West Side Story: When did you start playing soccer?

Marnie Vonderhaar: Probably when I was in seventh grade, I started playing club soccer, ISC.

WSS: Why did you choose to play soccer over other sports?

MV: I played other sports. I played tennis and I did track in junior high. I also did volleyball, so I kind of tried everything and I decided that I liked soccer best, so I decided to stick with that.

WSS: Why did you choose to join ISC?

MV: I knew that ISC was a really good club and they had really good coaches, so I joined. I also had friends in ISC.

WSS: How has joining ISC helped you improve?

MV: ISC has a lot of good coaches and I feel like I’ve really benefitted from their coaching.

WSS: Who are your biggest mentors?

MV: Well, in ISC I’ve had one coach that’s been my coach for a while named Jon Cook, and I feel like he’s really helped me improve and he’s a really good coach. I also think that my teammates on West High’s soccer really pushed me to do better and I’ve benefitted a lot from them.

WSS: How was the transition into West soccer?

MV: It was kind of hard for me because it was a lot of work and it was kind of intimidating being with the older girls who are really good at soccer, but once I was on the team, I felt really welcomed because they were all really nice and encouraging and helpful.

WSS: What are your biggest achievements in soccer?

MV: I was on varsity last year as a freshman and I also play for the Iowa ODP team. And last year, I didn’t play that much, but we made it to the state finals

WSS: You spent some time in Scotland playing soccer last summer. What was that experience like?

MV: It was a lot of fun. It was a lot different that United States soccer; it was a lot less organized. It was a really good experience and I’m just really thankful that I could go play soccer in Scotland. I learned a lot from the coaches there that had different philosophies on playing soccer. It was just interesting to see the difference.

WSS: Do you hope to pursue soccer in college. How does that affect your training?

MV: Yeah, I think so. I think a lot of girls on my West High team and ISC team hope to play soccer in college, so I think the atmosphere is just a lot more challenging and competitive knowing that we want to go further to play soccer in college.

WSS: Why do you like to play soccer?

MV: It’s just a lot of fun and you can always find ways to challenge yourself and get better. I like it a lot because I’m good friends and have formed good friendships with my teammates, so it’s really fun just to be able to play soccer with all your really good friends.