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On Target with Katie Koker
11/23/2020 9:22:00 AM | Soccer
Arriving on campus as a transfer out of Marquette University in the fall of 2019, Katie Koker wasted no time before making an impact on the field for the Gophers. During her debut season with Minnesota, Koker started the team's Aug. 22 season opener and appeared in each of the first four games of the campaign.
By season's end, Koker registered two starts and appeared in a grand total of 12 games as a defender. Now, as the Maroon & Gold turn the page and look ahead to their next season of competition, Koker is primed to have an increased role as she gains more familiarity with the system in her junior campaign.
GS: What was the pulse like throughout fall practice?
KK: "We always show up with the effort and the grit, no matter what. We're putting the work in. We're doing Corey Peterson's workouts and getting touches in. Coming back into training, we've done this a couple times now, where it's just been all-out effort no matter what. No matter what gets thrown at us, we're staying on track."
GS: How helpful is it for this year's freshmen to get these extra reps in?
KK: "More than anything, everyone who comes in is obviously a good player, and it's more of how do you mesh with the team and how can you use your individual strengths to benefit the team. With these six new freshmen coming in, each one of them has their own individual strengths. Abi Frandsen is really fast. Sophia Boman is super fit. She's a workaholic on the field. Maddie Baker is over six feet. You can just throw it up by her head and she's just insane in the air. So, each one of them has their different strengths, but having this extra time has helped them mesh in with the team and allowed us as a team to get to know them as well."
GS: What originally drew you to Minnesota?
KK: "It was the level of professionalism at Minnesota and how everything is always so put together. I feel very well taken care of here, starting with my academics... Everyone I talked to and everything I saw had that 'it' factor to it. I say this a lot, because people ask me the question of 'Why Minnesota?' and it was honestly meeting people like Sara Johnson, our director of operations, and Kyle Quagliana, our academic advisor, that really drew me to the school. It had the whole experience and both of those people work really hard to make sure we have everything we need and we're able to be successful in our academic situation as well as our athletic experience."
GS: How do you incorporate the 'Take the Stairs' mentality into your play and into your life?
KK: "Take the stairs, I think about it when we're preparing for our preseason, because there's preparation that goes into preseason and once you're in preseason, you're preparing for the season. It means different levels of preparation for me, as well as just having the right mentality through the suck. Coach Golan says it a lot, 'embrace the suck,' but it's entirely true. There's a lot of work that gets put into our season and the entire team comes together and embraces the suck and we take the stairs together."
GS: If you had to be one teammate for a day, who would it be and why?
KK: "I would be Maddie Baker because she's so tall. She plays forward and I play defense, and it's always my dream to go up and play in the offense. She gets to be a forward and up there scoring goals, and I'm one of the shorter people on the team, so I think having her height would be fun."
GS: Where's your go-to spot in the Twin Cities?
KK: "My go-to spot would probably be the chain of lakes. I love going around there and then the Uptown area. I'll grab a coffee at Dogwood Coffee and I do Spyhouse as well, then go for a walk or run around the lake. That's probably my favorite thing to do, because sometimes I'll just do that by myself. Sometimes, I'll go with a friend, or with my cousin, or if my parents are in town. That's definitely my favorite thing to do in the summer."
GS: How do you see your role changing going into next season?
KK: "I feel like I definitely have a bigger leadership role on the team. Whether that's having a bigger voice on the back line or with some of our new players coming in, or our younger players, rotating into that back line during practice, helping them out and answering questions for them if they have any and providing advice. Also, having a bigger voice on the team in general within play. I'm starting to recognize our system a little bit better and be able to give good communication to our offense to help them out as well, because they can't always see what's behind them and as defenders we can see the entire field."
GS: Cooking is a major hobby of yours. What's your specialty dish?
KK: "I would serve up a raw cashew vegan cheesecake. It's not actually cheese, because it's vegan. You soak the cashews overnight. You can do a bunch of different flavors with that. My sister and I have done a chocolate flavor with several layers and then we've also done a blueberry vegan cheesecake. That's my favorite dish to make. It's a dessert, but it tastes so good."
GS: Where is the coolest place you have ever visited?
KK: "The Great Wall of China. I was 12. We went on a family vacation. We went to three different cities in China and while we were in Beijing, we took a trip out to The Great Wall and that was definitely the coolest place I've ever been."
GS: What is your favorite part about being a Gopher?
KK: "My teammates. The vibe we have on our team and our team culture, just being around my teammates is my favorite thing. Everyone is a really good person."
GS: Who is your pick for next breakout Gopher?
KK: "McKenna Buisman. She didn't play last season and she's really strong right now, so I feel like she'd be the breakout Gopher.
GS: How do you think the Gophers will stack up in 2021?
KK: "I feel like we've been taking advantage of our time. So far, every second we get together we're working and on top of that, individually and collectively, people are going outside of practice and putting in extra work as well. I think all this time that we've had away from the season has only prepared us more for when our season does come… We're going to continue to grow and work as a team up until that point and then just show off when we get there."
By season's end, Koker registered two starts and appeared in a grand total of 12 games as a defender. Now, as the Maroon & Gold turn the page and look ahead to their next season of competition, Koker is primed to have an increased role as she gains more familiarity with the system in her junior campaign.
GS: What was the pulse like throughout fall practice?
KK: "We always show up with the effort and the grit, no matter what. We're putting the work in. We're doing Corey Peterson's workouts and getting touches in. Coming back into training, we've done this a couple times now, where it's just been all-out effort no matter what. No matter what gets thrown at us, we're staying on track."
GS: How helpful is it for this year's freshmen to get these extra reps in?
KK: "More than anything, everyone who comes in is obviously a good player, and it's more of how do you mesh with the team and how can you use your individual strengths to benefit the team. With these six new freshmen coming in, each one of them has their own individual strengths. Abi Frandsen is really fast. Sophia Boman is super fit. She's a workaholic on the field. Maddie Baker is over six feet. You can just throw it up by her head and she's just insane in the air. So, each one of them has their different strengths, but having this extra time has helped them mesh in with the team and allowed us as a team to get to know them as well."
GS: What originally drew you to Minnesota?
KK: "It was the level of professionalism at Minnesota and how everything is always so put together. I feel very well taken care of here, starting with my academics... Everyone I talked to and everything I saw had that 'it' factor to it. I say this a lot, because people ask me the question of 'Why Minnesota?' and it was honestly meeting people like Sara Johnson, our director of operations, and Kyle Quagliana, our academic advisor, that really drew me to the school. It had the whole experience and both of those people work really hard to make sure we have everything we need and we're able to be successful in our academic situation as well as our athletic experience."
GS: How do you incorporate the 'Take the Stairs' mentality into your play and into your life?
KK: "Take the stairs, I think about it when we're preparing for our preseason, because there's preparation that goes into preseason and once you're in preseason, you're preparing for the season. It means different levels of preparation for me, as well as just having the right mentality through the suck. Coach Golan says it a lot, 'embrace the suck,' but it's entirely true. There's a lot of work that gets put into our season and the entire team comes together and embraces the suck and we take the stairs together."
GS: If you had to be one teammate for a day, who would it be and why?
KK: "I would be Maddie Baker because she's so tall. She plays forward and I play defense, and it's always my dream to go up and play in the offense. She gets to be a forward and up there scoring goals, and I'm one of the shorter people on the team, so I think having her height would be fun."
GS: Where's your go-to spot in the Twin Cities?
KK: "My go-to spot would probably be the chain of lakes. I love going around there and then the Uptown area. I'll grab a coffee at Dogwood Coffee and I do Spyhouse as well, then go for a walk or run around the lake. That's probably my favorite thing to do, because sometimes I'll just do that by myself. Sometimes, I'll go with a friend, or with my cousin, or if my parents are in town. That's definitely my favorite thing to do in the summer."
GS: How do you see your role changing going into next season?
KK: "I feel like I definitely have a bigger leadership role on the team. Whether that's having a bigger voice on the back line or with some of our new players coming in, or our younger players, rotating into that back line during practice, helping them out and answering questions for them if they have any and providing advice. Also, having a bigger voice on the team in general within play. I'm starting to recognize our system a little bit better and be able to give good communication to our offense to help them out as well, because they can't always see what's behind them and as defenders we can see the entire field."
GS: Cooking is a major hobby of yours. What's your specialty dish?
KK: "I would serve up a raw cashew vegan cheesecake. It's not actually cheese, because it's vegan. You soak the cashews overnight. You can do a bunch of different flavors with that. My sister and I have done a chocolate flavor with several layers and then we've also done a blueberry vegan cheesecake. That's my favorite dish to make. It's a dessert, but it tastes so good."
GS: Where is the coolest place you have ever visited?
KK: "The Great Wall of China. I was 12. We went on a family vacation. We went to three different cities in China and while we were in Beijing, we took a trip out to The Great Wall and that was definitely the coolest place I've ever been."
GS: What is your favorite part about being a Gopher?
KK: "My teammates. The vibe we have on our team and our team culture, just being around my teammates is my favorite thing. Everyone is a really good person."
GS: Who is your pick for next breakout Gopher?
KK: "McKenna Buisman. She didn't play last season and she's really strong right now, so I feel like she'd be the breakout Gopher.
GS: How do you think the Gophers will stack up in 2021?
KK: "I feel like we've been taking advantage of our time. So far, every second we get together we're working and on top of that, individually and collectively, people are going outside of practice and putting in extra work as well. I think all this time that we've had away from the season has only prepared us more for when our season does come… We're going to continue to grow and work as a team up until that point and then just show off when we get there."
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