Wolverine Athlete Spotlight: Allison Silber
4/17/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 17, 2015
Sophomore Allison Silber talks about personal and team growth throughout the last two seasons, the mentality it takes to be a goalie, and also discusses being the "the smart kid" on the team and her summer plans.
On the biggest area of growth from the team and personally in two seasons ... "I saw a big difference from last year to this year in our attitude and our confidence. Last year, we were all freshmen and we had no idea what was going on -- we were just going through the motions and trying to make it through. This year, there is a big change in that we see each other as a program and know that we can go places. We've had some great competitions this season and we have more confidence going into games. Personally, I've become a bigger voice on the field and have become more directive with the defense. We're communicating with each other more instead of just one-way communication."
On what has led to her continued growth this season ... "Something that I've learned about myself throughout this whole process is that the more energy my team brings and I bring, the better we all play. So for example, at Penn State, our big focus was being energetic and talking a lot. I had to be loud and call where the ball was and that gets me out of my head so I'm not thinking about what's going on and allows me to react and do what my body knows to do."
On the team competing with top-ranked opponents ... "Last year, we didn't have many close games with these top teams and we felt like we were just getting run over. This year, at halftime when these games are really close, we realize that we can win. We're still learning what the means because we're not used to it -- we still have to continue to believe that we can win and actually finish the game instead of being satisfied that we were only down a couple goals at half and then letting them get the win."
On the different mentality it takes to be a goalie ... "Being a goalie is pretty much all I know. It's nice having Kat (Geffken) there because we are in a different position, but we have each other. We can talk about goalie stuff that no one else understands (laughing). In games, it kind of gets lonely if the ball isn't down on your end, but that's just part of being a goalie and you learn how to distract yourself. Being a goalie, you kind of have to be 'not normal' because who wants to stand there and get a ball whipped at you. But we embrace that and we don't get scared when a ball is coming at us -- we want the shot -- we're wired differently to want to get shot on. It's nice to be in a role 'behind the curtain.' As a goalie, you know that you you're helping the team. If I make a save and clear the ball and my teammates get the ball down the field and score, or if I come out with a lot of energy and our defense gets a caused turnover, it's those little things that I love. It's a different role, but I love it, that's why I'm a goalie."
On taking pride in being a great student and being 'the smart kind' on the team ... "Michigan is the right fit because it's the perfect balance between athletics and academics. We have great athletics here, but we also have great classes and amazing professors that are here to help you. I guess I like the fact that I set the bar high for my team. Apparently they like to compete with me and if the get a higher grade than me on a quiz or something they run and tell Angie (Beck), our academic counselor. Academics have always been really important to me. Athletics can only get you so far, and it can keep opening doors, and its teach you a lot about teamwork and time management, but at the end of the day, I'm not going to keep playing lacrosse because there's no professional league. I have other goals beyond lacrosse; I want to go to med school. I've been doing lacrosse for a very long time and I'm starting to see what's out there beyond lacrosse, which is new for me. It's a change in perspective -- I still have all my goals in lacrosse, but I also have broader goals that my academics will help me achieve."
On her summer plans ... "I'm staying for spring term, which is May and June. While I'm here, I'm taking biochem, which is three days a week, and I'm also working 24 hours a week in a research lab -- human neuromechanics in the School of Kinesiology. In that lab, they look at two different aspects, one is what's going on in the brain when someone is walking and doing different tasks. They'll go out into the Arb and put an EKG cap on someone and see what's going on. The other aspect, they work with prosthetics and ankle-foot orthosis. They try to make them more efficient and better controlled by the person wearing them. For lacrosse, being here spring term, we'll be able to have pickup practices and lifting and conditioning, which I'm excited about because I kind of get away from that in season. When I go home after spring term, I have a great trainer that I work with. I get lots of shots on me from some of my old teammates. I do a lot of skill-specific work to work on muscle memory and technique. I'll continue my training to come in as fit as I can in the fall."
• Previous Spotlight: Molly Fishter
