GD: When did you first pick up a hockey stick and what made you fall in love with the sport?
GK: I think I picked up one up at a semi-young age because [my sister] Amanda played. But I never really got into it seriously with club or playing with my school until eighth grade because I was always sold on soccer. I thought 'I'm going to play soccer in college.' My whole family played, my dad played [at Army West Point]. Don Warner was my high school coach and my Saints club coach too and he was a great coach. And hockey and soccer were so similar so it was easy to do both at the same time for quite a while.
GD: As a defender, how would you describe defending a penalty corner to someone who has never played the sport.
GK: I have two answers. The more hockey based one is that it's a down number situation where really the attack should be scoring almost every time and we have to do whatever we can to play as a tight unit and get the ball out and then start a counter.
My opinion, which a lot of people think is kind of weird, is that I love corners. I love the opportunity to shut down [the opponent's] attack when we're down so many numbers. It's so fun to have that [fierce] moment. When we do shut them down it feels so good to win the ball and then start a counter and then rip the mask off. It's really very fulfilling for how hard we work in practice on DPCs [defensive penalty corners].
GD: What are the moments like while you're putting the masks and gloves on for the penalty corners?
GK: We definitely talk a lot. It's been Josie [Varney] in the back with me. She's our flyer almost all the time. And then Piper [Hampsch] is in there saying 'Pride in our circle.' Especially when we're at home at Jack Katz, pride in Duke's circle and pride in Duke's D. Let's shut them down. Sure, we just gave up a corner and that sucks, but we are really good at defensive corners. We've given up a lot, but we've had very few goals against, which I think is really impressive.
In middle school and high school I would play post so I would make the goal line saves when the ball slipped between the goalies' feet. That's what I liked. I liked sort of being the backup goalie.
GD: What was the transition from high school to college on the hockey field?
GK: At the end of the summer and into the fall of my freshman year I got hurt so I was out for a little while, which made it even more difficult to make the transition. Everyone says this, but the biggest change is the speed of the game. Being on turf consistently, which is awesome, really changes the speed of the game and that's something we're not used to coming in from club and high school. Being 18 years old against a 21 or 22-year old, they're so much stronger than us. It's funny how much we got pushed around in practice and in games.
GD: What is your favorite spot on campus and favorite restaurant in Durham?
GK: On campus, I really like the K Center. Freshman year, even though we had to do [study hall] hours, which was annoying, that was a space I could actually be really productive. That's a space during the day I like to be. I use the [Duke] chapel as my escape late at night if I'm really stressed out. If it's midterm season, I'll go and I'll just sit in front of it and look at the moon and look at the chapel and just be alone in silence. How can you not love the chapel? It's beautiful, even at night.
I definitely have a favorite restaurant in Durham. I love Monuts. It's so good. It's my go-to breakfast spot. I get the same custom bagel order every time. I love their donuts. I haven't been able to eat in person there in such a long time, which makes me sad. But the fact that they have the ready-to-go option is awesome. So I was there almost every Sunday in the spring.
GD: What three books do you take to a deserted island?
GK: The entire Harry Potter series [in one].
GD: What did you love about dance?
GK: I danced all of middle school and high school at St. Catherine's. We had a dance group as a class we could take as our arts credit and we also had a group outside of the school setting. It was just so fun. I loved to dance. I loved to be on stage, which is just so not my personality because I don't like to be the center of attention, but being up there I was a totally different person. It was so different than sports where I felt like I was always yelling, intense and trying to win. Whereas dance was a different kind of fun that included choreographing and listening to music. I loved music and I still do so that was a really fun part of it. My senior year, we had senior dance recital and I was one of seven that year who got to choreograph three big pieces and do a solo. That's my top memory of high school. I really think it helped me with my footwork [on the hockey field].
GD: What are your pregame rituals?
GK: I always have a gameday matcha latte. My teammates know that about me and sometimes they'll bring that to me, which is a really nice surprise in the morning. I wear the same sports bra for every game. I do the same hairstyle, the same scrunchie, same spandex too. I just try to stay calm and then once we go into the locker room that's when I bring my energy.
GD: You get to host a concert for your closest friends? Which musical artist do you choose?
GK: Easy answer. Harry Styles!
GD: Dream vacation at this moment?
GK: I've been to northern Italy before, but I'd like to go to southern Italy. My sister just went there for her honeymoon and it looked amazing. We were all so jealous, especially right now since none of us has traveled in so long. Seeing all those pictures really made me want to go back. And the food [of course].
GD: What is the best place field hockey has taken you?
GK: Duke is the obvious answer. I never would have been able to go here without hockey. It never would have been in my vision. I think that's the best part about hockey for me is it opened so many doors. To be able to even look at schools like Duke, Princeton and Stanford. I think about where I would have gone if I didn't have hockey and I have no clue. Hockey is what put me on the path of where I'm going right now, which is really exciting.
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Catching Up with Grace Kim - Duke University - GoDuke.com
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