NAOTB: Reese Rupe
McKinzie Green, Athletics Communications
Each week, McKinzie Green of 12thMan.com checks in with a newcomer on the Texas A&M soccer team.
This week Green chats with Reese Rupe. Rupe is working back from an injury from over the summer. Both her parents were All-Americans and are enshrined in the Texas A&M Athletics Hall of Fame. Her mother Bryn (Blalack) Rupe played soccer for the Aggiees while her father Ryan Rupe played nine years of professional baseball, including four years with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and one year with the Boston Red Sox.
Are you a big Taylor Swift fan?
I’m a huge Taylor Swift fan. I love Taylor Swift and going to the concert with the whole team was just really fun. I really enjoyed the Taylor Swift Night we did at Ellis Field. It was so cool how marketing did that. So yes, I do love Taylor Swift.
How have you been treated by the upperclassmen?
They’ve been treating me so well. Something that Coach G always says is “Your team is your family.” That’s so true and with me being injured right now, I get to be with Laney Carroll more because she’s medically retired. Being able to spend time with her has been so great. Kate (Colvin) has battled her way through things right now. So, I’ve grown closer to her and it’s funny because we grew up in the same area and didn’t even know that because she’s older than me. But the upperclassmen are great and so nice. I love the family dynamic.
What is your injury?
I tore my ACL and meniscus. I got surgery at the end of June and I’m (about four) months post-operation right now. So, it’s going well. I describe it as a learning experience because if it had to happen, you have to learn something from it.
How has the process been getting back to 100%?
Recovery has been good. I just try to go in every day with a smile on my face because I have to be here in order to get better. I just want to get back to my sport. It creates such a greater love for your sport because I would do anything to go practice right now. It’s hard because growing up, sometimes you don’t feel like going to practice. But I’m so excited to get back because my love for the game has grown so much since being hurt.
How does it feel to play soccer at the same school your mom played at?
Coming here, I was like I don’t want to be like my parents because my dad played baseball here, too. I didn’t want to go to the same school as my parents. But I do think it’s amazing and it’s something I can share with her. It’s really cool. I feel like I’m doing something that she did, and I love my mom. It’s awesome to be like my mom, but it’s weird too.
How cool is it to be the first ever mother-daughter duo to play soccer at A&M?
I take it for granted now, but I’ll probably realize how cool is it when I’m older. Right now I’m like oh, there’s a picture of my mom, cool. But I feel like embracing it just makes it better. But like I said earlier, it’s something we can share together, which makes it fun.
How has the adjustment been from high school to college?
It’s been good. Since junior year of high school, I’ve been really independent. My parents are going to laugh when they read this because they know it’s true. But I wasn’t home a lot. I did my own things. So, my transition from high school to college in that aspect wasn’t hard. But I feel like soccer was harder. I like being faced with challenges and new things. So, I’m excited to see the growth in myself with being a freshman again and how different I am at the end of senior year. Going back to the upperclassmen – this is funny, but us freshmen will be doing things and the upperclassmen are like ‘we did the same exact thing your age.’. They seem so old now. But I’m excited to see where I’ll be.
Who would you say is your biggest soccer inspiration?
This is going to sound cliché, but my mom. I love how she lives her life and how hard working she is. I feel like what she accomplished when she played soccer was really cool. Growing up, you feel like there’s expectations, but as I’ve gotten older and just looking back, my mom has been my mentor.
What do you think are your best soccer attributes?
I can read the game very well and distributing and playmaking comes easy to me. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve gotten bigger. I personally like the aggression side of the game – being physical. So that’s kind of what I miss right now, being injured. I feel like I haven’t made contact with someone in a really long time. But I also like the aerial game and heading the ball.
What are your earliest memories of playing soccer?
That’s an easy one. My mom coached our…I keep talking about my mom. But she coached my 5-year-old soccer team and we’re on our neighborhood field and she would set up the whole field and we’d be dribbling around a box, and she’d bring her speaker out and she would play Low by Flo Rida and she would say that we all need to dribble as fast as we can for the whole entire song. She would call cues and every time we hear that song, she’s like can you remember? I’m always like, yes. Then it rained one time, and she made us slide. We’re 5-year-old’s and she’s making us work on sliding.
What’s your favorite thing about being in Aggieland so far?
I just like being in College Station. It’s the little things, like everyone’s nicer here and everyone talks to you. I like having friends here. It’s a really good community and it’s fun to talk to and meet new people every day. I enjoy the socialization aspect.
Who in life is your biggest inspiration?
My mom, I just want to be her when I grow up. She’s so strong and smart. Growing up you never want to admit that your parents are right. But when I turned 18, I’m an adult now, and I realized that my mom is always right. I can’t name you one time she was wrong. I call her now and ask her about something and if she agrees with me, I think that it has to be right because she’s always right.
