I'm glad I did. I really like the Russian culture. I think it's one of the most fascinating cultures in the world. Today's college athletes are entrenched in their sports year round. When not in the playing season, there's fine tuning, training and conditioning in an attempt to keep up with the competition or gain an edge.
Coaches are often reluctant to share their players with coaches from other sports.
But in Vaughan's case, she was so successful in both soccer and lacrosse that it was hard for either head coach to selfishly argue. Most importantly, she brings a tremendous amount of leadership and excitement to the game and to the team. She stepped into a leadership role right after her freshman year and quietly started doing things. She really made an impact through her junior and senior years, and a lot of the impact she made was off the field. I think that's the part of playing college sports that gets a lot of athletes burnt out, the monotony of playing the same thing over and over again.