This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at KU chapter.
This year, our KU Women’s Club Soccer Team has made its way into the NIRSA National Soccer Championships Tournament. Taylor Peacock (@TPeacock9), a dedicated and passionate sophomore wing forward on the team, devoted some of her time to chat with Her Campus about her KU experience. Because it’s clear Taylor has such a passion for her sport, I asked her to tell us a little about her history with soccer.
“Soccer is and always has been my life. I’ve always loved the game, and I’ve played since I was like five years old. It’s my way of relieving stress and winding down, it‘s like my getaway. My closest friends have always been made through sports, because once you’re on a team, it’s for life. I highly recommend club sports in college because I came to KU not knowing a single person, and once I made the team, I had twenty-five new friends just like that, and these are friends that last a lifetime.”
Clearly, soccer has had a very large impact on Taylor’s life. She is currently an Exercise Science Major with a Business Minor here at The University of Kansas, and dreams of one day using her experience and love of sports in her future career.
“I’m not really sure exactly what is I want to do yet, but I know I want to work with athletes. Whether it be coaching, helping them recover from injuries, or I may even go the business route with marketing for sports teams and venues. Last year, there was this Happy Feet program for the Boys & Girls Club here in Lawrence to help teach kids how to play. A couple of the girls on the team who had done it years prior asked some of us to consider coaching for two hours a week. The program consisted of children from kindergarten through third grade of Boys & Girls Clubs. We would just coach them, teach them some fun moves, help them learn the game. It was a great experience watching the kids learn and form their own love for soccer. Plus, they end up loving you at the end, and that made it all so worth it! That experience really helped me realize I want to have some type of career with sports.”
Taylor is just a busy bee in the athletics realm, whether it be playing herself, coaching, or going to school to finesse these skills, she does it all. But we all know how difficult it can be to manage our time just as full-time students, let alone traveling and practicing multiple times a week to play a sport. So how does she do it?
“It can be difficult to balance soccer and school. I use the non-practice days (we practice Monday, Wednesday, Friday) to do most of my homework, or between classes. During the season we travel basically every weekend if we don’t have a home game. Overall though, it’s not so bad, especially when you love what you’re doing.”
Well it’s fairly evident that all the practice and hard work has paid off, because Taylor and her team have made their way to the National Tournament this year, taking place in Memphis, Tennessee November 20-22. I asked Taylor to tell us about the team’s journey to get to where they are now, and she responded:
“This season is a little different than last season. Instead of paying your way into the Nationals, you have to win Regional’s to get there. Last year we were undefeated and went to Nationals, but only got to play two games because we got rained out. This year, we’ve had some ups and downs because we have new leadership, new coaches, changing of players, but it’s definitely been a great season. We’ve only lost one game and we’re on to Nationals this week, not to mention this year we’re actually in the competitive bracket, which means we can actually have a shot at winning the title, which would be amazing. I think we‘re ready because in a lot better shape now. We’ve been doing some fitness and some off-the-ball work. We‘re really coming together as a team now. In the beginning of the season our teamwork wasn’t the strongest, so it will benefit us now that we have togetherness on our side. The most important aspect of a team when it comes to winning is for everyone to be all in. Wanting to win, not giving up. This is our last tournament together as a team, so it’s a really good chance to prove ourselves and prove to everyone else that we can compete and we can win.”
What a season it’s been for our Jayhawks. They may not be a D-1 team, but that doesn’t make their handwork, determination, or passion any less. These women deserve some recognition for their achievements and love of soccer, because that’s what a sport is all about. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the star of the D-1 basketball team, or a scrub on an intramural team, if you love what you’re doing, that’s what matters, and these ladies clearly love what they do. Taylor is a truly dedicated member of her team, and her belief in them is undeniable. We’re rooting for you this week, ladies. Rock Chalk Jayhawk! Show ‘em what you’re made of!