University of Minnesota Athletics
Chalk Talk: Mitchell Soukup
12/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Gymnastics
What is your favorite thing about being a gymnast for the University of Minnesota?
I’m extremely prideful of being a part of the University of Minnesota and being a gymnast here. I feel like I’m in a family. It doesn’t feel like a team. It feels like family. All these guys are my brothers and I’m just really proud of being at this university.
What is one thing you’ve been working on hard to improve on this year?
Working on my health would be the biggest thing for me. I’ve been communicating with Erin, our trainer, a lot and just trying to get healthy for the season.
What goals do you have, both for yourself and for the team, this season?
The number one team goal for this year would be getting day two of NCAAs. It’s been a long time, six or seven years I think, since we’ve been there. It’s pretty much our goal every year and I really feel like we could do it this year. Individually, I would love to get to the point of being one of the top guys on rings in the nation. It’s going to take a lot of work but it’s very doable.
Where’s your favorite place to hang out on campus and why?
I really like Purple Onion, actually. It’s a neat little spot and you can just grab a coffee or eat and it has really good vibes.
What type of food do you get there?
I had the eggs benedict this morning and it was bomb.
What is one thing you always do, personally, on the day of a competition?
Every morning we have a meet, I always get my signature breakfast - peanut butter and oatmeal. I’ve always done that. My mom made it for me when I was little and I just kept it rolling.
Have you kept any traditions from being a club gymnast that you do here at the college level?
That’s one of them, the breakfast tradition and another one would be that I pray before every meet.
What is that one moment this season that you’re really looking forward to?
We’re a really young team. The one moment that I really want to see is all the younger guys stepping up. They don’t have a lot of experience, but, just seeing them use their full potential would be awesome.
What are the biggest differences between your home state of Texas and Minnesota?
First of all, it would definitely be the weather. I went home for Thanksgiving and it’s like 70 degrees there. It’s great. The second biggest thing would probably be my favorite restaurant, Whataburger. My favorite thing would probably be the honey barbeque chicken strip sandwich.
With just having surgery recently, do you anticipate to be back and ready for action come comp season?
Yeah. Right now, we’re kind of looking at mid-February. That would give me four meets before Big Tens and I feel like that’s enough, given my experience in the past.
Have you had to overcome injuries in the past too?
Freshman year, I went through three surgeries and had to sit out the whole year. I came back in the middle of summer and had to get everything together to ready to compete my first year, sophomore year. I have a lot of experience from that and we have a great trainer, great guys and great coaches, so it makes it that much easier.
What kind of mindset do you have going through overcoming injuries?
It is tough. I would say my mindset is what probably helped me out the most in the first place and now. I just have to stay positive. Even if I’m limited in doing anything in the gym, I’m supporting my teammates and always having a smile on your face definitely helps out.
