Despite suffering a knee injury that kept him out his sophomore year, Wolfpack striker Nick Surkamp emerged as the team’s leading goalscorer in the 2013 season, recording eight goals in 16 games.
Now entering his senior year, the star center forward is ready to help State break into the national spotlight in 2014, tallying his first goal of the spring season on Saturday against the Carolina Railhawks. The Technician caught up with Surkamp to check in on his preparation for the regular season in the fall.
The Technician: How do you feel physically? Are you 100 percent recovered?
Surkamp: I would say I’m a lot closer to 100 percent. I think I’ve still got a ways to go with fitness and technical ability that I hope to have back in August. It’s always a work in progress, and I work every day, but I do feel a lot closer to 100 percent than I did at the end of last season.
Q: What do you feel is your biggest asset as a player?
A: Probably my pace and knack for getting to the goal no matter what. I try to be in the right place at the right time to score crucial goals in big moments.
Q: Any professional players you model yourself after?
A: While he doesn’t play anymore, definitely the Brazilian Ronaldo. He had unbelievable ability, and would use his pace and instincts to get in front of goal and put the ball away in all kinds of situations. He was the guy I watched since I was 11 years old and I still watch his games from the 2002 World Cup. He went through some knee injuries like I did, so to watch his comeback games and to study how he developed as a player from before his injuries to after is something I’ve tried to bring into my game.
Q: What’s the biggest change in the team since last year and in your preseason preparation routine?
A: The biggest change from the fall is that now there’s a lot more structure in the team. More guys understand their role and fit into the role that [head] coach [Kelly] Findley wants them to. We have a lot of great individual players that are willing to sacrifice for everyone else to be successful. We had a lot of players with individual flair last year, but perhaps not necessarily as many guys who bought in 100 percent for the team to perform as well as it could have.
Q: Who do you think you have the best on-field relationship with?
A: I click pretty well with [senior defender] Clement [Simonin]. Even though he’s a center back, he does a good job of picking his head up and finding me. I always know where he’s going to go with the ball. He’s also one of my roommates, so I’m with him more than some of the other guys. He’s able to play the ball over the top, and I always know exactly where it’s going to be. Even though he’s a defender, it’s a relationship that’s certainly flourished in our system.
Q: What’s your major, and do you plan to pursue the game beyond college?
A: I’m a philosophy major, but I really love the game and want to pursue it for as long as I can. Whether playing or coaching, soccer is most of my life. I study the game as much as a coach as I do as a player. So between playing and coaching it’s definitely something I plan to stick with.
Q: What’s the best thing about playing for N.C. State?
A: The best thing was coming into a program that was trying to prove itself and seeing a team flourish, really start to develop and play in front of an excited crowd for a new coach. It’s something bigger than myself, and I want to help develop a new tradition for Wolfpack soccer.
Q: What are your goals for the fall season?
A: I want us to make it to the Final Four [of the NCAA tournament]. I want us to go as far as we can and try to win a championship along the way. If I do well it’s great, but like I said earlier, I’ve bought-in to the team concept, and I want to help us win trophies.
Q: What are you up to when not playing soccer?
A: I feel like my life is all soccer [laughs]. I’m reading up on blogs, forums, everything. I love every aspect of the game. Otherwise, I love to read – fiction mostly – and play Call of Duty in my spare time.
