A Chat with Senior Carolina Orsi
10/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Carolina Orsi is a Texas native from College Station. The SFA senior started her sporting career in a lot of different avenues. “I was into gymnastics, track and field, and hurdles,” Orsi said. In middle school, she tried doing basketball as well. “I don’t know why I did basketball, because I am super short.” It wasn’t until eighth or ninth grade that Orsi started doing soccer competitively. One of her best friends played the sport, so she lot that she might give it a try. “I developed it from there. I was good at it, and I was fast,” Orsi laughed. She began playing more competitively in high school, and that’s when she realized that she could continue on in college. “And that’s how it happened. It is funny, because when I was little I never thought about soccer until way later. I was always gymnastics or track or something else,” explained Orsi.
During her high school years, Orsi played on a club team that was actually coached by SFA Head Coach Wally Crittenden. He took over the club her sophomore year of high school. “I definitely think that was a big reason of why I am here. I knew I was going to work well with him.” Orsi feels like she has learned so much from Crittenden and his knowledge of the game. “He is super encouraging and receptive. He really cares about us,” commented Orsi. She had worked through several injuries in high school, and Crittenden could see Orsi improving from the injuries. Going through recruiting while injured, can make things difficult but “he knew that I could respond and play after that. I knew I was going to have a lot better time here with him as my coach,” said Orsi.
The beauty of the campus once again was one of the deciding factors for Orsi. “It was beautiful here with all the trees and stuff. I came in to visit during the winter, so it was nice. I like the cold weather,” commented Orsi. She felt the program was really organized and that Crittenden and the other coaches were “super nice.” After the visit, Orsi made sure to do her research on the university and loved what SFA could offer on the academic side as well.
In 2014, the Ladyjacks earned their fourth conference title during the match against Texas A&M- Corpus Christi. The game would fall on the same weekend as homecoming, and would find a special place in Orsi’s memory. “While we were playing, they were setting up the bonfire behind us… We won, and literally right after the game, we went straight to the bonfire. There were so many people around, and we got recognized on stage. It was awesome. Everyone was celebrating with us,” reminisced Orsi.
After the completion of her senior year, Orsi wants to pursue medical school to become a doctor. She is receiving her degree in Kinesiology, but stayed on a specialized track to apply for medical school. “I put in all my applications this past summer, and I am now just starting to hear from schools and setting up interviews. It is crazy,” said Orsi. She would like to do Orthopedics, which includes four years doctoral school, then residency for four years, and a fellowship for two more. “I have a lot of school ahead of me, but I enjoy school. It is one of those things that if I am stressed or whatever, I can just dive into.”
How do you relieve the stress of sports and school? My friends and I always hammock. It is our big thing. I haven’t had time to do it much this year, but the past two years I would do “game-day” hammocking. I would go out into the Arboretum, where the gazebo is by the field. I would go there and hang up my hammock and just chill. Hammocking is so fun and relaxing. You just get to be in nature. I am a big nature person, so that is a big relaxer. In the summer, I have a lot more time, where I like to make canvases and paint. That is another stress reliever that I like. This year I just got a cat. That is a big stress reliever. This year has been awesome to have my little buddy with me.
What motivates you to work hard? A lot my motivation is intrinsic to me becoming the best person that I can be. A lot of that stems from me wanting to become a doctor. It is all the things that I have had to think about becoming a doctor, like when you are a doctor you are affecting people’s lives. I want to go to medical school to make sure that I am prepared to do that, and that I know what I am talking about. When it correlates to soccer, I want to make sure that I am doing all I can to be the best team that I can be, the best physically and mentally supporting the team. You want your team to do well because they are your friends. They are your people. They can support you in hard times and good times too. Just working hard helps achieve that goal that we want to achieve. Right now, we really want to get into the NCAAs. That has been, at least the seniors can say, our goal since freshman year. The year before they went, and since then we just want to get to the first round. That’s all we want. I think, definitely for the seniors, that’s a big motivating factor to get to that next level in soccer. We have such a strong class. We came in with nine of us. That is a huge class. A lot of times players kind of fall off, but we have stayed through it. That is kind of our inspiration, we inspire each other to work hard and keep moving forward. There is some times where we don’t want to do this anymore or are so tired, but then you get to moments like the bonfire and winning conference that all these things are so worth it.
If you could choose to do anything for a day what would it be and why? I don’t know if this would be technically possible but I want to just travel. I love traveling. I would love to go to Europe, South America, or anything like that. I am a big person for being not necessarily outside but in other cultures. I would love to go to Barcelona, Rome, or all those cool places. That is probably what I would to, go traveling.
If you could describe Wally in one word, what would it be? At first what I think about is “swagger.” He is always about keeping it light, keeping it real. But another big thing is that he is family and team oriented. He wants that atmosphere that we are all friends and family. We are all supporting each other. I guess “swaggy-teamwork-guy” would be my word. He keeps it fun and knows how hard we work, so he also wants to make sure we have fun while we are doing it.
-SFA-
