccer 

Q: What is the most memorable moment from playing that sport?  

A: I was pretty aggressive on the field. I was pretty calm in my classes, but I would take out all my pent-up frustrations out on the other team. Needless to say there were a few broken noses and fingers as a result of me kicking the ball too hard and someone’s face (our hand blocking their face) would get in the way. 

Q: Why did you choose to participate in your sport?    

A: I played soccer for travel teams since I was 8, and I had always loved playing. 

Q: They say some sports are lifelong. Have you continued to play or tried to play your sport since? 

A: Yes, I played intramural soccer in college and was the JV girls soccer coach and assistant varsity girls soccer coach at SHS for the first 4 years I taught here. I haven’t played lately though. 

Q: What is one sport that you wish you had played in high school?  

A: None really. I was also in marching and concert band, so I wouldn’t have had the time anyway. 

Q: What is one thing everyone should know about the sport you played? 

A: Not all soccer players are over-dramatic and flop on the field pretending to be hurt. 

Q: Did your teammates have a nickname for you? 

A: Babb (It was my last name.) 

Q: Who was your most influential coach, and what is one thing you remember learning from them?  

A: My dad. He used to take our high school team and coach us on a travel team during the off season. I played center mid-field, so he taught me a lot about controlling the field and how to “see” the entire field much like a quarterback has to in football. All the girls on the high school team really liked our high school coach, but he didn’t know anything about soccer. He used to have a dip in his mouth all the time and was always spitting on our shoes in huddle. He would run up and down the sidelines during the games and yell “Stay wiffer!” It took us a while to realize he was saying “Stay with her.”  

Q: How do you think your sport prepared you for life after high school? 

A: I definitely learned how to be a good teammate and work with a team. It’s important to try to get your teammates pumped up and focused. 

Q: What was your biggest sports related accomplishment in high school?   

A: Lettering all 4 years of high school, earning the coach’s award my freshman year, and scoring the very first goal ever for Duluth High School girls soccer. (My freshman year was the first year the high school had a girls team.)