March 10, 2010

BERKELEY - CalBears.com caught up with junior midfielder Emily Abbood to ask the Jamestown, R.I., product about playing lacrosse, leaving the East Coast to come to Cal and a funny travel incident from last season.

CalBears.com: When did you start playing lacrosse?

Emily Abbood: I switched schools in third grade. At the school I went to, all the kids played lacrosse. We used to just mess around at recess in third, fourth, and fifth grade, and then I started playing in middle school.

CalBears.com: In high school, you competed in soccer, track and ice hockey. How do your skills from those sports contribute to your lacrosse career?

EA: Footwork for soccer is really specific, so I think that's helped me with my defensive footwork in lacrosse. Track, the speed and endurance definitely helped. I ran winter track, so it really helped get me in shape for lacrosse, which is really good. With ice hockey, I really like the aggressiveness and all-out mentality.

CalBears.com: How did you decide to continue with lacrosse over the other sports you played in high school?

EA: It pretty much came down to hockey and lacrosse. I played on this club team for lacrosse, and the coach really took my class under her wing. We had a really strong class, and she kind of went with us, and we all ended up getting recruited by really good schools. So I just went with lacrosse.

CalBears.com: How did you end up playing for Cal?

EA: It's funny. I used to get all kinds of letters and stuff from Cal in the mail - newsletters, lacrosse stuff. I was like, `Oh, I'm not going to go to Cal.' I used to not even pay attention to them. And then started to think about it more my junior and senior years. My club coach said, `Just go out on the visit. I think you're really going to like it.' I came out for my visit, and I fell in love as soon as I got here. I called my mom and said, `I know where I want to go for school.' I just love everything about it here. The girls on the team are great. I love Berkeley. It just kind of felt like home.

EA: All the hustle and bustle [of Berkeley]. Jamestown is really a quiet town with not too much going on. I wouldn't say Jamestown is a very diverse place at all. I like the diversity here and how there's always something new going on. You always get to meet new people, and it's just fun. There's a lot happening.

CalBears.com: Last season you earned a spot on the MPSF Academic All-Conference team. What was that like?

EA: It was kind of surprising. I saw it online and was like, Wow, that's cool! It was exciting. I definitely work hard in the classroom, and school is something very important to me, so it felt good. It was rewarding, and something that I think a lot of the girls on the team definitely deserve. We all work really hard in the classroom and take school seriously.

CalBears.com: How do you handle school when you're balancing traveling and practices for lacrosse?

EA: It's a lot of just being organized and communicating with your teachers. For me, it's just staying on top of things and getting things done ahead of time. Sometimes it gets difficult. You know, your social life kind of struggles at times, but it's really not that bad. Freshman year you kind of feel it out, and after that it gets pretty easy. And coach gives us plenty of time to do work on the road, too, which is really nice.

CalBears.com: What are your personal goals for this season? Team goals?

EA: My personal goals are to just play my best and have fun this year. I'm really, really excited. We have a great team and I think we're going to do big things this year. A championship is definitely our goal right now, considering we lost last year (in the MPSF championship game). I think we all want to know what it's like to win that championship, so personally, I just want to have fun and go all out, and team-wise we're looking to win a championship.

CalBears.com: What do you do when you have some downtime from lacrosse?

EA: I like to go into the City; I really like San Francisco. I and the girls I live with try to make a point to do as many fun things we can outside of Berkeley and lacrosse. Going to the City is really fun - going out to dinner and just exploring that area. Just relaxing. Sometimes it's nice to pick up a book and just read. And, just hang out.

CalBears.com: Do you have any pregame rituals?

EA: I have a certain playlist. I always make a preseason pregame playlist. I just listen to my music, go to the locker, talk with friends, and I always have to put my goggles on and my gloves on a certain way. And everything has to go on at a certain time. That's about it.

CalBears.com: What are the top 10 songs on your current pregame playlist?

EA: 1. "The Thrill" - Whiz Khalifa
2. "Rollin'" - Limp Bizkit
3. "Right Round" - Flo-Rida
4. "Here Me Comin" - Yung Joc
5. "Ridin Solo" - Jason Derulo
6. "Poker Face" - Lady Gaga
7. "Let It Rock" - Kevin Rudolf
8. "Destination Unknown" - Alex Gaudino
9. "Say Yea vs Boom Boom Boom" - Mother Earth Remixes
10. "99 problems" - Jay-Z

CalBears.com: What's the funniest thing that's happened while traveling for an away game?

EA: Last year, we were in Denver, and there was a blizzard and our coaches decided we could still make it to practice. So they get us this indoor facility that we could go practice at that was, I guess, farther away but not that far. So we go out in the blizzard, and get on the bus, and the roads are just horrible. Cars are sliding everywhere. Our bus is sliding all over the place. Snow was just piling up and we end up getting stuck on this little hill.

So our coaches and the bus driver have to go out and put chains on the wheels of the bus. We end up sitting in this one spot for like an hour, hour and a half, and we're all just talking and playing games. Everybody's cell phone died. And we see (coaches) Theresa (Sherry) and Jules (Julia Southard). We have pictures of them outside the bus putting chains on these tires. Theresa is under the bus, literally, putting chains on the tires of the bus.

That was by far one of the funniest things that has ever happened to us.

CalBears.com: Did you guys ever make it to practice?

EA: No, we ended up turning around and going back to the hotel and working out in the hotel workout room.

CalBears.com: What's your favorite TV show right now?

EA: Favorite TV show is definitely "Entourage." I really like "Entourage," and "American Idol," so far, has been really good this season.

CalBears.com: Do you have any last remarks about the season?

EA: Just come out and support us. We have a really good schedule ahead of us. We have some really big home games. We have Notre Dame this Saturday, which will be a really big game for us. And then we're on the road for awhile, and when we come back we have Denver and Stanford. We have some big games, and we're ready for some wins.