Each of us can make a difference for all of us: Spotlight on Grinnell College women’s soccer

“GC pride on 3…1, 2, 3!” represents more than just a huddle chant for Grinnell College’s women’s soccer team — it is a deep bond and call of support amongst the team’s players and head women’s soccer coach, Kirsten Koester, who all work to foster a culture of mutual respect.

“Love is absolutely the first priority on this team,” said team co-captain Ramona Delborne `26. “I think Coach always says that we love each other and care about each other so much, and that we really want to win and we really want to work hard. Those are our two priorities, and we can’t really have one without the other.”

Considering their team’s defining traits, Rama Joshi `27 said, “Something defining about our team is that everybody contributes, everybody takes every burden, and that way, everybody celebrates wins together. We go up together, and we go down together.”

“In any sport, injuries are inevitable, but one of my favorite things is watching people come back, and watching the way we cheer people on when they come back, and just watching them get stronger every day,”

Joshi said, speaking to the team’s continuing commitment to each other.

Sarah Travis `27 said that from the beginning of preseason, it has been clear that the team fosters a culture of inclusivity and support.

“On that first day, it’s hot, it’s humid,” Travis said. “You’re sweating before you put on your cleats, and everyone’s already cheering you on. And the attitude isn’t like, ‘Oh no, this is gonna suck.’ It’s like, ‘this is gonna be so exciting, so happy to see all my friends that I haven’t seen over the summer.’”

The team holds meetings where they talk through prioritizing respect, on and off the field, within and outside of the team.

“We make it clear by showing each other, but also saying, flat out, this is what our team is about. We’re here to love each other, not to bring each other down. We work together as one,” said Travis.

Delborne said that the team welcomes any friends of teammates to sit with the team at the dining hall.

“This is not an exclusive space,” she said. “People see sports teams as really exclusive and sometimes rude and mean, and I think we are actively trying not to do that.”

The underclassmen reflected positively on their experiences making the transition from high school soccer to playing at the college level.

Zoe Kunzman `28 said that she felt that the teams she had previously played on were competitive and that there was somewhat of a comparison culture. “When I came on my recruiting visit, they were all really, really nice to meet,” Kunzman said of her upperclassmen teammates. “And I was like, ‘Oh, they’re definitely lying about how nice they were,’ and I thought they were just trying to get me to come here, but I committed anyway. I found out they are actually that nice.”

Similarly to Kunzman, Grayson Allison `28’s perspective changed after finding community on the team. “When I got here, like, in for preseason and we were doing our fitness testing, I was with a senior for our 20 [yard shuttle], and on my seventh down and back, I took water and, like, threw up on her shoes. And she was not mad. She just cheered me on to keep going,” Allison said.

Nikki Styranovski `29 shared that her recruiting visit was made special by the team, particularly the kindness of her teammate, Travis. “When I came, I ate lunch with the team, ended up staying for dinner, even, because I was having so much fun with [them]. That same night, I went to Sarah Travis’ dorm, and I was there for, I think, four hours. We talked about random stuff, and I already felt like I made a really close friend,” Styranovski said.

Like Stryvanoski, Maya Mozena `28 committed to Grinnell after her visit. “I came here because of the people on the team. Like, I literally joined this team because all the people that I visited made me want to be on this team,” she said.

Everyday efforts and small gestures of appreciation go a long way, according to Delborne. When the team huddles, they put their left hand in, the closest hand to the heart. “That’s cheesy, but I think that’s a good example of everyday moments where we are intentional about being close to each other.” Each member of the team has red and white handcrafted friendship bracelets with each of their names and hearts to remind them of each other.

Peyton Dixon `27 spoke to the team’s resilience. “[My] first year spring season was pretty rough, as far as numbers go … We had ten people tops on a good day, and five people at practice on a bad day.”

One afternoon, only five players showed up, yet Koester continued to encourage everyone to do drills and play. “At one point, she had us circled around … and she said, ‘it’s been a pretty rough day, so just make sure you lay on the ground and say nice things to each other, and then we’ll keep going,” Dixon said. “I think about that day a lot.”

The team’s words of encouragement on the field and distinct support for each other does not go unnoticed by other soccer teams that Grinnell faces, according to Koester. One game earlier in the season, Travis noted that the team heard girls on the other team asking their coach if they were even allowed to support each other like Grinnell’s team.

Koester said that was one of the moments where she was most proud of the team. “I think this team does a really great job showing the other team how much we care about each other. On game day, they always want to be on our team. That is that they walk away saying that looks like a really great team to be a part of,” she said.

Keiko Smith `26, co-captain, recalled the team’s most recent Conference game at Lawrence. “We were getting more momentum, and we had some shots on, and the center back looked at our bench, and then looked at their bench and started screaming at their team, ‘Can you be louder?’ Really, just seeing how much we support each other, and I think that is universal for every single game, I think all of us feel supported,” she said.

“Each of us can make a difference for all of us” is the team’s mantra, but their collective identity expands to coining terms like “benergy,” the nickname for bench energy, where they are sure to celebrate everybody loudly and proudly, and even branding their own women’s soccer’s rules for basketball when they attend games together.

The women’s team is about supporting each other as not only teammates, but as women, according to Koester. As soon as they step on the field, their walkout song can be heard, Shania Twain sings, “Let’s go girls!,” as “Man! I Feel Like A Woman!” echoes from the speaker for all to applaud.

“We create a culture of, like, ‘who is going to support the women of the other women’s teams, if it’s not gonna be us?’” said Koester.

While the crowd regularly consists of a wives and girlfriends section, Travis said she encourages everyone in Grinnell to show support for the women’s teams.