Wolverine Athlete Spotlight: Lauren Oberlander
4/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
April 29, 2015
Sophomore Lauren Oberlander reflects on Michigan's second season as a varsity program and also discusses preparing for the inaugural Big Ten Tournament in her home state of New Jersey.
On nearing the end of her second year and what she'll remember about the season ... "One of our biggest challenges was getting the freshmen more involved and developing better communication between everyone. In the fall, we had to get back into our flow -- we started out slow and it was a challenge for us to learn how to all work well together. I think what I'll remember most is the memories we've made and all the progress we've made from last year. We're a totally different team from last year even though we all returned. It's been a great experience to grow as much as we have."
On how the coaching staff has helped her development ... "I think it's been a huge difference having Becca (Block) and Alyssa (Murray) on staff this year. It's nice that they're close in age and they've had the experience that we're going through right now very recently. It's made it easier for us to go to them any time we want and ask them questions, especially if we're having issues, we know that they've been through it. There is great communication with them -- they will reach out to us and if there's something they want me to work on specifically, they'll explain it to me and I'd try to implement it. It's helped me grow a lot from last year. They've given me a lot more confidence to go to goal. They tell me before every game that if I have a shot to take it. I feel a lot of trust with them and I know they believe it me. I feel a lot more confident in my skills and know I can contribute more on the field."
On the Big Ten Tournament being in her home state of New Jersey ... "I'm really excited, especially since my parents couldn't make it out to Michigan much this year. A lot of my old coaches are going to come and I'm going to be able to see a lot of people that I haven't seen in a while -- it's going to be great. It's also exciting to be a part of the first Big Ten Tournament. Even though we're the last seed, we're looking forward to the experience. We're going to go in there with nothing to lose and give it our all and see what we can do."
On the team's focus for the Big Ten Tournament ... "Our focus is to give it our all and communicate through the whole game. Throughout the game's it's important for us to communicate and know what each other are doing, and on offense, we have to make sure we're flowing with each other and united as a unit. This is an experience for us to grow and show people that we're here to play and can compete with these ranked opponents."
On her academic interests ... "I'm going to declare as a psychology major and I want to go into a business track with that. I'm taking stats during spring term to work toward that major. I know I want to do something that can keep sports in my life because it's basically my life -- maybe marketing or PR."
On her summer plans ... "I'm looking forward to staying in Ann Arbor for spring term with a lot of my teammates. It's going to be a great time to bond. We'll be able to hang out together and it will be much more relaxed. We can go into Oosterbaan and pass around and joke around, and that's what's going to build our chemistry. That's what is going to help us get even farther next year. When I go home after spring term, I'll probably get a side job like last summer and then I can schedule my workouts around it. I'll be training hard and trying to get in the best shape that I can. I want to be able to come back in the fall ready to play and be as fit as I can."
• Previous Spotlight: Anna Schueler
