Camryn McKee Sydney Magliocca interview on Coastal's coaching change

The Camryn McKee Sydney Magliocca interview covered a Coastal Carolina University coaching change that McKee believes improved team culture, six early wins under Pete’s staff, and her plans for medical school. Speaking with her teammate, McKee also explained why she chose Coastal despite its lack of a pre-med track and how she is making time for a demanding biochemistry degree.

How did Camryn McKee's college soccer career begin?

Camryn McKee reached college soccer by following her older sister into the sport, then joining a travel club as she became more serious about playing. Her team rose into the top five nationally for its age group, and McKee went on to play Division I soccer at Coastal Carolina University.

Following her sister from gymnastics to soccer

McKee grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, and spent about a year in gymnastics beginning at age four. Her mother had done Division I cheerleading and hoped one of her children would try cheer or gymnastics. McKee instead followed her older sister when she switched to soccer. She recalled knowing so little about the rules at first that she tried to score directly from a kick-off.

By middle school, soccer had become a more serious pursuit. McKee joined a travel club and said she reached an ECL national-level team around her freshman year of high school. The club coach helped his players navigate college recruiting as the team became a top-five side nationally in the 2006 age group. According to McKee, all of her teammates went on to Division I schools.

Her mother's advice about staying with sport

College soccer initially felt like the expected next step rather than a plan McKee had set for herself. Her mother, whom McKee described as a high-level athlete, encouraged McKee and her siblings to keep pursuing what interested them because they could not know what opportunities it might bring. McKee said she prayed for guidance while speaking with colleges, with her goal of attending medical school already shaping her search.

Why did Camryn McKee choose Coastal Carolina University?

Camryn McKee chose Coastal Carolina University after learning that its lack of a pre-med track would not, by itself, prevent her from applying to medical school. She also liked the culture then-coach Chubb wanted to build. McKee committed in December of her junior year and said proximity to Charlotte suited her.

A call about medical school requirements

Medicine was a priority as McKee considered schools. When Chubb contacted her, she was hesitant because Coastal did not offer the pre-med track she had been looking for. McKee and her mother called a medical school admissions office in South Carolina to ask what attending a school without one would mean for her prospects.

McKee said they were told that her undergraduate school mattered less than taking care of her grades and completing the experiences expected of an applicant, including internships, clinical work and shadowing. That answer widened her options. After further conversations with Chubb, she decided Coastal's proposed team culture was a good fit.

Staying within reach of Charlotte

Distance was not a strict requirement at first. McKee recalled telling her club coach that she did not particularly mind where she went, while her mother wanted her to stay close to home. McKee also considers herself a homebody and did not expect to choose somewhere more than five or six hours away. Coastal, she said, is about three hours from Charlotte. She is now a junior at the university.

What did Camryn McKee say about Coastal Carolina's coaching change?

Camryn McKee said Coastal Carolina's coaching change was unsettling when the players first learned of it, but she has enjoyed the result. Pete arrived from Tarleton State University with Rex and Liv; McKee said the team won six games early under the new staff and that its culture improved after a difficult previous season.

Waiting to learn who would lead the team

The players learned about the change roughly halfway through a spring semester, when their coach gathered them after practice with administrators present. McKee remembered worrying about the games still to play and what the next year would look like. Younger players, she said, were particularly concerned about what a new coach might mean for their places on the team.

About two and a half weeks later, the team learned Pete would arrive from Tarleton with Rex and Liv. McKee said the players initially knew little about him or how to prepare. The staff seemed intimidating at first, but her impression changed as she got to know them.

Six wins and a change in culture

McKee described Chubb as a great person while saying that a different approach was good for the program after a season she felt had not gone well. She characterized the previous and current setups as very different. The team won six games early in Pete's tenure, a contrast McKee raised when explaining why she welcomed the change.

McKee put her clearest assessment of the new environment this way:

I think the team culture this year also is a lot better

She credited the coaches as part of that improvement. The uncertainty of the spring had been real, but McKee said she now likes the staff and believes the change was probably for the best.

How does Camryn McKee manage biochemistry and college soccer?

Camryn McKee said combining a biochemistry major with college soccer has been difficult, particularly during demanding fall semesters. She relies on help from her mother, her sister at Clemson University and a support system at Coastal that includes coaches, academic advisers and teammates. She has had to plan medical experience around her academic and playing commitments.

Her sister is a senior and a biochemistry major at Clemson. Because she has already taken classes McKee is encountering, she can offer help with the coursework. McKee also talks through decisions with her mother. At Coastal, she said, support extends beyond any one person: coaches, advisers and teammates all help her manage the demands of being a student-athlete.

That support does not create spare time during the busiest parts of the year. McKee described the class load as heavy and said the fall leaves little room for additional commitments. Her account of the workload was direct: she does not consider it easy, even as she continues working toward medicine.

What are Camryn McKee's medical school and orthopedics plans?

Camryn McKee wants to attend medical school and is interested in orthopedics. She arranged to shadow an orthopedic trauma surgeon through a connection on her summer league team. Because soccer and biochemistry make it hard to complete every requirement during the academic year, she expects she may need a gap semester or a year.

Finding an orthopedic surgeon to shadow

During the summer, McKee learned that the mother of one of her summer league teammates was an orthopedic trauma surgeon. That matched her interest in orthopedics, so she asked her teammate for her mother's phone number. McKee said she arranged a shadowing experience for the coming winter and into the summer.

The opportunity gives her a way to pursue clinical exposure outside her most demanding semesters. It also connects the medical interest that influenced her college choice with a particular specialty she wants to explore. McKee did not present shadowing as a substitute for her other responsibilities; it is one part of the preparation she is trying to fit around school and soccer.

Leaving room for a gap semester or year

McKee expects she will probably need a gap semester or year to meet the additional demands of a medical school application. She sees that as a practical possibility for college athletes pursuing fields that require experience beyond coursework. For now, she is continuing her biochemistry studies, playing at Coastal and using the support around her while arranging opportunities when her schedule allows.