Kelsey Baker Q&A
10/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Junior defender Kelsey Baker (
Q: How would you describe your time at Pepperdine so far?
A: “I would definitely say that I’m enjoying myself. It was a little rough transition coming from
Q: The team got off to a slow start, but has been playing really well lately. What do you think can happen the rest of this season?
A: “We’ve talked about it and I’m pretty sure everyone is serious, but for the rest of the season we want no more losses. We want to take the WCC and make it back to the NCAA Tournament. I think it’s a realistic goal at this point.”
Q: You’re not the biggest defender and you seem to throw your body around and take a lot of abuse from the opponents’ bigger forwards. How do you feel after a match or waking up the next day?
A: “I am pretty sore right now. It’s just part of the game and you’ve just got to learn to love it. Kayla (Stolte) is my roommate and last night I told her how sore I was. And she said imagine how much more sore you would be if we lost. That’s very true. I’m not that big but I’m not scared of any forward I match up against. I’ve pretty much experienced very pain you can possibly experience. So I’m not too worried. Last year against
Q: What motivates you?
A: “I try to play my hardest, mostly for my teammates, because I look for inspiration from them during the game, and I hope that they can do the same with me. I know that if playing my hardest can inspire one other person on the team then I’m doing my job. And for myself, I want to play the best that I possibly can.”
Q: Do you have a favorite moment from your time so far with the Pepperdine women’s soccer program?
A: “There are so many. No one moment stands out, but there a lot of really good moments I’ve had with the team: being on the road, winning, team bonding off the field, lots of memories that I’ll have the rest of my life.”
Q: Do you have any pregame rituals or superstitions?
A: “I listen to the same play list on my Ipod. I have been wearing my hair different. I first started French braiding it but then we weren’t doing very well, so I stopped doing that, because I thought it was bad luck. So I guess I am kind of superstitious. The girls on my team started French braiding half of my hair, and then I would braid the rest in a ponytail. The first time we did that was against
Q: What did you do this summer?
A: “I worked at my high school at Punahou. I got a really good job coaching soccer in their summer sports school. It was really good to give back to something that has been a part of my life and is really important to me. I hope to maybe work there someday, so it was a good first step.”
Q: Talk about your summer trip from 2006, traveling with the Pepperdine women’s soccer team to Europe and seeing some of the World Cup in
A: “It was so awesome being in an atmosphere where ‘football’ is their number one favorite sport. Everyone that we were around admired the sport. It was a place where everyone appreciates soccer as much as we do. Before the U.S.-Italy game we were standing in line to get hot dogs and snacks and stuff, and the fans were so crazy. A bunch of
Q: When did you start playing soccer?
A: “I think I was 5 or 6, starting with AYSO like most kids. Being good at it, I really enjoyed doing it. A lot of my friends that stopped playing said there’s too much running, but that was never an issue for me.”
Q: Was it any different, or similar, for you going from living in an island paradise to the beautiful campus in
A: “I would say that the only thing similar is that I can still see the
Q: What made you decide to leave
A: “Basically my parents told me that I had to leave. So it was trying to find the right fit for me. I’d say I knew I needed to be somewhere that climate-wise was like what I was used to, or otherwise I would not survive four years. The coaches, the girls, everything really fit for me here.”
Q: What’s it like being a student-athlete at Pepperdine?
A: “It’s hard, but it’s a good challenge. I really enjoy when there are people who come to our games and really get into it. Either they do or they don’t know much about soccer, but either way, they’re very complimentary and nice. It’s good being a part of the school and the athletics program.”
Q: What do you hope to do with your major (public relations) and minor (sports medicine), which are very different?
A: “I started off as a sports med major but realized it wasn’t going to work out with soccer and the time constraints. My next aspiration was to work with a Nike or a bigger sports company and to be a brand rep, to distribute goods, be back and forth between consumer and the company, and things like that. But thinking lately, especially this summer when I was working for my high school, I kind of want to be the first female athletic director at my high school. I think that could be a really cool job.”
Q: Do you see yourself continuing to stay in soccer one way or another after your college days end?
A: “Yes. My mom was my coach for my entire life and that was an interesting experience. I didn’t know if coaching was something that I wanted to do. But I think that’s changed now. I’m not sure why. My mom still plays soccer, there’s a women’s league in
Q: The women’s soccer team has done a lot missions work or community service. What have you done?
A: “An athlete who was a sports medicine major started a few years ago this thing called adaptive aquatics. It’s in the pool every Monday, working with mentally challenged people from the area. I haven’t been able to do it this semester because I have class but in the past I made it a point to do that every Friday morning. I did a lot of that at home also. I coached a Special Olympics team in soccer and my club team did a lot of volunteering. I find it very rewarding to give back and see how happy it makes others.”
Q: You put in your bio that you enjoy playing with your five dogs. What’s special about your dogs?
A: “I’ve been around dogs my whole life. My family got a little Jack Russell who was about five months older than me. So when I came into the family I already had a little friend. She passed away when she was 18 so she was there for a huge part of my life. I just have this weird bond with dogs. I absolutely love them. I guess I get that from my mom. She’s rescued three of our dogs, either from the Humane Society or other places. I love having five dogs and I imagine myself having that many when I’m older.”
