From her days as an all-american with Stony Brook to her time as a pro lacrosse player on the WPLL Fight, Kylie Ohlmiller has been known for her highlight-worthy goals. In order to get to know the WPLL all-star more, Pro Lacrosse Talk spoke with Kylie Ohlmiller and asked her five questions about life on the lacrosse field, as well as five questions about her life when not playing lacrosse.
Questions about lacrosse
Do you have an pregame superstitions or routines?
Kylie Ohlmiller: I always put on my eye black; it looks like Batman wings, so I’ve been wearing it for a while. I always eat a handful of Skittles and on my right wrist I write the initials of three special people that I’ve lost in my life, just as a reminder to play for something bigger. But those are my three pregame rituals.
What is your current lacrosse stick setup?
Kylie Ohlmiller: I am using a full Dynasty Warp Pro right now. I am actually playing with a prototype, that I can’t talk to much about right now. But it is a prototype that is in the works, another version of the Dynasty Warp Pro. It’s awesome, super lightweight and I’m loving every second of it.
How do you stay focused when your team doesn’t play well or during stretches when you personally don’t play your best?
Kylie Ohlmiller: I think the biggest thing is to take a step back and remember why we are playing the game. We all want to win out there and we are all super competitive and sometimes we get in our own heads a little bit because we all want to be the best we can possibly be. [We need to] be able to take a step back and just play for the bigger purpose of having fun and the passion that we have when we play lacrosse. Just take a step back and a deep breath and play for the right reasons.
Who is someone in the lacrosse community that you admire?
Kylie Ohlmiller: I definitely owe a lot of my success in my lacrosse career to Coach Joe Spallina and he’s definitely someone I look up to not only as a coach, but as a friend, mentor and someone in the lacrosse world who just knows absolutely everything and has taught me so much about how to handle myself and what player I could be. He really brought out a potential in me I didn’t know was possible. I absolutely love playing for him, I absolutely love coaching with him. He is just someone I’ve learned a lot from, and am eternally grateful for that.
What are your top songs on your gameday playlist?
Kylie Ohlmiller: The playlist is called “Gameday Gameday.” I would say “Look At Me Now,” the one that goes really fast with all the rapping because I know all the words. “Centuries” was my goal song in college and anything super fast, upbeat and gets you in the mood to get going.
Questions about life
What did you study in college and how has that time at Stonybrook prepared you for life off the lacrosse field as well as on the lacrosse field?
Kylie Ohlmiller: I studied sociology and business at Stony Brook. I think a lot of the stuff I learned about business [helped me]. I learned halfway through my college career that I wanted to play professionally, since that’s when the professional leagues had started. I realized I could make a career out of lacrosse. I decided to start KO17 lacrosse which is my lacrosse training company. So I wanted to learn more about business and business administration. That just really prepared me to take on “the real world” and prepared me for those different things.
What are some hobbies or activates you enjoy doing when not on the lacrosse field?
Kylie Ohlmiller: I love to go to the beach; I live very close to it. Anytime I have downtime, I’m chasing some type of sunset or just sitting down by the waves. I have a black lab dog so I love hanging out with him. Anytime I can get my hands on a good book, I like to block out the world, put down my phone and just get into a good book.
What is a book on your bookshelf or one that you’re currently reading that you would recommend to a teammate or friend?
Kylie Ohlmiller: At the last team USA training weekend, we got the opportunity to meet Abby Wambach, and she came in and spoke to the team and had some incredible words of wisdom. She also brought her new book, called Wolfpack and gave each on of us a copy, so I just finished it the other day. It just has a really good message for any athlete, any female athlete, anyone who is struggling as a female athlete in a mostly male athlete dominated world. So I resonated with it and I thought it was a strong message.
What’s one of your favorite places to go when on Long Island?
Kylie Ohlmiller: Montauk! My extended family has a house. We always get together there; it’s our weekend away from life. We all get to go surfing and just hang out by the beach and it’s kind of like my home away from home.
What is your favorite meal? Do you prefer to dine out, take out or cook at home?
Kylie Ohlmiller: I’m not the world’s best cook, so I’m definitely not going to say cooking at home, but I love sushi. I eat it probably one or two times a week, so that would be my go-to take out meal.
Overtime
What advice do you have for a young player looking to play lacrosse professionally one day?
Kylie Ohlmiller: One thing I always tell the girls at my clinics and girls that I meet is that just no dream or no goal that they have is too big. If they want to be a professional lacrosse player when they grow up, then they can be and they can strive to dot hat and put in the hard work to do that, its possible. Just letting them know no dream is too big and go outside your comfort zone and that is where all the creativity can stem from, try new things and trying something that may seem uncomfortable and practicing hard at it is when that uncomfortable thing becomes comfortable and then it becomes routine and then you can try that next uncomfortable thing. Then you can just keep climbing those stairs to the next level of greatness. I think just combining those two things you are set.
To hear more, listen to Pro Lacrosse Talk’s full interview with Kylie Ohlmiller on the Pro Lacrosse Talk podcast.
