Badgering: Dani Rhodes
September 12, 2017 | Women's Soccer, Andy Baggot, Varsity Magazine
Sophomore forward shares choosing between basketball and soccer, favorite place to watch the sunset in Madison and a class she’d recommend to her peers
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — Dani Rhodes is a sophomore forward for the Wisconsin women's soccer team who's picking up where she left off as a member of the Big Ten Conference all-freshman squad in 2016. In the first seven matches with the Badgers she's already equaled her goal output overall from 22 games last season (four) and accounted for five game-winning conversions in her UW career. The former honor student from Waukesha (Wisconsin) West High School took a moment recently to talk about a difficult choice she made, her first job and a class she'd recommend to her peers.
What was your first job for a paycheck?
"When I was in fourth or fifth grade I actually put fliers out in mailboxes and I had my own dog-walking business. But my first job for a paycheck was a waitress (at the) Cornerstone Restaurant. I'm still there. I work breaks and during the summer."
Dani Rhodes ranks fifth in the country for her three game-winning goals
— Wisconsin Soccer (@BadgerWSoccer) Sept. 12, 2017
If you could have one random skill that you don't have what would be it?
"To sing. I'm always singing, always belting out songs to the radio and stuff like that, and my parents are always turning the volume up so they can't hear me."
There are a lot of famous locations on campus — the Union Terrace, State Street, Picnic Point — but is there an underrated place that you like?
"The pier at Tenney Park. I love to watch the sunset from there."
What's your favorite training table meal?
"The omelet station."
Well, this is fun. Badgers jump up to ?9? in the rankings! http://on.ncaa.com/2w1uVl7
— Wisconsin Soccer (@BadgerWSoccer) Sept. 12, 2017
What's the most money you've spent on an item?
"I lost my laptop on the plane last week. I left it on the plane on the way to Virginia. So I'm probably going to have to buy a new laptop, so that would be it."
You were an all-state performer in high school playing basketball and soccer. Did you consider playing both at Wisconsin?
"It was talked about. There were a lot of schools recruiting me for both. I do miss having the variety and having different seasons, but I love being able to concentrate on soccer."
What swayed you?
"My family's a big basketball family — coaches and college players — but soccer was kind of like my own thing. … It's something I taught myself and would practice on my own, so I think I grew a different love for it as I got older. I wanted to do what I loved."
When the National Anthem is played, do you sing, hum, what?
"All through high school my teams' thing was we hummed it, but in college it's pretty silent. All throughout my life the National Anthem is (a time) to take a deep breath and get in the zone before a game. For the first part of it and the end I close my eyes and take it all in."
Pac the Mac is back this Saturday! Be sure to come cheer on the Badgers as they take on border rival Minnesota!
— Wisconsin Soccer (@BadgerWSoccer) Sept. 11, 2017
Is there a class you'd recommend to an incoming UW student?
"My favorite was my (Introduction to) Chicano Latina Studies class. It was a discussion-based class where there was debate and you got to know your peers."
Your major and why?
"I'm leaning towards either retail consumer behavior or personal finance. I think there's a variety of things you can do (with both)."
