Keeley Clinton is a junior defender on the women's soccer team and is majoring in health science. She has played in nine matches at Toledo, including 106 minutes through two contests this season. Clinton is from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and played at Walsh Jesuit High School along with club soccer for Internationals Soccer Club.
 
Talk about growing up and your start in sports and soccer.
 
My family was always a sports family. My mother played soccer and my dad competed in track & field at the University of Akron. I played all kinds of sports including softball, basketball and track & field growing up, but I stuck with soccer. I think that was because of my mom, since she played soccer through college.
 
How did playing several sports help your athleticism heading into college?
 
Playing different sports from a young age through high school really helped with moving different muscles and parts of the body, so I never got worn down. With soccer, I would use a lot of different muscles, but I didn't have to use my legs as much with softball.
 
How much influence did your parents have on your playing career?
 
My parents are everything. I would not be where I am without them today. They have pushed me in ways I would have never thought of today. They have done so much for me and I'm incredibly grateful for them.
 
What made you decide to continue with soccer and pursue the sport through college?
 
I always wanted to play soccer in college and dreamed of it ever since growing up. Division I was the goal, but I would have been fine with Division II or III. I strived to be like my mom in a sense because she played DI soccer. I've always wanted to know what it was like to be a Division I student-athlete.
 
You're from the Cleveland area and went to Walsh Jesuit. Could you talk about that area and how competitive it is for soccer?
 
That area is very competitive. I went to Walsh Jesuit because it's a very good academic school, but soccer has always been a very good sport there. That had a huge impact. If I didn't go to Walsh Jesuit, I would have went to Woodridge High School, a small school in Cuyahoga Falls. If I never made the transition over to Walsh after middle school, I don't think I would be where I am today.
 
For club soccer, I played for Everest Soccer Club before transitioning over to Internationals in my senior year. It was the best jump I could have made because I got to compete against some of the top players in the area, and everyone on the club was extremely competitive.
 
Talk about getting recruited and what ultimately made you come to Toledo.
 
I knew Coach Batman since around eighth grade when he was at Ohio Northern. My high school coach was really good friends with Coach Batman. We would take trips on the weekends to ONU to see their preseason training camp, and that's where I got to know him a little bit more. I was thinking about ONU, then he made the transition over to Toledo. It was great – still in Ohio, just two hours from home and at the Division I level. It couldn't get better than that. Then I got on campus and was taken aback by how beautiful Toledo's campus was. Plus, Toledo had a great medical program, which was a deciding factor to come play here.
 
 What was it like getting to be a part of Coach Batman's first team here in 2023?
 
I think it's awesome that we were the first class that Coach Batman recruited, and we became close to him because of being that first freshman class.
 
What has it been like getting the opportunity to be a significant contributor on defense this season?
 
The last two years, I had been waiting for the chance to get significant minutes. Every day, I would show up to practice with the mentality that even if I don't get to play in the game, I'm going to work as hard as possible to make my teammates and myself better. Coming into this season, I wanted more and I wanted to show that I can play. I wanted my role to be bigger than what it had been before. I came into the season fit, having played soccer all summer long. I wanted to prove to people that I could play with them.
 
What did you take away and learn from your first two seasons?
 
I gained a lot of humbleness, especially with coming from a big high school that's so good at soccer. I came to Toledo and realized that not only is soccer is a big part of my life, but there were other important things outside of soccer. Not playing has made me hungrier and wanted to make myself better for both myself and my teammates.
 
What have you enjoyed most about your career so far at Toledo?
 
I've enjoyed being with my teammates. I think we have a great team chemistry, especially this year. My Walsh teammate, Kayla Flory came with me and I think that's special to have someone you played with for four years in high school as your college teammate. That was really cool because we've known each other since we were 13- and 14-years-old and watched our relationship grow.
Also, meeting all the girls, especially the newcomers. Last year as a sophomore, I wanted to get to know all of the freshmen. I love all of them because we spend so much time in the dorm together and it helps grow relationships with everyone on the team.
 
What is it like being part of a roster with 15 newcomers?
 
I think it's no reason to freak out, but rather is an opportunity to show the standard and how we play as a unit. You may not be used to the standard, but you can get used to it. I want to hold my teammates to the same standards that I hold myself. I want to take so many of the new players under my wing, show them what we do and have that stick after I graduate.
 
What are road trips like with the team? Are there any fun activities you do on the bus?
 
Road trips are everything. I love being on the bus and in the hotel with the team. We always get a new roommate every road trip. You get to hang out with people that you don't room with every single day. My freshman year, we used to play this game called 'stumble guys' with my whole class and even the coaches got in on it. That continued a little bit into last season. This year, a lot of the girls like to play euchre.
 
Do you have a specific routine for gameday?
 
I get here an hour before warmup, do my hair, jump around a little bit with the girls. I must have a light and fun feeling because if I get in my head too much, I tend to shut down. I'll put my headphones in and listen to rock or country. Last game, I listened to Jason Aldean a lot. I like to take the bands and stretch out my legs and use the massage gun as well.
 
What do you plan to do after school as a health science major?
 
I'm in pre-PT, so after school I hope to go to grad school. After my four years at Toledo, I plan to go home to get my physical therapist assistant's license. After I get my assistant's license, I plan to find a practice, work there and work to get into grad school after a few years.