Balancing Sommer endeavors

Wednesday, October 14, 1998

Balancing Sommer endeavors

WSOCCER: Soccer phenom Sommer Hammoud artfully juggles athletics
and her studies

By A. CinQue Carter

Daily Bruin Contributor

It’s been her dream since the first day she donned soccer duds
15 years ago. Never has she wavered from it; she had always stayed
focused. Once the goal was set, she knew she could and would
achieve it. After all, what’s the use in setting a goal if you
don’t plan on achieving it? This young woman doesn’t have the word
"can’t" in her vocabulary.

So here we are a decade and a half later, and at age 19, Sommer
Hammoud is still on the pathway to success. UCLA is her vehicle,
and she plans on riding it all the way to … medical school. Yes,
the 1997 women’s soccer Pac-10 Freshman of the Year is going to be
a pediatrician or a surgeon. She’s always known it and refuses to
believe otherwise.

"I want to go to medical school," Hammoud said, "so I will. I
think that will be the most rewarding career for me.

"And to top that off, I love my science classes. I know that’s
crazy, but I do."

So how does a student at UCLA balance playing soccer and
majoring in biology at the same time? And do them both well? For
Hammoud, it’s a breeze.

"It’s very important to manage your time well," Hammoud said.
"There isn’t time to sit and watch television for two hours every
night and go hang out. You have to be productive in your studying,
practicing, homework and games.

"With this formula, it’s possible to do them both well. I expect
top-of-the-line results in sports and academics. That’s why I’m at
UCLA. It takes discipline and hard work."

Confirmed head coach Todd Saldaña, "Sommer’s so passionate
about her work. She’s very dedicated. She comes to practice every
day and works hard.

"And she leads by example. That’s why we made her a captain.
She’s positive. And the young players feel confident playing with
her and communicating with her.

"She’s there, always pumping up the freshmen, building up their
confidence. She leads with praise and positivity."

Reflecting on what Hammoud brings to the squad, teammates agreed
that she is truly an asset.

"She motivates with her actions," sophomore forward Tracey
Milburn said. "And she’s a motivator off the field, too. She’s
really easy to talk to about problems and concerns. And she’s also
an awesome player."

That brings us to what she does on the field. As Freshman of the
Year last season, Hammoud was also honored as a Second Team
All-Conference pick. That was not a surprise to her. She planned on
making First Team, actually, so she wound up falling just
short.

"I was very surprised that I was named Freshman of the Year,"
Hammoud said, "because I didn’t have major scoring numbers. I did
play consistent minutes and start most games.

"While I was having an impact I didn’t know how much I was
actually making.

"I set goals for myself, like (winning) Pac-10 Freshman of the
Year and First Team All-Conference, winning the Pac-10 and going to
the tournament. I achieved most of those last season, but I still
need to keep working."

That type of attitude has propelled Hammoud into the position
that she’s in. As a sophomore outside midfielder, Hammoud is
counted on to play nearly all 90 minutes every game. And while it
is expected of this young star, it’s also appreciated by her
coach.

"She’s got the natural ability to run for 90 minutes,"
Saldaña said. "She takes advantage of that. Other players have
potential to have an impact and they play in spurts. She has speed.
You’ll notice that in the first 15 minutes and the last 15 minutes
(of each game), there’s a consistency about her work."

Hammoud explained her potential for development even further. "I
don’t think I’ve reached my peak yet," Hammoud said. "I think I
have a lot to learn and I think I’m very capable of becoming a much
better soccer player than I am.

"This year and the next two years will be time for me to grow as
a player. And I think Todd (Saldaña) is the type of coach that
will facilitate that growth. He will help each and every player
reach their full potential."

Potential is something that Hammoud has always shown, even since
her earliest soccer days. She began playing organized soccer at age
4, but she didn’t begin to play club soccer until high school. This
is an unusual occurrence in that most soccer players who want to
stay competitive beyond high school and even college begin playing
in clubs at around age 10.

Yet, not until her junior year of high school did Hammoud happen
upon the nationally recognized Southern California Blues Soccer
Club.

"My association with the Blues has helped me grow the most
soccer-wise," Hammoud said. "They’re one of the top clubs in the
nation. It was very competitive within the team so we all became
better players.

"The coaches were just amazing; I had the best coaches. They
were so knowledgeable about the game. They helped me grow
individually and gain more confidence. They helped my game vision
and tactics and the way I approach the game."

But how does this student athlete remain so disciplined in her
school work and soccer? How is she able to block out all the evils
that so many other college athletes fall victim to? How is she able
to balance it all?

"Islam," Hammoud said. "My religion describes me because it
teaches patience. It teaches us to be nice to others. And all
aspects of my lessons carry over to my life and to my work ethic.
Islam teaches me to do everything to the best of my ability. It’s
made me a hard worker and it motivates me to be the best at what I
do."

These components – Hammoud wanting to be the best she can be and
UCLA being highly regarded in academia and athletics, combined with
the strong presence of Muslims on campus – persuaded her to become
a part of this tradition.

"It’s very hard in this society to be a Muslim," Hammoud said,
"because it almost seems as if everything is going in the opposite
direction of where I should be going with my religion. It’s
important that I’m surrounded by Muslims because it helps me stay
strong in Islam. There is a support system at UCLA. It helps me
stay strong so I don’t veer off.

"UCLA has a strong Muslim community, so if I didn’t have that I
don’t know where I would be as far as my religion goes.

"Islam is so important to me. Religiously it’s all I know. From
the time I was very young, we had to go to Sunday school. We
learned religion, reading and writing Arabic and learned to read
the Holy Qur’an. The Sunday school instilled a lot of different
values and principles into me because it was a family thing. Family
is the most important thing in Egyptian culture."

Hammoud’s extended UCLA family keeps her going in more ways than
one. Without that, she most certainly wouldn’t be at UCLA and
wouldn’t be on the road to attaining those goals that she’s always
setting for herself. But, having become the person that she is
today, she keeps working to become an all-around better person. And
whether she becomes a doctor and or becomes a member of the U.S.
National Team, she’ll be happy knowing that she tried her best.

"I think every girl’s and women’s soccer player in the country
dreams and aspires to be on the national team. I set it as a goal.
I always set my goals at the top. It’s what I work toward. It
enables me to become the best player I can possibly become.

"If by working toward that goal, it takes me there, cool. If
not, it helped me become the best player I could be."

It’s common for students to do the work necessary to excel in
school. It’s also common for athletes to do what it takes to be
successful. But what sets Hammoud and other student athletes like
herself apart is their dual-dedication.

"I love being a student athlete," she said. "I wouldn’t want to
be one without the other. It’s the greatest feeling in the world to
wear the paraphernalia of your school and actually belong to the
program.

"Being part of the athletic community at UCLA, you’re there
every day surrounded by Olympic and professional-caliber athletes.
These are the best athletes in the nation."

And Sommer Hammoud is now part of that tradition: a student
athlete at one of the most prestigious institutions in the nation.
As the 1998 media guide reports, UCLA is "where great futures
begin. The best combination of academics and athletics."

What a balance.

Balancing school, religion and collegiate soccer may be tough,
but sophomore midfielder Sommer Hammoud wouldn’t have it any other
way. Photo by Charles Kuo

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