A Very Coco Christmas

It seems that one of our freshmen, Courtney Garth, who picked up the nickname "Steamboat" during the season, is now also answering to "Coco." Is this, like the Steamboat name, a reference to her Colorado roots? Is it because she openly lusted after the Swiss Miss cocoa at the Forester White Elephant party? I'm not sure and perhaps it's okay if the coaches remain in the dark on this one...

This is the first of what I hope will be a continuing feature this offseason--a kind of meet-the-team spread. There is much more to us than the roster; there are personalities and stories and roommates and friends and activities that go far beyond a bunch of jersey numbers and hometowns. And the stat sheet, which reduces everything to minutes played and goals scored is far less than the big picture. So here, without further ado, a freshman midfielder from Steamboat Springs, Colorado...Courtney Garth!

Steamboat and her sisters in (wait for it) Steamboat, CO. Love the side-pony Boat. Hello to canines Oreo and Rosie and older sisters Casey and Mallory

What were you thinking when you got to school on the first day of preseason? Were you nervous?

Yes I was nervous entering preseason. I grew up in a small town playing with the same girls my whole soccer career. Now I was surrounded by new coaches and new teammates. Preseason was my chance to prove myself; to show my fitness level, my strength, and my talent on the field. Proving my abilities to the coaches was not the only thing on my mind. I had to prove myself to returning players and upperclassmen, I didn’t want to be seen as the little weak baby freshman. As the week went on though, my nervousness and anxiety turned to excitement and anticipation.

Was it hard to get to know the girls? Were the upperclassmen mean? Were you homesick?

The girls on the team were very friendly and easy to get to know. LA (Lisa Sorensen) was of course very friendly since I was her recruit the year before. There are always the upperclassmen on the team who seem more intimidating than others. For me, the two upperclassmen that instilled the most fear in me without saying a single word to me were Webs (Emily Weber), and believe it our not I actually thought Isabel had somewhat of an intimidation factor. Of course as the season went on my thoughts on these two players changed. They are both very fun, and friendly on and off the field. Since the girls on the team were so easy to get to know, I never really got homesick. The only time I got homesick was during the first two days after I arrived at school when I had to sleep in my room alone because my roommates hadn’t come to school yet.

Kate Fridholm and Boat

What thing do you have in your dorm room that you couldn't do without?

This was a difficult question. There are many items in my room that I wouldn’t want to do without, including my Spongebob Squarepants blanket. The one thing I couldn’t do without though is my guitar. I can’t say I’m a very good guitar player, but it does keep me company when my roommates are away for hockey games, and it provides my room with entertainment whenever Emily (one of my roommates) and I decide we want to sing a duet to our other roommate Maeve. My guitar is also a way for me to relieve my stress from school and soccer.

Do you live with a soccer player? Tell us about your roommate--or roommates in general.

Both of my roommates are hockey players. They are both from Boston, MA. I think I got very lucky with my roommate situation. I love both of my roommates; we all get along extremely well. I was nervous about rooming with them when I discovered that they were friends and had played on the same hockey team. I thought I was going to end up being the third wheel. I figured they would have inside jokes and want to do everything together and almost forget about me. It is the complete opposite. Often times we eat dinner together and lunch, and we also study together in the library. We always find each other on the weekends and make time to hang out. My roommates are great.

A roommate pic. One of these cute kids plays soccer. Can you guess which one?

Were you in good enough shape? Will you do things differently next summer to prepare?

For the most part, entering the season I felt like I was in pretty good shape. I was able to complete the 2 mile test, the shuttles, and most of the lifting tests. That being said, I think I could have come in in a little better shape. I could have been stronger in the weight room, and quicker with the shuttles. This summer I plan to pretty much follow the same routine that I did last summer, but I need to mentally push myself harder. I need to strictly follow the workout packet that coach gives us and I think if I do that, my fitness for next season will be great.


What was your favorite part about playing soccer? Your least favorite part?

My favorite part about playing soccer this season was the higher level of play that I encountered. For me I think my freshman season was one in which I really discovered what it takes to be a strong player at the division III level and for me to figure out how to adapt and adjust to the speed of play. The competitive factor at the collegiate level is also far different from high school and I embraced that as well. My least favorite part of the season was of course the end of our season when we lost in the conference tournament. Honestly I didn’t really have a least favorite part about soccer season, I loved every minute of it.

How were your classes? Was your schedule good for practice or would you arrange it differently? Were you ever completely overwhelmed by homework and road trips and practices?

For the most part my classes were good. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I was done with class by 11am and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I was done by 2:20pm. I always had time to finish my homework or talk to professors and I rarely missed class for away trips since I finished class in the morning most days. There were only a few times when I felt overwhelmed by homework and road trips, but it was because of my great ability to procrastinate. Honestly time management is key during soccer season.



You tried out for hockey but didn’t make the team. Will you try again? Will you miss it?

I was pretty disappointed in myself when I didn’t make the hockey team. I grew up in a ski town where most of my friends skied, but I played hockey. I love watching and playing hockey, so it was very disappointing when I didn’t make the team. My performance in try outs was not what is should have been. My nerves did get the best of me and I failed to prove that I could play at the collegiate level. With that said, I haven’t yet decided if I will try out again. I do miss playing, but it was also nice to have a break after the soccer season. My decision as to whether I try out again will come later in the spring.

I'm sure everyone in this huddle agrees that the hockey team is crazy for thinking that Steamboat couldn't help them. Well, everyone except Bri, she looks a little skeptical



Thanks to Courtney and her sisters for the thoughtful answers and good photos.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you from Maine to Arizona, from South Porcupine, Ontario to Santa Monica, California. Enjoy the holiday spirit, the extra sleep, and the time with your families.

Much love from the Foresters.

Woohoo!

Congrats LA! Named to second team All-Region! Only player from the Midwest Conference on the list. Very impressive.(Must be the headband)

Full release here

On soccer vacation and not getting much sleep

An eventful week here for your Foresters.

Sunday afternoon was our end of the season awards banquet and we learned that we are a pretty smart group. We had 15 upperclassmen eligible to receive an award for Academic All-Conference, 10 of them had won the honor with a GPA of 3.2 or above. Becky Esrock received the award for the Forester with the highest overall GPA last year. And outgoing captain Christine Sorensen, looking stressed out over having to finish 3 papers before Monday, is no doubt going to do incredibly well on each of them.

A quick but hearty congratulations to our MVP Emily Weber, our MIP Molly Shaw, and our newly christened captains Mira Trebilcock and Isabel Brown. I think we have already mentioned our first and second team all-conference athletes, but just in case: Emily Weber, BZ Greene, Becky Esrock and Lisa Sorensen were all selected by opposing coaches for that honor. Well done ladies.


The pile before we started selecting

Yesterday afternoon we had our annual team White Elephant gift exchange/team meeting. We held a gift exchange and most people seemed like they were satisfied. Suzi Milic came away with a new mug and some hot chocolate (with marshmallows!), Wisconsin-native Anya Moran escaped with her green and yellow Packer scarf*, Kate Fridholm secured a children's toy that is sure to give her hours of enjoyment, and Isabel Brown was spotted munching on the Nerds candy that came as part of her gift.

*Anya's family had 48 lbs of Turkey and 10 pies at their Thanksgiving celebration. I suspect if I were a member of the Moran family I would weigh 600lbs.

Of course, there is more to life to soccer, the soccer team, and soccer team meetings as Mira Trebilcock proved when she went dressed as Mario to a hockey team event. She's like Landon Donovan, we're okay with loaning her out once our season is over, just as long as she remembers who butters her bread.

Further evidence of smart kids: these outfits took only 15 minutes to assemble.


Last day of classes today for these kids. They are going to need all those smarts in their finals that begin on Friday. Fingers crossed they all keep doing incredibly well in their studies!