By: Lisa Champagne, Vermont Director of Athletic Communications
University of Vermont student-athlete Amy Cochran likes math and describes herself as an analytical person, always trying to figure out how things are done. "Life is like a chess game to me. You want to reach your potential in everything you do, but how do you do that?" said Cochran.
The 2004-05 America East Women’s Scholar-Athlete is following in the footsteps of her athletic family and succeeding in all areas, just as they did. Both of Cochran’s parents, Robert and Janet, attended the University of Vermont and excelled as student-athletes. Robert, now a doctor, competed in the 1972 Winter Olympics and won a national championship at UVM in the men’s downhill event in 1973. Janet, was arguably one of the best track and field athletes in UVM history, she won the ECAC Pentathlon as a junior and senior. Both of Cochran’s parents are members of the Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame. Cochran’s older brother Jimmy, who she calls her role model in skiing, also competed at Vermont for one season before moving on the US Ski Team, of which he is a current member.
"It’s great to have my family as a resource. They’ve competed at the highest levels, they’ve been there and done it so they can guide me. Both my parents were my coaches when I was growing up. My dad was my ski coach and my mom was my track coach and having them around all the time was wonderful."
Cochran produced impressive numbers last season as a member of the women’s soccer and nationally ranked alpine ski teams at Vermont.
In the fall, Cochran set new single season school records for points (31) and goals (13) to lead America East in scoring. She earned America East All-Conference Second Team honors and was the first Catamount since 1997 to earn a spot on the NSCAA All-Northeast Team. Cochran was also named the 2004-05 America East Scholar-Athlete for women’s soccer following the season.
In the winter, Cochran was one of the top ranked alpine skiers in the East and earned a spot on the Catamount’s NCAA team. She picked up two All-America citations on the slopes and had the top time after the first run of the slalom, before taking a "little detour", as she calls it, on the second run and skiing off course. Vermont finished as the national-runner up at the 2005 NCAA Championship.
"It was an unbelievable experience to make the NCAA team. My coaches showed a lot of faith and confidence in me and that gave me a lot of confidence. It was a special moment to ski at Stowe, a mountain I have trained on many, many times, and have my friends and family able to be there and see me compete."
When asked about competing in both sports, Cochran said, "Both sports complement each other. Playing soccer year round keeps me in shape for skiing and the mental aspects of skiing help me focus on the soccer field." Cochran admits she has more of a passion for soccer and spent the summer playing for the Vermont Lady Voltage in the W-League, the highest league in the United States, and was the team’s leading scorer.
When she’s not competing on the pitch or slopes, Cochran spends her time studying, reading or playing the guitar. She owns a 3.98 cumulative GPA as a physics major at Vermont. Why physics? "I had a very good teacher in high school that got me interested in the subject. I like math and the challenges that physics presents," said Cochran. Her favorite class is quantum mechanics, the study of matter and radiation at an atomic level, a subject Albert Einstein also studied during his time. She likes the subject so much that it is going to be part of her senior thesis this year (Cochran is a junior athletically in soccer, missing the fall semester of her freshman year with an injury, but is a senior academically and as a skier).
In 2004-05 Cochran was one of two student-athletes in the country to earn a spot on two academic All-America teams in the same year. She was program’s first academic All-American after earning a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Women’s Soccer Academic All-America Team. Cochran followed that up by earning a spot on the ESPN The Magazine Women’s At-Large Academic All-America Team for her skiing exploits. Earning a spot on the at-large team was an impressive feat considering she was vying for a spot with student-athletes from 15 sports from around the country.
By all accounts, Cochran is winning the chess game. "I couldn’t be happier. My experience here has been great. UVM has everything, great people, great town, great classes and great athletics. It is appealing in all areas."