Stanford goalkeeper Andrew Kartunen has battled through recent adversity. In 2006, he missed his entire senior year due to a shoulder injury. After being granted a medical red shirt, he returned in 2007 but was out after only 8 games due to a concussion. Prior to these setbacks, he competed at the various national youth levels and gained recognition for his collegiate work. Most notably, Kartunen was named to the Under-20 National Team that competed in the 2005 World Youth Championship. His previous body of work was vital to his inclusion in the 2008 MLS Combine. He kindly sat down to answer some questions with Soccer City FC.
Sean Grybos: You were a member of the U.S. Under-20 National Team at the 2005 World Youth Championship. What have you taken from that experience?
Andrew Kartunen: Participating in the 2005 World Youth Championship was an invaluable experience for me. It really taught me and forced me to become a professional on and off the field. Being surrounded by a bunch of successful professionals as well as ones that were still trying to find their place in their respective squads really showed me and helped me learn what it takes to make it to the next level in my soccer career. The experience forced me to concentrate and work hard every minute of every day. At the international level, there is no room for mental breaks and that whole process of preparing and participating in the World Championship was an amazing experience for me.
SG: Physically, how do you feel right now?
AK: Physically, I feel pretty well. My shoulder feels great and ready to go, as does my head. It was an unfortunate circumstance that I ended up with a nasty concussion in the middle of the college season and that it persisted for so long, but my doctors at Stanford cleared me to play at the beginning of December and I have been working very hard to get sharp for the MLS Combine coming up. Ever since I returned from my two shoulder surgeries and the complications that resulted, my shoulder has felt great and I have not encountered any problems along the way and throughout the season up to my concussion.
SG: What have you been doing to prepare for the combine?
AK: It has been a bit unfortunate for me in that I have only had a month to prepare for the combine after the head injury, but I have done my best to prepare myself as best as possible to be ready for the event. My first priority was to get back into physical shape through anaerobic and aerobic running as well as building my goalkeeper fitness for the combine. The first few weeks were focused around long runs, interval training, and a lot of footwork. Fortunately, the coaches at Stanford have been very willing to help me towards my aspiration of getting drafted and they have been working with me to get me back to the form I was in mid-season. Once my fitness returned, I have basically spent my time focusing on shot stopping, distribution, and crosses. I am now in a regular training routine and feel good about where I am at entering the combine.
SG: What are your expectations and objectives regarding the 2008 MLS Combine?
AK: I am going to try to approach the combine like I would any soccer experience. I will try to limit my mistakes as much as possible and make the saves that I am expected to make. That has always been my philosophy as a goalkeeper. I believe that if you can do the simple things well, then you will have a lot of success for my position. Also, I will try to limit the number of instances I will get called upon to make saves by organizing my team the best I can. If I can have a loud, decisive presence back in the net, that will make my job a lot easier in the games we play in. As far as my expectations go, I just feel extremely lucky to be playing soccer again. I have had a lot of struggles with injuries and have felt a lot of uncertainty over the past couple of years, so to make it back to this point and be invited to the MLS Combine is an accomplishment in itself and anything else will be a cherry on top of the cake. That being said, I am by no means satisfied by getting selected to go to the combine and will do my best to succeed as much as possible and put myself in a position to get drafted and then we’ll go from there.
SG: Is there anything that can be said about being able to attend the combine with your teammate Scott Bolkan?
AK: I am very happy for Scott that he got invited to the MLS Combine. He is a classy player both on and off the field and is a huge reason why our defense let in less than a goal per game this year. He even became an attacking force at the beginning of the year, scoring three goals off crosses and corners. Scott has become a dominant header as a central defender and is honestly one of the best 1 v 1 defenders I have ever played with. He also is one of the best tacklers I have come across as well. He certainly deserves to be a part of the combine.
SG: I want to thank you for your time and again extend my sincerest wishes on your upcoming soccer future; best of luck at the combine.
AK: Thanks a lot Sean, I am glad I could help out.
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