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Van Hollebeke retiring to begin medical school

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    Van Hollebeke retiring to begin medical school

    http://equalizersoccer.com/2015/08/2...edical-school/

    Rachel Van Hollebeke announced she will retire from professional and international soccer to begin medical school at the end of the month. Van Hollebeke will make herself available for the Thorns in their final games, but will leave Portland to begin medical school at the University of California, San Diego.

    Van Hollebeke deferred acceptance to UCSD’s medical program in 2011 in order to pursue professional soccer. She won Olympic gold medals with the United States national team in 2008 and 2012, and she was part of the 2011 World Cup team which finished runners-up to Japan. She has 113 caps for the United States.

    “It is difficult to express what a privilege it has been to play for both club and country,” Van Hollebeke wrote in her open letter on retirement. “If you’ve ever watched me during the National Anthem, I take it very seriously and sing with all my heart. Wearing the Red, White and Blue for over 100 games is the greatest honor of my life and playing in two Olympics has been the highlight of my career. I will never forget the feeling of standing on the podium, gold medal hanging around my neck. I remember thinking about the countless hours of practice, the challenges and successes, and the people who helped me get to that point. I was so thankful and proud.”

    Van Hollebeke played in 44 games over three seasons with Portland, helping the Thorns win the inaugural NWSL Championship in 2013. She was one of the last players cut from this year’s United States World Cup roster.

    “Rachel has been a huge part of growing the women’s game over the past decade,” Thorns coach Paul Riley said. “I would like to offer my sincere thanks to her for inspiring the next generation of pure defenders, ones who are tough, no-nonsense and resolute,” said Paul Riley, head coach of Thorns FC. “She is a complete professional from her training dedication and game preparation to her ability to lead and educate her teammates. To me, her greatest qualities are her genuine humility, kindness, honesty and spirit. It has been an absolute pleasure to coach and get to know Rachel.”

    Riley told The Equalizer on Saturday after the Thorns’ 1-0 loss to Sky Blue FC that Van Hollebeke did not play due to a pending “big announcement.”

    Portland must win both remaining regular-season games and see the Washington Spirit lose all three remaining games in order to make the playoffs. The two teams play on Sunday in Portland, but Washington also plays on Wednesday against

    #2
    Good for her. She's obviously a very committed athlete and I'm sure she'll tackle her new career with as much energy as she has soccer.

    Comment


      #3
      Wow, what an accomplishment. To play high-level college soccer and be able to do the serious academics required to be admitted to medical school is truly amazing.

      I wonder though, how realistic is it for a person to play college soccer and have medical school as a goal.

      Comment


        #4
        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
        Wow, what an accomplishment. To play high-level college soccer and be able to do the serious academics required to be admitted to medical school is truly amazing.

        I wonder though, how realistic is it for a person to play college soccer and have medical school as a goal.
        I don't think it's very common. The class/lab load for premed is very intense

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
          I don't think it's very common. The class/lab load for premed is very intense
          Remembering a discussion earlier in the years where some said this couldn't be done. So much for all of the naysayers who always want to portray the high level D1 athletes as dumb jocks to justify their kid's decisions.

          Comment


            #6
            She obviously didn't play with Stars.

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
              I don't think it's very common. The class/lab load for premed is very intense
              I watched a boy try it at a local D1 school. The labs conflicted with practices and such, and he gradually faded from the A list on the team. So he's at med school now, but he played very little. He at least is good friends with his teammates. Not sure what he would do if he could get a redo.

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                Remembering a discussion earlier in the years where some said this couldn't be done. So much for all of the naysayers who always want to portray the high level D1 athletes as dumb jocks to justify their kid's decisions.
                While there are examples of this happening it is not the norm. It is not an easy accomplishment.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                  Remembering a discussion earlier in the years where some said this couldn't be done. So much for all of the naysayers who always want to portray the high level D1 athletes as dumb jocks to justify their kid's decisions.
                  Check your memory: no one said it couldn't be done.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                    Check your memory: no one said it couldn't be done.
                    You can always expect distortion (and an agenda) from that poster. Guaranteed.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                      While there are examples of this happening it is not the norm. It is not an easy accomplishment.
                      Don't think anyone ever said it was easy but for athletes that are rigidly committed to their goals this is far more common place than some others are suggesting. I think the D1 athletic track actually helps give this sort of person a leg up on the process. For example do we all think that every medical school admit gets to defer matriculation for 4 years? That being said, I bet that if we studied Hollenback's academic journey it would should us exactly how it is done. She turned 30 years old yesterday which means that she didn't even apply to medical school until she was out of college 3-4 years. You can bet that if you could see he Stanford transcript that her course load would have been methodically spread out over many years and many different semesters and that she would have taken full advantage of the allowable transfer credits. I also wouldn't even be surprised to see another degree from another college for some of her course work. The most important point though is you can bet that she didn't figure this all out on her own, there was someone at Stanford that laid all of this out for her so all she had to do was follow the plan and execute in the classroom. For highly focused people like Hollenback that is usually the easy part.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                        Don't think anyone ever said it was easy but for athletes that are rigidly committed to their goals this is far more common place than some others are suggesting. I think the D1 athletic track actually helps give this sort of person a leg up on the process. For example do we all think that every medical school admit gets to defer matriculation for 4 years? That being said, I bet that if we studied Hollenback's academic journey it would should us exactly how it is done. She turned 30 years old yesterday which means that she didn't even apply to medical school until she was out of college 3-4 years. You can bet that if you could see he Stanford transcript that her course load would have been methodically spread out over many years and many different semesters and that she would have taken full advantage of the allowable transfer credits. I also wouldn't even be surprised to see another degree from another college for some of her course work. The most important point though is you can bet that she didn't figure this all out on her own, there was someone at Stanford that laid all of this out for her so all she had to do was follow the plan and execute in the classroom. For highly focused people like Hollenback that is usually the easy part.
                        Looks like national camp is over. We had a nice break. At least get the woman's name right if you want to show a little respect.

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                          Don't think anyone ever said it was easy but for athletes that are rigidly committed to their goals this is far more common place than some others are suggesting. I think the D1 athletic track actually helps give this sort of person a leg up on the process. For example do we all think that every medical school admit gets to defer matriculation for 4 years? That being said, I bet that if we studied Hollenback's academic journey it would should us exactly how it is done. She turned 30 years old yesterday which means that she didn't even apply to medical school until she was out of college 3-4 years. You can bet that if you could see he Stanford transcript that her course load would have been methodically spread out over many years and many different semesters and that she would have taken full advantage of the allowable transfer credits. I also wouldn't even be surprised to see another degree from another college for some of her course work. The most important point though is you can bet that she didn't figure this all out on her own, there was someone at Stanford that laid all of this out for her so all she had to do was follow the plan and execute in the classroom. For highly focused people like Hollenback that is usually the easy part.
                          You are wrong on every single one of your assumptions above. And beyond that, did you consider that she'll be 39 when she starts practicing medicine post-training? Not sure anyone would consider that ideal.

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                            You are wrong on every single one of your assumptions above. And beyond that, did you consider that she'll be 39 when she starts practicing medicine post-training? Not sure anyone would consider that ideal.
                            40 is the new 30. Don't be so judgemental.

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Originally posted by Unregistered View Post
                              40 is the new 30. Don't be so judgemental.
                              How is that judgmental? I'm sure she is thrilled with her opportunities, getting to play for years on the national team and now going to med school. But waiting until 30 to enter med school would not be considered an ideal or desirable for most people. The real point was that none of the assumptions about how and when and over how many years she took her pre-med pre-reqs were accurate.

                              Comment

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