Upcoming Event: Women's Soccer versus Wake Forest on August 5, 2026 at 7 p.m.
/
7 p.m.
Women's Soccer
vs Wake Forest
Women's Soccer Summer Update: Sophomore Gretchen Miller
DURHAM, N.C.? Gretchen Miller is a sophomore women’s soccer player from Rochester, N.Y. She is a defender who started all 23 contests last season for the Blue Devils. Miller provided insight on her summer away from Durham.
Hi Everyone!
As I write this, I am on my bedroom floor surrounded by piles of moving boxes. A little background before I continue -- being the youngest of three and going to school in North Carolina, my parents have decided it is time to pack up the house and move. What this means for me is that I have to go through all my stuff and decide what goes with my parents or what goes back to Duke. I have been putting this task off for a while and now with less than two weeks until I return to Durham I have to face the boxes.
When I read C-Mac’s (Christie McDonald’s) report on her summer, I was extremely envious of all the beautiful places she traveled to and experienced. I began thinking I should maybe tell some story about scuba diving in Australia or snorkeling in the Caribbean. Instead I will be honest and shed light to all of you on the wonderful summer I spent in Rochester, N.Y. known to the locals as, “The ROC” my home of the last 17 years.
Rochester is not a huge city and is known best for being the home of Wegmans -- the best grocery store ever. The summers are beautiful in Rochester and unlike in Durham it does not regularly reach 90 degrees. The winters are a different story. Cold weather hits in late October to early November and commonly runs thru April, with a rare snow shower sometimes occurring in early May. Regardless of the unpredictable weather and extreme temperature changes year round, Rochester is currently home to my family and friends, so for that reason I love coming home.
When I arrived home in late April, I began the search for a summer job. It is now late July and to the shock of my parents, I have managed to work a total of 10 days. Yes, you read that correctly, 10 days. Finding a job was much harder than I had anticipated because of my daily w-league team’s practice schedule. Without the ability to work evenings or most weekends I was only able to find work at a local soccer camp and when the LPGA came to town, I was able to work the tournament. This is probably the last summer that will be the case though. In the next two summers I will be taking summer classes and hopefully, working an internship.
So what exactly did I spend three months doing if I wasn’t working is just what my parents are beginning to ask? Well besides some day trips, weekend getaways for family parties, and out of town games for my w-league team, I stayed relatively low key. My daily schedule usually included: waking up by 9:00 a.m., going to workout at Wannagetfast (a local place I have trained for years) or doing my Duke workout packet (as my teammates know, especially the ones in my soon to be sophomore class, my speed is un-teachable, haha, not really), eating some sort of lunch, running errands or just relaxing at home, w-league practice, dinner, hanging out with friends or watching a movie with my parents.
Speaking of renting movies, my family has probably rented a solid 50 movies this summer. We became regulars at Blockbuster and I think once the same cashier checked us out four nights in a row. He began to wonder if we did anything besides watch movies. But seriously, renting a movie for $1 is like a steal.
Before I finish, I felt I should share a funny story for everyone to enjoy. So one day I was in training at WGF (Wannagetfast) and I was talking to one of the guys in charge -- he mentioned morning training at the beach.
Actually, he did not mention it, he told me, “Some of us are going to the beach Saturday morning early to train. Plan on being there.” Ok no big deal, beach training with a few people. Saturday morning I headed down to the beach on one our local lakes. As I pull up, I see about 20 guys standing around a car. I recognize a few of them and know instantly that this small group of people working out at the beach is not so small and there are no girls. I immediately think,” What have I gotten myself into?”
Of the group of 20 or so guys, there are high school athletes, several professional NHL players, and an Olympian. And here I come, the only female. I can only imagine what they were thinking about me. Long story short, the training was amazing. It was an hour of running, working thru speed ladders, carrying people (Yes, try and imagine me carrying an NHL player...I didn’t. I had an alternate method to emulate carrying someone) and doing 300 shuttles in the sand. I felt like one of they guys, minus the grunting and yelling they do when they workout.
All in all this summer has been fantastic. I feel that I have been able to relax and enjoy myself, and now I am ready to get back to Duke and go back to work. With preseason just around the corner, I am extremely eager to get started and begin our journey together as a team. I am excited because I think from the new freshmen class through our seniors we have a great group, who will work for each other to achieve our goals. Hope everybody follows us and comes out to Kosky (Koskinen Stadium) to support us!
