Rachel Friedman

Classroom

Friedman has excelled in the classroom at Western Kentucky University while still maintaining a high level of play on the field. She will graduate in December of 2009, one semester early, with a degree in exercise science. Leading up to the fall semester of 2009, she has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA. She has already gained valuable experience in the field while pursuing her undergraduate degree. For example, she currently works as an intern in the athletic training room at WKU, helping with treatment and prevention of injuries of other athletes. Friedman is also currently in the process of having an article review she wrote published in the International Journal of Exercise Science. Some of her academic achievements include: College of Health and Human Services Freshman Academic Achievement Award (2007); ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District (2007); President’s Scholar at WKU designation (2008-2009); NSCAA/Adidas Scholar Athlete All-Region Team (2008), and ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American (2008). After finishing her undergraduate degree in December, Friedman plans to stay at WKU for an extra year and a half to earn her master’s degree in exercise science. After that, she hopes to get some professional experience while working in a health, wellness and fitness facility while working to earn a doctorate. She also plans to take part in field research while working towards her doctorate. Eventually, Friedman plans on becoming a college professor and teaching in the area of exercise physiology.

Character

Whether it is working with youth during YMCA clinics, pushing herself in the classroom or leading her team both by example and as a recently-elected team captain, Friedman displays all the qualities you could want as a student-athlete. Her personal discipline is evident in the way she trains and her study habits. Friedman also possesses the integrity and the sense of purpose that is essential to both her individual development and the development of the soccer program at WKU. She is highly respected in her role as team leader and well liked. In a recent activity, all soccer players and staff at WKU were asked to rank each person on the team on a commitment continuum. This took into account all factors of the players’ commitment both on and off the field and how they represent the program in training, games, off-season workouts, academics, socially, etc. Friedman ranked both at the top of the team and in the top percentile of the continuum itself. It is no coincidence that the recent successes of the WKU women’s soccer program have coincided with her continued example and growth as a player and person.

Community

The majority of Friedman’s community work is done with the WKU soccer team. Every fall season, the team goes out to youth fields to help referee soccer games for little kids. The goal is to try to set a good example for younger kids in hopes of giving them something to look up to. Friedman and the rest of the team do not get paid for this. Also, in the spring the team travels to a nearby city on multiple occasions to run a soccer clinic for kids. There are usually well over 100 kids from ages 3-11. Several hours are spent educating them on the game. While some of her community work is done with the WKU soccer team, Friedman is also an active member of the community on her own time. While at home, she works a great number of soccer camps with young kids to help them learn the game of soccer, as well as learn to love it. Through these camps, Friedman individually mentored several kids in particular before and after the camp sessions. She says she feels the kids not only learned soccer-related skills from her, but also how to be a good person.

Competition

As a defender on the WKU women’s soccer team, Friedman is well-known for her solid work in the backfield and her scoring runs up the sideline. She has played in all 60 matches of her collegiate career and has started every match for the last two seasons. As a junior, Friedman helped lead the Lady Toppers to their best record in school history. The Sun Belt Conference recognized her valuable contributions to the Lady Toppers by honoring her as a first team all-conference player in 2008, making her one of only four Lady Toppers in school history to earn back-to-back all-conference honors. She was also named an all-region player by Soccer Buzz in 2008. For her efforts as a sophomore in 2007 for the Sun Belt Conference Champion Lady Toppers, she was named to the All-Sun Belt Conference second team at the end of the season. During that season she recorded five assists in crucial Sun Belt Conference matches, including two against conference rival Troy.