Senior Spotlight: #1 Kaitlyn Collin
10/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
By Katie Davidson, MSU Athletic Communications Student Assistant
EAST LANSING, Mich. - There was once an eight-year-old crawling in mud, trying to stop the boys on the opposing team from sending the ball past her and into the goal. Her single instruction, "Whatever you do, just don't let the ball in the net!"
This was the first piece of advice given to Kaitlyn Collin by her coach as she ventured into the net as a goalkeeper for the very first time. After playing almost every sport when younger, Kaitlyn found a love for soccer. She found a passion for playing goalkeeper ever since she was the first to volunteer to take the back line, between the posts and stop the other team from scoring.
"That's when I fell in love with goalkeeping and soccer", Collin said as she described her first experience as a goalkeeper.
After enjoying the position and the game so much, Kaitlyn continued her career playing club soccer. She even tried out for a team that was coached by Michigan State's current assistant coach, Stacy DeLonge. Kaitlyn and Delonge connected immediately, which became beneficial when it was time for Kaitlyn to make the jump to the collegiate ranks. Delonge helped Kaitlyn realize early in her playing days that her full potential was in the net, so they took her off the attack and where she could thrive. The rest is history.
Originally from Grand Ledge, Michigan, Kaitlyn was recruited by Western Michigan University, where she played for three seasons. Kaitlyn was a significant force for the Broncos in the 2013 season, where she made her first-career start with a 5-1 win at Toledo. Although Kaitlyn enjoyed her time at WMU, it was not everything she was hoping to experience during her collegiate career as both an athlete and a student.
"It wasn't the college environment that I was expecting, or that I was dreaming of," said Collin. "I got my release from Western, and both Coach Tom (Saxton) and Coach Tammy (Farnum) were super interested in me coming to Michigan State, and that was a dream come true for me."
As a local kid, she and her family bleed green and white, and she had a deep love for Spartan athletics. Her father played for Michigan State's ice hockey team under legendary head coach Ron Mason.
"When I got the opportunity, it just fit," said Collin. "It meant a lot to my family, my grandparents and extended family were all so supportive of me being at Western, but me being here at Michigan State has been really great for everyone."
The support of her family, especially from her mom and dad, has been very influential throughout Kaitlyn's career both on and off the field. During her time in Kalamazoo, playing time was a significant adversity that Kaitlyn had to overcome, as she was splitting time as the starting goalkeeper. In addition, Kaitlyn faced the toughest obstacle yet at MSU when she suffered a career-ending injury that would force her to rely on her family, friends, teammates and coaches.
After recording 843 minutes for the Green and White and turning aside 58 shots she faced in 2016, Kaitlyn found herself with a pain in her arm during practice. After an ultrasound, Kaitlyn discovered that she had a blood clot in her subclavian vein in her arm, thus, would be put on blood thinning medication. Unfortunately, this resulted in the end of Kaitlyn's time in the net.
"[The injury] was world-ending to me. That was hard. It was hard not knowing I was not going to be able help my team on the field anymore. It was hard that I wasn't even going to be able to practice."
After the news of her injury, Kaitlyn reflected on her last practice and was in disbelief that her shutout performance at Iowa on Sept. 18 would the last soccer game she'd ever play in.
"Those were hard things to digest," Collin stated. "But with the help of the coaching staff, I wouldn't have wanted this to happen anywhere else."
Kaitlyn credits the team and the coaches for helping her overcome this adversity and thank them for allowing her to still be a significant part of the team.
"They are an amazing staff, and they've made me feel so at home," said Collin. "I get to travel and wear the captain's band," which held the most importance when she couldn't play on the field anymore.
Although Kaitlyn's injury has eliminated any minutes in net, she has become a significant factor for the team through her captain role. She sees her injury as a blessing to be a captain because most captains are usually on the field. Kaitlyn carries out her leadership role on the bench by keeping morale high.
"When the time on the field is not good, the bench is the first people to pick up the people on the field. It's been cool for me to have that leadership role that I might not have ever touched before."
Kaitlyn has thoroughly enjoyed her leadership responsibilities off of the field so much that she hopes to be a coach at the collegiate level in the future. After graduating with a bachelor's in communication, she hopes to pursue a master's degree in coaching and leadership.
"If I could stay at Michigan State and get a master's degree here, and keep helping with the soccer team, that would be best case scenario."
