Fisher a True Competitor
By Kevin Ivany
HurricaneSports.com
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – A true competitor on and off the pitch, Kristina Fisher epitomizes what it means to be a student-athlete for a Division I athletic program.
A senior midfielder on the University of Miami soccer team, Fisher has earned the start in all 68 matches since arriving on the Coral Gables campus and is ranked among the program’s top 10 on numerous career leaderboards.
Away from the field, she has been an involved member of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration this past May.
Currently pursuing a master of business administration, she anticipates adding that accomplishment to her awe-inspiring resume in December.
“When I think about a student-athlete, she epitomizes both the student element as well as the athlete element. She has not only been a SAAC member for multiple years, but also an executive board member,” Shirelle Jackson, Miami’s Senior Associate AD of Student-Athlete Development, said. “Her growth within SAAC has also had a positive impact on the team and has helped the soccer team’s ability to be much more active with campus initiatives. She is just somebody who has figured out how to bring out not only the best of her SAAC members, but also her teammates. And I just feel like she is the ultimate team player.”
In her second season at the helm, Miami head coach Sarah Barnes has continued to see growth out of the Jupiter, Fla., native’s already spectacular work ethic and vast number of skills.
“From a soccer playing standpoint, she is obviously very athletic and is very quick, especially in open space and broken play type situations,” Barnes said. “She is extremely dynamic on the dribble and very often can slice through defenders.
“Some things that we have tried working with her on is recognizing when those moments are sort of broken,” Barnes continued. “For example, understanding when there is an opportunity to go on a run, versus moments when she has done a great job of attracting two, three, even four defenders to her, to find an open teammate and then make a run into the next space. That nuanced decision-making in the heat of the moment is really difficult for dribblers like her, but I feel like she has started to adjust and make those improvements.”
Along with her natural abilities on the ball, Barnes explained the competitive side of the 5-foot-5-inch midfielder’s game, calling her a “true competitor.”
“She wants to win and be the best at everything she is doing. She listens to the feedback, she cares and she is passionate about the game,” Barnes said. “No matter the day, she always comes with energy, commitment and resilience to try and be the best she can be and help the team be the best they can be. Whether it is at practice, during the game or even after one, she always brings that competitive edge.”
This energy is something that Barnes has seen showcased countless times by Fisher, most recently on an off day for the athletes who played significant minutes against Notre Dame on Oct. 10. In the following night’s practice, Fisher was on the side replicating a television announcer, giving play-by-play, and was jubilant every time her teammates made a significant play or scored in the short field scrimmage.
“Overall, she is the kid, on match day, who is always pumping up and energizing the team, Barnes said. “She just brings that energy that a lot of players in difficult times and challenging situations, can’t, and maybe don’t have that energy and optimism to say, here we go again. We are going to take this challenge on and make it the best we can make it. Just both on and off the field she brings a really special energy.”
“I just like bringing excitement to the team, getting ready for game days and practicing together,” Fisher said. “It has been an honor to be a captain over the last couple years alongside [senior defender] Dejah [Cason] and now [senior defender] Bayleigh [Chaviers], just leading the team to reach our highest potential and become the best soccer players we can be.”
Along with the energy and excitement, have also come the accolades. Collecting an assist in a 2-1 victory over Syracuse on Oct. 13, Fisher moved into sole possession of second-place on the program’s all-time list with 17. In addition, she is tied for fourth with six match-winning goals, fourth in shots (153) and tied for 11th in points (41).
Working towards her individual goals, Barnes mentioned Fisher’s discipline on and off the pitch to be the very best she can be is something that also stand out to her. Whether it is personal workouts during the summer or watching film with the coaches, she explained how Fisher is always willing to put in the extra work.
“She is an incredibly disciplined athlete,” Barnes said. “She has ambitions to be the best she can be. She has ambitions to play professionally. So, she is the kind of student-athlete who not only is showing up to training, but is also always trying to get in the extra touches. She is pushing herself to raise her fitness level, even though it is the best on the team. I mean, really, I don’t think Fish is competing with other people, she is competing against Fish. She is competing to be better than she was the day before.”
And as the senior prepares for her final match of her collegiate career, when the team takes on third-ranked North Carolina at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, she had one final message for her teammates.
“I hope I’ve shown the team how to have fun with what they’re doing and just really take in every moment because it’ll be over before they know it,” Fisher said.
