Meet the newcomers: Alison Schmalz
June 19, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas – Alison Schmalz plays for Sockers FC Chicago and Schaumburg High School (Schaumburg, Ill.). Her club team was the 2009 Disney Showcase Champions and the 2010 and 2011 State Champions. They also qualified for the 2011National Championship Tournament. At Schaumburg, Schmalz was a four-year starter and a three-time All-Conference player. She was also named to the All-Area squad during her junior and senior years. Her team was the 2011 Regional Champions and played in the Sectional Final. Schmalz has also been active in the Olympic Development Program as a member of the ODP Illinois State Team and earned status as an ODP Region II Pool Player. Schmalz recently spent some time with TexasSports.com as she prepares for her freshman season with the Longhorns. Being from up near Chicago, what drew you down to Texas? I’ve always liked the south because I’m a huge country music fan. I feel like if I belong anywhere, it’s somewhere in the south because that’s where I fit in the best. Going to the campus, as soon as I got there I knew that I would fit. Everyone was nice. Everywhere you go people will help you get around because it’s a huge campus. I just feel like Texas is going to be an amazing experience. Yeah, it’s far from home but you kind of have to grow up and take advantage of the opportunities. I feel like this is once in a lifetime. It’s not one I’m willing to pass up. How would you describe yourself as a player? Well, on the back line I could play stopper, sweeper or left back. I could play right back. I’m comfortable with all the positions because I’ve played them all over the past 12 or 13 years. I have a lot of speed so I try and use that an advantage. I try to keep the team organized. What goals and dreams do you want to pursue athletically while at UT? At Texas, the older girls will be pushing me along which will be so much more helpful because I’m far away from home and a freshman. As soon as I get to campus, I feel like my whole game is just going to grow. They’re going to be pushing me to my limits and more, which is what I need. To play on the collegiate level has been a dream of mine since the first day I played soccer.
What excites you about training under Coach Kelly and her staff? They just love the game. You can tell they are just so passionate about it. Everything they say is all about winning, and I’m such a competitive person and I love to win. I feel like we share a lot of the same love and heart for the game. They are so friendly, but you know that they aren’t going to be your friend. They’ll be your mentor and they’ll kick you into shape and keep pushing you harder and harder and harder until they get the best of you. What are your early impressions of the summer conditioning plan, and what are your goals personally before you arrive for preseason? Looking at it the first day I got it, I was kind of afraid to open it because I knew that it was going to be extremely difficult. When I opened it up I saw that they had everyday planned out. The first week I did the sprints with my dad who is time-keeping for me and laying out all the distances. The first one was kind of shaky, but then my dad asked me how bad I wanted it and I could drop 10 seconds off of each sprint. That motivation comes from just wanting to be out there and playing, I don’t want to sit on the bench. I want to get in the tip-top shape. What are your academic plans while studying at UT? I hope to keep the highest grade point average possible. I’ll probably go to the academic center more hours than I need to. I’m not quite sure what I’m going to do or major in, but I think my first year, my biggest thing academically is going to be to try to keep my grades up high and try to figure out what I want to do. |
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