Friday, August 28, 1998
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
Kansas scores Swedish soccer whiz
Adjusting difficult for junior forward
By Brad Hallor
Kaaren sportswriter
Kansan sportswriter
Johanna Larsson traveled halfway around the world to play soccer for Kansas, but she almost wasn't eligible to play.
Two days before she left Lulea, Sweden, to travel to the United States, she learned she would need another credit hour of course work to meet NCAA requirements.
"I panicked," she said. "I had an essay worth one credit to turn in. I needed my credit by Aug. 20, and I found out I had passed Aug. 19."
Of course, by Aug. 19 she had already practiced with the Kansas women's soccer team, enduring five days of uncertainty about whether she would be allowed to play.
Unlike other newcomers to the Kansas team, however, Larsson is not a freshman in playing experience or at college.
The last two years, she studied at the University of Göteborg (pronounced Gothenburg) in Sweden, about 600 miles from her home.
In addition to meeting NCAA requirements, Larson has had other obstacles to overcome, such as the change in food and weather. But she is starting to get comfortable at Kansas.
Two years of separation from her parents, Lars-Olof and Ann-Christine Larsson, have helped her avoid feeling homesick so far at Kansas.
Larsson, a junior forward, is from Lulea, a city of about 75,000 in north-central Sweden.
"The distance doesn't matter, because even when I was at Göteborg, I only saw my parents three times a year," she said.
Despite the distance, Larsson said her parents still had the biggest influence on her life.
"They have encouraged me to do what I want to do. " she said. "They told me I couldn't pass up an opportunity like this."
Change in plans
Larson originally weren't going to be a Jayhawk. She intended to join an old teammate from Sweden at Drury College in Springfield, Mo. But the Drury soccer program ran out of scholarship money.
Lisa Unsworth, an assistant coach at Drury, moved to Kansas and became an assistant Kansas women's soccer coach. She told soccer coach Dan Magher about Larsson.
"Dan called and asked if I wanted to play here," Larsson said. "He wanted me to play in the fall of '97, but I decided to stay in Sweden one more year."
Though Larsson didn't join the Jayhawks as soon as Magner would have liked, he said he was glad she decided to come to Kansas.
"I believe the experience of her playing at a very strong level in Sweden will benefit us," he said. "She knows how to score, which fills a need for us."
"Off the field, she brings lots of maturity. She's successful in the classroom and has a tremendous sense of humor. Her enthusiasm is contagious and people around her feel her energy. We're very fortunate that she's here."
Other challenges
Larsson doesn't spend all her time practicing or playing, and the transition to the United States has been difficult at times.
"I am so tired of speaking English," she said. "I can't express myself 100 percent in English. Sometimes I'll start speaking in Swedish, and people will look at me like, 'What the... Because I write e-mail in Swedish and talk to my parents in Swedish, it gets so frustrating at times."
Larsson has found significant differences between Kansas and Göteborg.
"I was surprised at the homework," she said. "Professors give homework and they check it. In Sweden, we were told to read 2,000 pages, and there would be an exam in four weeks.
"I'm also taking a Spanish class, and it's very hard because I have to translate the Spanish to Swedish to English."
Larsson does like the way the main campus at Kansas is all in one area. She said that in Göteborg, the university is spread out all around the city.
Another difference between Lawrence and Göteborg is the muggy Kansas heat.
"It's getting better, but far from good" she said about her adjustment to the weather. "I thought I was going to die this past weekend because of the heat. I just have to keep pushing myself, and I'll get used to it."
Larsson also suffers from asthma, which is not a pleasant ailment to
lohanna Larsson, the Joyhawks' newest forward, has been in the United States for only three weeks. After playing a soccer in her native country of Sweden, Larsson transferred to the University of Kansas when coaches showed an interest in her skills. Photo by Eric B. Howell/KANSAN
WOMEN'S SOCCER
The Kansas women's soccer team will play two exhibition games this weekend:
7 p.m. tomorrow vs. Drury College in Springfield, Mo.
lege in Springfield, MO
5 p.m. Sunday in an intrasquad game at Super Target Field.
Admission to Sunday's scrimmage is free.
"It's so frustrating knowing I can do better, but I can't breathe sometimes," she said.
have in Kansas in late August.
Food also has been adjustment.
"I've seen people over here eat peanut butter and jelly on a bagel, and I would never eat that," she said. "I tried Kentucky Fried Chicken, and I liked it. Over in Sweden, we eat more healthy food. Over here, there's always fried stuff. Right now, I'm longing for some Swedish meatballs and macaroni."
Lifetime athlete
Larsson has been a life-long athlete. She participated in numerous sports when she was younger, including basketball, volleyball, table tennis, equestrian, snowboarding and skiing.
When she turned 13, she chose to focus on soccer.
"Dad wanted me to go to a soccer camp when I was eight or nine," she said. "Dad thought I was too girlie, a typical girl, and he wanted me to go out and meet more people. I didn't want to go, but some of my classmates
were going. It was fun."
Larson played for two soccer club teams in Sweden, including Lulea SK from 1986- to '97. Her father is club president.
From 1996 through this year, she played in Sweden's first division for Landvetter IF.
Larsson didn't have a sports hero while growing up in Sweden, and she didn't follow professional sports.
When she was 16, she met Thomas Ravelli, then the starting goalkeeper for Sweden's national soccer team.
"When I met Ravelli, I became interested (in the national team)," she said. "When you know someone on a team, it spurs interest. Before that, all I wanted was for my team to win, and then I was happy."
Kansas soccer isn't the World Cup, and Lawrence isn't home, but Larson is slowly but surely adapting to the American life, food, school and soccer.
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