The Oregon Daily Emerald recently caught up with Oregon senior Danielle Sweeney to talk with her about soccer, life after college and everything in between.
Oregon Daily Emerald: What made you decide to come to the University of Oregon?
Danielle Sweeney: I came on a visit and saw how beautiful the campus was, along with the amazing athletic facilities and had that gut feeling that this is where I belonged. I also saw how much support for the University there is around Eugene that I really got a sense of family, which I really liked as well. I mean, you can’t drive anywhere without seeing green and yellow or Duck decorations anywhere.
ODE: What’s your major and when do you plan to graduate?
DS: I plan on graduating this spring term, and my major is Educational Foundations with a minor in Special Education.
ODE: What do you hope to do after college?
DS: I want to go to grad school here to get my master’s (degree) in teaching, along with helping coach our soccer team.
ODE: If you weren’t playing soccer, what other sport would you want to play for the Ducks?
DS: I would definitely play softball. I played it until eighth grade and loved it.
ODE: What would you say has been your favorite experience of your collegiate career so far?
DS: My freshman year when we beat UCLA, in overtime, who was ranked No. 3 at the time.
ODE: How do you like playing for Coach Erickson?
DS: I love playing for Tara; she is an awesome person and a great role model to look up to.
ODE: What music are you listening to nowadays?
DS: Depends on my mood — lately I have been listening to oldies like Tom Petty and MJ.
ODE: Do you live with any of the other girls on the team?
DS: Yes, I live with Dani Oster and Julie Armstrong. I have lived with Dani for 3 years now, and this is the first year living with Julie. I love living with both of them; they are very easy to live with, which is great.
ODE: Who does the cooking?
DS: I would have to say I do most of the cooking. I love to cook. We usually all cook or fend for ourselves with food, but when we eat together, I am usually the head chef and Dani is my assistant — a very good one at that!
ODE: Take me through your routine on game days.
DS: When we have a home game on Friday night, I usually wake up and wait for my mom and Kirstie Kuhn’s parents to arrive from their drive up from the Bay Area. We go to Taylor’s for breakfast, which is usually around 10:30 a.m. Then Kirstie and I go to Dutch Brothers and get iced kickers. I meet back up with my mom, and we run random errands that she or I need to get done before my pregame meal at 3:30 p.m. Our team eats Big Town Hero sandwiches before our games together with our coaches. That usually ends around 4-ish, which is when I head to the locker room to change in to my warm ups and bottom half of my uniform. Then I head to the treatment room to take a 40 to 45-minute power nap and relax before the game. After that, I go back to the locker room to do my makeup and hair — my motto is look good, play good. Once 5:45 p.m. rolls around, the coaches come in and give us our pregame talk and then we hit the field for warm-ups, but first we always walk over to our parents’ tailgate (on Friday games) and wave to them before we warm up.
ODE: What do you like to do in your down time when you don’t have to practice or go to class?
DS: I like to watch movies and read.
— Lucas Clark
Athlete of the Week: Danielle Sweeney
Daily Emerald
September 30, 2009