Interview

Interview with Chanda Gunn

(3:06 min, 4.1mb)

Q: Being from California how did you become interested in Ice Hockey?

CG: When I was 9 years old I was diagnosed with Epilepsy. At the time I was a very competitive swimmer and I was heartbroken when seizures kept me from the pool. My doctor and family looked for sports where you wore a helmet or lots of equipment so that if I had a seizure I would be safe. It was hockey or football.

Q: How many years have you played Hockey? Did you ever want to play something else?

CG: I have played hockey since my 13 birthday and I am now 25… so 12 years… 11 seasons. I played lacrosse, surfed, swam, water polo, soccer, cheerlead, I’ve done it all, I love sports!

Q: What struggles did you have growing up as a girl-playing hockey?

CG: I didn’t have too many struggles, and the ones I did just seemed to come with the territory. I loved playing so much that they didn’t seem like struggles at the time. I had to travel a lot to play competitive girls teams so I missed a lot of school.

Q: Was there any one person in particular that guided you and helped you out?

CG: I had a lot of great role models. The girls on the US National team, Cammi Granato in particular. She was always my favorite player and looked out for me a lot. I loved all my coaches – Scott, Vic, Roy, Peter, Dave, Dominique. I was really lucky.

Q: When did you find out you had epilepsy and how did you feel when you found out?

CG: I was too young to feel any real way. I was mostly scared, cause I didn’t know what was wrong with me, and I could tell there was something wrong the way everybody treated me. I was also scared cause every time we went to the hospital it hurt, and I had to go a lot. Mostly I was just really frustrated cuase I couldn’t do a lot of the things I liked like surf and swim.

Q: What did you want to be when you were a little girl?

CG: An Olympic Athlete.

Q: What extra things did you think you had to do to be seen by DI coaches playing in California?

CG: I was lucky that I didn’t need to do anything really extra. I played for the Cal Selects and immediately made the U22 US national team… so I got plenty of exposure!

Q: Did you have time for extracurricular activities in high school and university? If so what did you do?

CG: I played other sports in high school – soccer, lacrosse, I swam. I was in a lot of clubs. The French Club. The Key Club. I don’t remember. At college I was always doing something extra curricular. I believed strongly in community service and giving back!

Q: How did you feel when you first stepped out on the Olympic Ice? (Describe the feeling that you got when you first stepped out on the ice in Torino)

CG: First time we got on the ice, it was a practice, but it was pretty cool. I think it was sort of like, ok this is it. It was really a feeling of closeness between our team too, because as big and as grand as everything was, it was always and will always be just us who went through the experience first hand.

Q: Did you ever have problems with teammates, coaches, and parent’s especially because of your epilepsy?

CG: Not necessarily. Everybody was pretty supportive of me. Of course when I was at UW they had to replace me because I was sick and I took it very personally… but looking back I shouldn’t have. It was probably just as hard on my coach and the school to release me as it was for me to be released.

Q: Did people doubt you and your ability to get where are you are today?

CG: I don’t think anybody outwardly doubted me, but I don’t think people really had a grasp on how hard I would work to come back after I was sick and how far I could go. I always did pretty well, so I was always perceived as successful.

Q: How did you view your competition during the tryouts for the Olympics? Who did you feel was a threat to you the most, and what did you do to step up your game?

CG: Honestly, I am the biggest threat to my own self. I put a lot of pressure on myself and had to work on not beating myself. There are so many good goalies in the nation, but I am very competitive and wanted to make the team. I worked very hard for it, not just for the summer or four years, but probably my whole career.

Q: Was there ever a point in time when you felt the need to quit hockey?

CG: I have always loved to play so much that I never felt like giving up… After my freshman year at Northeastern I didn’t play very much because I had been sick. I did feel like transferring to a DIII or club school just so I could play. I sort of had to make that decision myself, and I am glad I stuck with it!

Chanda Gunn

US Olympic Hockey Goalie

Interview with Chanda Gunn

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