Completed Event: Women's Soccer versus #1 Stanford on December 5, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 1
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Final
Women's Soccer
0
vs #1 Stanford
1
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Q&A with Sophomore Schuyler DeBree
4/11/2016 7:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C.— Blue Devil sophomore Schuyler DeBree suffered a torn ACL at Boston College Sept. 24, 2015. The 5-8 sophomore had started eight of her first 11 matches on the defensive end. DeBree, who hails from Fair Haven, N.J., had to sit and watch the Blue Devils advance to the NCAA College Cup for the third time in school history. DeBree was still a vital part of Duke's success and was able to gain a different perspective watching from the sidelines.
DeBree sat down with GoDuke.com recently to talk about her progress in her rehab and what she learned from her experiences last season.
GoDuke.com: Give us an update on how you are progressing in your rehab?
Schuyler DeBree: I started running about three weeks ago, which is a massive step forward, and something that is equally massive for my mental health. I love running and I feel like an athlete again now that I can run, which is huge. Recently, I went to practice for the first time and ran on the field. So far, I've only been on the treadmill or the track one day so it is exciting. I will hopefully be able to step into practice and do some none-contact play soon. The timeline is obviously a little more vague at this point but I'd say within the month, I'll be stepping into practice, non-contact, because I'll be able to cut at that point. After a month of non-contact, they can consider me for contact play. So I'm definitely getting close.
GD: Looking back at this past season, how hard was it to sit on the sidelines and watch your team make it to the NCAA College Cup and not be able to play?
SD: The majority of the time I was so caught up in the excitement and the pure happiness and pride of being a part of the team. So at first, I didn't think about it, but there are absolutely some moments where it was emotionally drawing for sure. One of the hardest moments for me was after the Stanford game and after the Florida State game too, being in the tournament was ok and I could completely invest myself in the team and it wasn't too hard to deal with. Once we got to the bigger and bigger games, all I wanted to do was be a part of the equation for getting to the final four, getting to the national championship, winning the national championship. I want the responsibility more than anything. What made it harder too was that during my club years, I had won two national championships with my club team. The first year I was sick with an Iron deficiency and I had mono at the same time but didn't really know. I was only playing 5-6 minutes per half and I did not contribute much on the field. But we won a national championship and it was great and it was awesome. Then the next year, I was playing 90 minutes a game at center back and was one of the key contributors and we won a national championship. I knew exactly what it felt like to have a bigger role in those big games. Winning bigger games are exciting no matter what but when you have that big role, when you know you contributed without a doubt to that win, that is one of the greatest experiences and greatest feelings you could ever have. So when I was not distracted and when I was not focused completely on the team and I let my mind slip in, it was definitely emotional. There's no better word to describe it. After the Florida State game, I was tearing up and hugging people because I was so proud of the team and the work we put in but at the same time, I wanted nothing more than to be running around on the field. It was crazy and it just felt like my insides were tearing apart. But it was beautiful at the same time.”
GD: What did you learn watching from the sidelines?
SD: I learned the importance of energy. By watching, especially by going through the warmups, I could tell game by game whether or not we were mentally prepared and had the right energy for it. It was interesting how obvious it was on the sideline whether or not people were amped up and at the right mental place versus when I was on the line warming up then I wouldn't have as much of a sense of whether or not we were ready, which is so interesting. And now I think I'll be more aware of it now after having had that experience. But that is one of the most important things is mentality before a game and making sure that people are hyped about it. One of the sayings for our team is be where your feet are and I think that this encompasses the fact that if we are in warmup and people are distracted and their feet or their mind are somewhere else, we won't play well, versus if people leave everything to the side and everyone is fully invested in the warmup and the game, we will be successful. That was a big one and then also talking about regarding winning. I used to not really think about what needed to do to win as much as I would have liked to. Sitting on the sidelines gave me so many times where I would think 'we need to relax and keep the ball right now.' It will be good to go into the game with that mentality of being more conscious of controlling the speed of play and really thinking about strategy as we are playing and not just letting adrenaline take over.”
GD: Had you ever been hurt and had to miss an extended amount of time during your soccer career?
SD: This is my first major injury.
GD: How has the spring been so far with the team?
SD: I've been very impressed with the work we've put in this spring to make sure we have a really solid team culture and make sure everyone is on the same page. The biggest thing we've talked about in regards to last season and the loss is that we can't be complacent. We can't let the fact that we have 10 returning starters give us too much confidence. We can't get a big head. And one thing that we have to be careful of is comparing ourselves to last year's team. We can't always be like 'if we are not doing well or if we are doing well, we need to completely mirror what we did last season.' Realistically, we are a completely new team. That is the dynamic of college soccer. We have a whole new group of freshmen coming in. That is going to change the team dynamic. We are going to have new leaders step up. I know that my freshmen year, the seniors were the last group to have gone to the prior national champion ship and a lot of times they would say, 'this is what we did when we got to the national championship.' I know it is going to be an incredible learning experience but I think as a team, we need to be conscious that we cannot mirror it because our team is going to be inherently different.
GD: Do you try to reach out to the freshmen this early?
SD: Definitely. We obviously don't want to overwhelm them but a lot of girls reach out to them on signing day and then a lot of us have texted them since then. Throughout the spring it is light, mainly texting and then if anything. Our current freshmen are the ones reaching out to them, making connections and making sure that they are available if they have any questions. We will really start incorporating them into the team dynamic this summer because we'll set up a group chat and that gets really rowdy and funny. That will be the first introduction of the team culture. Last year what we started doing, which I think is a really good idea and we'll probably do it again, is every person on the team sends into our group chat, per week we have a schedule of when people send a video in. Each person records a video of talking about them, introducing them to the freshmen and update everyone on what they have been doing over the summer. Some people get creative and do funny formats. I remember Imani [Dorsey] did hers while holding her dog last year. She was petting Coco, while she was talking. It is a good way for the freshmen to learn personalities and it worked really well last year so we will do it again.
GD: What are your plans for the summer?
SD: I initially applied to Duke in Venice and I was going to do that with Ashton [Miller,] which would have been so fun but I decided to instead stay here for both summer sessions, because that is the best way for me to not just to get back on the field but to be a leader on the field. To be here with all of my resources will be best, so I am excited for that. I'm just going to be training pretty much every single day this summer. I'll take a class first semester and then get an internship or a job for the second.”
DeBree sat down with GoDuke.com recently to talk about her progress in her rehab and what she learned from her experiences last season.
GoDuke.com: Give us an update on how you are progressing in your rehab?
Schuyler DeBree: I started running about three weeks ago, which is a massive step forward, and something that is equally massive for my mental health. I love running and I feel like an athlete again now that I can run, which is huge. Recently, I went to practice for the first time and ran on the field. So far, I've only been on the treadmill or the track one day so it is exciting. I will hopefully be able to step into practice and do some none-contact play soon. The timeline is obviously a little more vague at this point but I'd say within the month, I'll be stepping into practice, non-contact, because I'll be able to cut at that point. After a month of non-contact, they can consider me for contact play. So I'm definitely getting close.
GD: Looking back at this past season, how hard was it to sit on the sidelines and watch your team make it to the NCAA College Cup and not be able to play?
SD: The majority of the time I was so caught up in the excitement and the pure happiness and pride of being a part of the team. So at first, I didn't think about it, but there are absolutely some moments where it was emotionally drawing for sure. One of the hardest moments for me was after the Stanford game and after the Florida State game too, being in the tournament was ok and I could completely invest myself in the team and it wasn't too hard to deal with. Once we got to the bigger and bigger games, all I wanted to do was be a part of the equation for getting to the final four, getting to the national championship, winning the national championship. I want the responsibility more than anything. What made it harder too was that during my club years, I had won two national championships with my club team. The first year I was sick with an Iron deficiency and I had mono at the same time but didn't really know. I was only playing 5-6 minutes per half and I did not contribute much on the field. But we won a national championship and it was great and it was awesome. Then the next year, I was playing 90 minutes a game at center back and was one of the key contributors and we won a national championship. I knew exactly what it felt like to have a bigger role in those big games. Winning bigger games are exciting no matter what but when you have that big role, when you know you contributed without a doubt to that win, that is one of the greatest experiences and greatest feelings you could ever have. So when I was not distracted and when I was not focused completely on the team and I let my mind slip in, it was definitely emotional. There's no better word to describe it. After the Florida State game, I was tearing up and hugging people because I was so proud of the team and the work we put in but at the same time, I wanted nothing more than to be running around on the field. It was crazy and it just felt like my insides were tearing apart. But it was beautiful at the same time.”
GD: What did you learn watching from the sidelines?
SD: I learned the importance of energy. By watching, especially by going through the warmups, I could tell game by game whether or not we were mentally prepared and had the right energy for it. It was interesting how obvious it was on the sideline whether or not people were amped up and at the right mental place versus when I was on the line warming up then I wouldn't have as much of a sense of whether or not we were ready, which is so interesting. And now I think I'll be more aware of it now after having had that experience. But that is one of the most important things is mentality before a game and making sure that people are hyped about it. One of the sayings for our team is be where your feet are and I think that this encompasses the fact that if we are in warmup and people are distracted and their feet or their mind are somewhere else, we won't play well, versus if people leave everything to the side and everyone is fully invested in the warmup and the game, we will be successful. That was a big one and then also talking about regarding winning. I used to not really think about what needed to do to win as much as I would have liked to. Sitting on the sidelines gave me so many times where I would think 'we need to relax and keep the ball right now.' It will be good to go into the game with that mentality of being more conscious of controlling the speed of play and really thinking about strategy as we are playing and not just letting adrenaline take over.”
GD: Had you ever been hurt and had to miss an extended amount of time during your soccer career?
SD: This is my first major injury.
GD: How has the spring been so far with the team?
SD: I've been very impressed with the work we've put in this spring to make sure we have a really solid team culture and make sure everyone is on the same page. The biggest thing we've talked about in regards to last season and the loss is that we can't be complacent. We can't let the fact that we have 10 returning starters give us too much confidence. We can't get a big head. And one thing that we have to be careful of is comparing ourselves to last year's team. We can't always be like 'if we are not doing well or if we are doing well, we need to completely mirror what we did last season.' Realistically, we are a completely new team. That is the dynamic of college soccer. We have a whole new group of freshmen coming in. That is going to change the team dynamic. We are going to have new leaders step up. I know that my freshmen year, the seniors were the last group to have gone to the prior national champion ship and a lot of times they would say, 'this is what we did when we got to the national championship.' I know it is going to be an incredible learning experience but I think as a team, we need to be conscious that we cannot mirror it because our team is going to be inherently different.
GD: Do you try to reach out to the freshmen this early?
SD: Definitely. We obviously don't want to overwhelm them but a lot of girls reach out to them on signing day and then a lot of us have texted them since then. Throughout the spring it is light, mainly texting and then if anything. Our current freshmen are the ones reaching out to them, making connections and making sure that they are available if they have any questions. We will really start incorporating them into the team dynamic this summer because we'll set up a group chat and that gets really rowdy and funny. That will be the first introduction of the team culture. Last year what we started doing, which I think is a really good idea and we'll probably do it again, is every person on the team sends into our group chat, per week we have a schedule of when people send a video in. Each person records a video of talking about them, introducing them to the freshmen and update everyone on what they have been doing over the summer. Some people get creative and do funny formats. I remember Imani [Dorsey] did hers while holding her dog last year. She was petting Coco, while she was talking. It is a good way for the freshmen to learn personalities and it worked really well last year so we will do it again.
GD: What are your plans for the summer?
SD: I initially applied to Duke in Venice and I was going to do that with Ashton [Miller,] which would have been so fun but I decided to instead stay here for both summer sessions, because that is the best way for me to not just to get back on the field but to be a leader on the field. To be here with all of my resources will be best, so I am excited for that. I'm just going to be training pretty much every single day this summer. I'll take a class first semester and then get an internship or a job for the second.”
Players Mentioned
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