Each week 12thMan.com checks in with a newcomer on the Aggie soccer squad. This week freshman Kenna Caldwell chatted about her time in Aggieland, the transition from Colorado and life as a goalkeeper.
What was the recruitment process like?
"When I first started looking at colleges, it was the beginning of my sophomore year. I was still pretty young, and I didn't really grasp what exactly it all meant to be able to play at a DI college. However, the more I was receiving emails from schools, I started to realize what was really going on. Then I had a few unofficial visits and participated in a few soccer camps. At the soccer camps, I was always very nervous not knowing anyone and just going with my parents. Finally, when I came here, first stepped on campus, met coach G [Guerrieri] and saw the facility, I just knew something in my heart was telling me to come here."
What did you know about Aggieland before coming?
"I knew absolutely nothing about Texas A&M. Honestly, I didn't even know A&M was a school until my friend from TCU, Brady, mentioned it to me. Then, I came to Texas for the Houston showcase, and my mom and I decided to drop by for a visit. That's when we met Coach G and he invited me to attend the soccer camp here. That's when I got a full grasp of the facility, the players and what Aggie Soccer was really like, and I was totally blown away."
How do you like being in Texas as opposed to Colorado?
"Well, I love it. I love being in the heat, because I feel like I thrive in the heat. Also, I get sick of the cold weather. Yet at the same time, the heat is getting pretty hot. I walk or bike to class in the morning, and if I wear a sweatshirt then I have to change to just a T-shirt by the end of the day. There's weird weather patterns here. For example, yesterday I woke up at like 3:45 in the afternoon to like a hurricane. I didn't know what was going on and none of my roommates were home. So, I was about to just hide in the pantry."
How was the California road trip?
"Oh, California was a blast! It was the first trip that allowed me to get super close with the players. Since I'm new here I didn't know everyone very well, and I roomed with Jenna Byers, who I didn't know well at all. She and I became very close by the end of the trip. My biggest takeaways would be that although we weren't used to the weather or the environment, in addition to being on the road a lot, the team was able to remain in control. Everyone still performed at their best level while coming away with a win and a tie and not letting playing at Pepperdine or the beautiful views of the ocean distract us."
It seems goalkeepers could have the most pressure on the team… how do you deal with the pressure of being the guardian of your team's fate?
"I just think you can't let it get to your head. I think it's good to have pressure, because it can boost your confidence in your ability to play. It helps me, not play cocky, remain under control and sacrifice myself while playing at my best ability. I write on my arms Philippians 4:13, which means I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength. I just say that to myself and it takes that nervousness away."
From a goalkeeper's prospective, what goes through your head before a penalty kick or free kick near the goal?
"Right before the ball is in the air I think to myself, 'you better save this.' That's really all there is to it. I would sacrifice my body and do whatever it takes for my teammates to keep the ball out of the goal."
Do you have an athlete that you looked up to as a kid?
"I really just had some players that I knew and looked up to as my role models. I didn't really follow any famous people. Mainly I looked up to the older girls in my club teams, like this one girl Brittany. She was a senior in high school, and I think I was about 11 years old. She was probably my biggest inspiration from watching her play at DU (Denver)."
At what age did you start playing?
"I started playing soccer when I was six, but I always played forward then. I don't believe I switched over to goalie until I was 12. Our goalie wasn't there that day for the game, so our coach said 'whoever can punt the ball the furthest gets to go in at goal.' It really just so happened that I could punt the ball the furthest, and then I played well that game. My coach asked me if I wanted to try sticking with goalie, and I said 'Sure! I might as well.' So I stuck with it and got pretty good."
At what age did you realize you could be a Division I athlete?
"I didn't truly realize I could play D-I until my sophomore year of high school. It was always a dream that I'd talk about with my teammates. It was never expected to come true; it seemed as though it would remain just a dream. It didn't completely hit me until I actually came here and played. I still feel like I'm out here living a dream"
What do you like to do in your free time?
"First I'd say my favorite thing to do is get snow cones with Shan [Shantel Hutton]. I don't really do much else. We play video games, too. She just got NBA 2K20, and sometimes we play GTA or Call of Duty. In 2K's I usually play with Golden State, because I like Steph Curry."
How did you become to be a Tik Tok celebrity?
"A lot of my Tik Tok's are super random videos. I mean, I don't even find them funny, but the average Tik Tok user is like 8-14 years old. There's like 800 million people on Tik Tok and I'd say 70% of them are between the ages eight and 14. So some 8-year-olds may find a video funny, while everyone else is just like, 'oh gosh that's a weird video.' What inspired me to get it was my sister, because she has a Tik Tok. She would always post dancing videos, and I wanted to watch them to make fun of her for it. She warned me not to get the app, because I'd get addicted. Of course, now I'm addicted. Actually, I just posted a grow up video of her the other night showing when she was super young and then what she's like now, and it went viral. She started getting made of fun of at school for it because of the old photos, so I deleted it."
What kind of music do you like?
"I'd say I listen to a big variety of music, but I especially like Kygo. In addition, I like Louis the Child and ODESZA. I grew to like that kind of music because of Red Rocks, which is an amphitheater in the mountains of Colorado. It's a nature-made theater with giant red rocks, and we go to a lot of concerts there."
What are your career aspirations after graduating college?
"Well, I think I have it figured out, because I'm planning on staying with my major in Business Marketing. From there I want to be an athlete's manager or see if I can get into journalism, like being a sideline reporter interviewing coaches and players."
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What was the recruitment process like?
"When I first started looking at colleges, it was the beginning of my sophomore year. I was still pretty young, and I didn't really grasp what exactly it all meant to be able to play at a DI college. However, the more I was receiving emails from schools, I started to realize what was really going on. Then I had a few unofficial visits and participated in a few soccer camps. At the soccer camps, I was always very nervous not knowing anyone and just going with my parents. Finally, when I came here, first stepped on campus, met coach G [Guerrieri] and saw the facility, I just knew something in my heart was telling me to come here."
What did you know about Aggieland before coming?
"I knew absolutely nothing about Texas A&M. Honestly, I didn't even know A&M was a school until my friend from TCU, Brady, mentioned it to me. Then, I came to Texas for the Houston showcase, and my mom and I decided to drop by for a visit. That's when we met Coach G and he invited me to attend the soccer camp here. That's when I got a full grasp of the facility, the players and what Aggie Soccer was really like, and I was totally blown away."
How do you like being in Texas as opposed to Colorado?
"Well, I love it. I love being in the heat, because I feel like I thrive in the heat. Also, I get sick of the cold weather. Yet at the same time, the heat is getting pretty hot. I walk or bike to class in the morning, and if I wear a sweatshirt then I have to change to just a T-shirt by the end of the day. There's weird weather patterns here. For example, yesterday I woke up at like 3:45 in the afternoon to like a hurricane. I didn't know what was going on and none of my roommates were home. So, I was about to just hide in the pantry."
How was the California road trip?
"Oh, California was a blast! It was the first trip that allowed me to get super close with the players. Since I'm new here I didn't know everyone very well, and I roomed with Jenna Byers, who I didn't know well at all. She and I became very close by the end of the trip. My biggest takeaways would be that although we weren't used to the weather or the environment, in addition to being on the road a lot, the team was able to remain in control. Everyone still performed at their best level while coming away with a win and a tie and not letting playing at Pepperdine or the beautiful views of the ocean distract us."
It seems goalkeepers could have the most pressure on the team… how do you deal with the pressure of being the guardian of your team's fate?
"I just think you can't let it get to your head. I think it's good to have pressure, because it can boost your confidence in your ability to play. It helps me, not play cocky, remain under control and sacrifice myself while playing at my best ability. I write on my arms Philippians 4:13, which means I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength. I just say that to myself and it takes that nervousness away."
From a goalkeeper's prospective, what goes through your head before a penalty kick or free kick near the goal?
"Right before the ball is in the air I think to myself, 'you better save this.' That's really all there is to it. I would sacrifice my body and do whatever it takes for my teammates to keep the ball out of the goal."
Do you have an athlete that you looked up to as a kid?
"I really just had some players that I knew and looked up to as my role models. I didn't really follow any famous people. Mainly I looked up to the older girls in my club teams, like this one girl Brittany. She was a senior in high school, and I think I was about 11 years old. She was probably my biggest inspiration from watching her play at DU (Denver)."
At what age did you start playing?
"I started playing soccer when I was six, but I always played forward then. I don't believe I switched over to goalie until I was 12. Our goalie wasn't there that day for the game, so our coach said 'whoever can punt the ball the furthest gets to go in at goal.' It really just so happened that I could punt the ball the furthest, and then I played well that game. My coach asked me if I wanted to try sticking with goalie, and I said 'Sure! I might as well.' So I stuck with it and got pretty good."
At what age did you realize you could be a Division I athlete?
"I didn't truly realize I could play D-I until my sophomore year of high school. It was always a dream that I'd talk about with my teammates. It was never expected to come true; it seemed as though it would remain just a dream. It didn't completely hit me until I actually came here and played. I still feel like I'm out here living a dream"
What do you like to do in your free time?
"First I'd say my favorite thing to do is get snow cones with Shan [Shantel Hutton]. I don't really do much else. We play video games, too. She just got NBA 2K20, and sometimes we play GTA or Call of Duty. In 2K's I usually play with Golden State, because I like Steph Curry."
How did you become to be a Tik Tok celebrity?
"A lot of my Tik Tok's are super random videos. I mean, I don't even find them funny, but the average Tik Tok user is like 8-14 years old. There's like 800 million people on Tik Tok and I'd say 70% of them are between the ages eight and 14. So some 8-year-olds may find a video funny, while everyone else is just like, 'oh gosh that's a weird video.' What inspired me to get it was my sister, because she has a Tik Tok. She would always post dancing videos, and I wanted to watch them to make fun of her for it. She warned me not to get the app, because I'd get addicted. Of course, now I'm addicted. Actually, I just posted a grow up video of her the other night showing when she was super young and then what she's like now, and it went viral. She started getting made of fun of at school for it because of the old photos, so I deleted it."
What kind of music do you like?
"I'd say I listen to a big variety of music, but I especially like Kygo. In addition, I like Louis the Child and ODESZA. I grew to like that kind of music because of Red Rocks, which is an amphitheater in the mountains of Colorado. It's a nature-made theater with giant red rocks, and we go to a lot of concerts there."
What are your career aspirations after graduating college?
"Well, I think I have it figured out, because I'm planning on staying with my major in Business Marketing. From there I want to be an athlete's manager or see if I can get into journalism, like being a sideline reporter interviewing coaches and players."
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