After Syracuse stopped a penalty corner from California, Kira Wimbert took off in a dead sprint up the field toward the Cal goal.

She ran almost 60 yards in full stride, effortlessly gliding past defenders, hoping the ball would end up on her stick for a counterattack. Senior back Roos Weers hit the ball up the pitch to her, but when it arrived on her stick, there were no SU players close enough to receive a pass.

Wimbert uses her physicality and speed on the field to gain an edge. When the team has to run in practice, Wimbert said she enjoys it. She came to the United States from Germany because she wanted to challenge herself athletically — she’s helped No. 9 Syracuse (8-4, 1-3 Atlantic Coast) this season as a sophomore, appearing in every game, tallying one goal and four assists.

“She brings communication, speed and intensity every time,” SU head coach Ange Bradley said. “She’s learned how to use her talent of speed to positively impact the group’s result.”

Wimbert was born and raised in Hamburg, Germany, where she first learned field hockey. From a young age, she said she always knew she wanted to play in the U.S. She played for four different clubs in Germany, the most recent being Harvestehuder THC. After playing there for a year and a half, she moved to Shawnigan Lake School in Canada. There, she played field hockey for one year and rugby for another.

She emailed Bradley last fall, explaining why she wanted to come to Syracuse and play field hockey. Bradley responded, and they had multiple conversations via FaceTime. Wimbert said she wanted an experience playing in the United States, where the game revolves much more around speed and strength and less on technical ability and tactics.

“Being strong and fast is more valued here,” Wimbert said. “I know from my home club it’s not that much. I just appreciate lifting weights and doing a lot of running stuff. I really enjoy doing that.”

Wimbert began exercising regularly outside of field hockey at the age of 16. She lived in Canada when she began playing rugby with boys. She exercised with her rugby trainer and enrolled in a weightlifting course. She said she immediately began to notice changes in her body.

Once Wimbert returned home, she worked even more outside of daily field hockey practices. She attended practice, then went directly to the gym to lift weights and run more.

“I needed that extra workout, I love lifting weights,” Wimbert said. “Practice was basically just being on the field.”

The Orange workout together often, either lifting weights or conditioning in addition to time spent on the pitch. When she’s in Syracuse, she doesn’t workout outside of practice. But when she’s home, she said she loves CrossFit-type exercises.

She uses the long bar often for squats, deadlifts and bench presses. Her typical workout routine starts with a warmup run on the treadmill before transitioning into a full body CrossFit workout. During the offseason, Syracuse lifts three times a week, more intense than during the season, when the focus remains on the pitch.

“Here, we all go lift together,” Wimbert said. “We do sprints together, we workout together, we do everything together.”

But when the Syracuse players start running, Wimbert said she’s the fastest.

Published on October 10, 2018 at 9:26 pm

Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo