First-year athlete deals with stress in school, on pitch

For first-year student Jamie Karch, coming to the University of South Dakota was exciting.  She loves playing soccer and hanging out with her friends.

Karch is from Milwaukee, Wis. and majoring in health science along with playing soccer here at the university. School and soccer take up much of her time at USD.

“My life outside of school is pretty hectic, I do not have a lot of free time.  I go to class, do homework, study hard and of course, play soccer,” Karch said.

Playing soccer has been a passion of Karch as she’s grown up  with her parents and two younger brothers.  Along with her family, Karch has a dog, a cat and a bunch of fish.

“My parents are definitely my idols, they are both incredibly inspirational to me,” Karch said.

Growing up in Wisconsin, Karch’s favorite sport to watch on television is football.  She especially loves the Green Bay Packers.  However, head coach Mandy Green does not agree with her.

“Unfortunately, Jamie is a Green Bay Packer fan, which I hate because I’m a Minnesota Vikings fan,” Green said.

Green also stated that she is starting to really step up as a person on and off the field, because of her personality and is playing a huge role for the team this season.

Some of Karch’s favorite things are pickles, the color blue and listening to country music or “radio music.”

If she could pick three words to describe herself they would be outgoing, determined and caring.  But don’t let that fool you; Karch has had some embarrassing moments already as a coyote.

“ One day I fell off of a chair in front of tons of people, it was extremely embarrassing,” Karch said.

Teammate Becca Torres can account for her embarrassing moments and fun times together.

“We definitely do not have a dull moment with her on the team,” Torres said.

Karch wears the number five for the Coyotes and is a Forward.  She leads the Coyotes with 13 points this season and has already scored six goals and one assist for the team.