A Family Affair
September 17, 2007 04:54 PM | General
By Tim Goodenow for MSNsportsNET.com
September 23, 2007
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Krystle Kallman is a three-year starter for the 14th-ranked Mountaineer women’s soccer team. Her oldest brother, Brian, was a collegiate soccer star at Jacksonville and Creighton. Her older brother, Brad, was a state runner-up wrestler in the talent-rich state of Minnesota.
And it doesn’t stop there, that only covers her older siblings.
Her younger sister Kylie is playing Big Ten soccer as a freshman for the Minnesota women’s team. Then there are two high schoolers, junior Brent, and sophomore Kassey, who Krystle says could be the best soccer players of the bunch.
Yes, six, six Kallman kids – all thriving in sports they have come to love.
“I love it,” says the proud WVU junior. “I’m the third oldest, but the oldest girl of the siblings.”
Responsible for this collection of stars are Rich and Laura Kallman. The proud parents raised their children in Woodbury, Minn., located just southeast of St. Paul, the state's capital.
Organizing an eight-person meal at the dinner table takes more planning then most can fathom. Instead of compelling themselves to always finding enough space, chairs, napkins, glasses, silverware and dinnerware each night, they improvised. The Kallman’s made great use of a busy mom’s best friend – the crock pot.
“We really didn’t have the time to sit down at the table at one time,” says Krystle of being served a balanced meal squeezed between soccer practice and wrestling tournaments. “It was more of who could get to the crock pot first and find a meal. There was plenty of food to go around if your practice ended early enough.”
Krystle witnessed her parents juggle work, the washing of uniforms and remembering practice schedules each new season. While many families struggled with a hectic daily routine, Rich and Laura worked diligently to keep sports in their children’s lives.
“My mom drove us pretty much everywhere when we were younger and my dad was working. They still managed to get to every one of our games, which was incredible,” recalls an appreciative Kallman. “My mom was very involved in our town’s soccer clubs and is still on the board today. I think she helps out with two booster clubs now but has always found a way to make time for our sports teams.”
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“They really didn’t talk to me until the end of my junior year. They sent a lot of mail but I really took notice to a letter with all of the rankings on it,” explains Kallman. “They had the No. 15 team in the country circled, which was West Virginia. I told myself that I didn’t want to play anywhere but the best. And that is where I could and I became a Mountaineer.”
Her decision proved wise as the accounting major has registered 46 career starts, every match, since arriving on campus.
“At her position, the mentality she takes and the physical play she competes with is so important. Her effort and desire on the ball, all plays to her advantage,” says head coach Nikki Izzo-Brown.
After her sophomore year, she was named the team’s most defensive player of the season after anchoring a defense that shut-out 13 opponents, including eight in BIG EAST play.
With her achievements on the field, it only makes sense for a familiar face to be seated in the stands sporting a WVU women’s soccer t-shirt.
“My dad still makes the trip to Morgantown almost every home weekend. He’s the best for wanting to drive 14 hours down and 14 hours back,” says Krystle of his routine 1,800-mile journey from Woodbury to Morgantown.
While her father can make the trips, Krystle has found another way to keep a relationship alive.
“I’m close to all of my brothers and sisters but a little more so to Kylie now. We’ve grown closer the past few years and with her now playing college soccer, we talk each week,” says Krystle of her sister. “I text her good luck messages in the morning. We call each other after games to see how things went. Who ever has the last game has to call the other one.”
Krystle’s efforts were recently noticed and this week, she was named to Soccer Buzz’s elite team of the week. Kallman was outstanding last week in two home non-conference wins against Rhode Island and Penn State. The junior defender shut-down all-Big Ten forward Aubrey Aden-Buie of Penn State as the Mountaineers held PSU to just two shots on goal in a 1-0 shutout.
“As a center back you have to be a great ball-winner and she does exactly that,” says Izzo-Brown. “She is strong on the ball and we can always count on her to win the ball when it comes in the box. Without her presence in the middle we would be at a huge disadvantage.”
Mountaineer fans can be rest assured at least one defender will use all the fuel in her tank to battle Xavier this afternoon. As for Kallman’s father, his green Honda Accord will be forced to make some re-fueling breaks on his trip back north.
