Athlete Spotlight: Soccer player Rebecca Sparkman

This week’s Athlete Spotlight focuses on Rebecca Sparkman, a junior midfielder for Coyotes soccer. Sparkman is second on the team in both points and goals on the season. She is from Eden Prairie, Minn., and was named to the Summit League Honor Roll in 2013.

Nathan Ellenbecker: What’s different between life in Vermillion and Eden Prairie?

Rebecca Sparkman: The atmosphere was definitely different because this is a college town. That was completely different from Eden Prairie High School. Eden Prairie was very big, but there’s other things going on as well, and here it’s just Vermillion with USD.

N.E.: Just Vermillion, S.D.?

R.S.: I mean, everything’s just college-based here.

N.E.: So then, what’s you’re favorite part about USD?

R.S.: How easy everything is here. If you need to go talk to an adviser on anything, they’re always there for you. It feels like everyone’s here for you, and everyone is so nice. And everyone cares about the community. I really like that.

N.E.: Was there an adjustment period in soccer for you when you came to South Dakota?

R.S.: It was just being at a collegiate level. Every soccer action was a bigger deal at first.

N.E.: You have a bit of a fan base out of the student section that calls you “Legs.” Why?

R.S.: Yeah! I think it’s just because I have long legs. I don’t really understand completely. But no, the softball team is great. They’re our biggest fans.

N.E.: So you’re pretty good friends with them?

R.S.: Yeah, the soccer team and softball team are pretty close. We love them. It cracks me up sometimes.

N.E.: What are you majoring in?

R.S.: Kinesiology and sports science. I’m planning on occupational therapy. I’m really excited to have a good school for that.

N.E.: Nervous to apply for grad school?

R.S.: So nervous! Oh my gosh, it’s constantly on my mind, but I try to not let it stress me out too much. The application process starts very, very soon. I was actually just talking to a friend about it. It takes six months to do, so I need to look a little more into that.

N.E.: With your previous academic honors, is that an area you’re pretty buckled down on?

R.S.: I would say if I’m not playing soccer, I’m pretty much studying all the time. But yeah, I would say my studies are very important to me, and I want to keep that GPA up. My parents are very supportive and pretty strict about what I need to get done. They trained me to be self-motivated and to want to get things done on my own.

N.E.: What did you do this summer?

R.S.: I went to Canada, actually. I was playing soccer there for Co-Peninsula Highlanders. It’s a semi-professional team, and I also took some classes online.

N.E.: Is that the first time you lived a summer away or alone but not at college?

R.S.: It was. It was definitely different being away from my parents for a long period of time and not with them over the summer. But I went with my best friend from home, and she has friends there. We all connected, and it was the summer of a lifetime. I had the best summer of my life. I was in Victoria. It’s the only place you can go skiing, to the beach, go on a hike all in the same day because it’s all close together. The only other place I went to was Vancouver, but that was for soccer as well.

N.E.: As an upperclassmen, what would you say your role on the team is?

R.S.: My role on the team is to always be encouraging and always have a positive attitude. I try to spread that attitude spread across the team because it really shows on the field and really gets us going.

N.E.: Do you feel your teammates have this expectation of you?

R.S.: I definitely think it rubs off on others and then it’s just a train of positive energy that rolls throughout our team once one person has it going. My goal with that is just to keep energy up.

N.E.: How would you describe your relationship with your team?

R.S.: I would say our team is pretty tight. All of us have good relationships with one another on more than just a teammate basis, but also on a more personal relationship basis. We’re very close as a team, and we have a lot of fun together.

(University of South Dakota junior midfielder Rebecca Sparkman celebrates after scoring a goal in Friday’s game versus North Dakota. Malachi Petersen / The Volante)