Welcome to 11 Questions — a weekly questionnaire series designed for you to get to know the people that make up Greenville Triumph Soccer Club. Each week, our own Marion Cole will ask someone from the organization the same ten questions, but the eleventh question will be from the previous interviewee. With players, coaches, and front office staff involved, we hope to bring you a fun look inside our club!
This week, I’m joined by Greenville Triumph’s Digital + Social Media Manager, Kaitlyn Unruh. Before joining the Triumph as one of the club’s first hires, the Greenville native served as video production coordinator for the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. A graduate of Bob Jones University, Kaitlyn holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications.
1. If you had a podcast, what would it be about?
So this could go two different ways for me. I would love to share the stories of both families who have gone through the adoption and/or foster care process and the families who are currently going through it. My family took in a girl (who I consider a sister) through a foster care-like situation for a few years when I was in high school. We then adopted my little brother. That was five and a half years ago, and, boy, could I tell you some stories since then. If I didn’t go that route, I would have a podcast to talk about sports and social media. The relationship between sports and social is what I know and what I find myself talking about a lot. There are so many incredible media managers and athletes around different sports and different leagues, so I think it could offer so much insight. That’s one of my favorite parts about my job, seeing so much creativity by so many different teams and athletes and seeing how brands incorporate that creativity onto their social media platforms.
2. How do you decompress after a long week of work or training?
I usually start my weekends with a run. Most of the time this helps me decompress since it’s one of the few times I can be away from my phone. When I’m on a run, I don’t have to check social media or respond to notifications or emails. I’m actually starting to train for my next race, which is the Air Force Marathon Challenge series in September. It’s a 5k on Friday, and then a 10k and a marathon back-to-back the next day. So training for an ultra-marathon will be how I decompress for a while. I’m also super tight with my family, and they live close by me. So you can most likely find me hanging out at their house, definitely eating all of their food, and watching Netflix or Disney+ with my sister, brother and nephew. I’m currently re-watching Schitt’s Creek. Makes me laugh every time.
3. What’s the most memorable meal you’ve ever had?
I’ve eaten a lot of good meals in my time, but my most memorable food moment would have to be the day after I ran the Chicago Marathon. Yes, the day after. My friends and I were on a “marathon-a-year” streak and we decided to enter the lottery to see if we would get in. Once we did, we decided to make a girls trip out of it. The day after the race, we rented bikes and rode all around the city, just eating desserts. Breakfast started out as banana pudding and cupcakes, continuing with donuts, cookies, churros, and ice cream. Throughout the whole day though, not in just one sitting! The banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery had to be my favorite. So worth it after a big race.
4. What’s the most nervous you’ve ever been?
The most nervous I have ever been was probably when I bought my house. It’s such a big decision and was very intimidating for me because I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into. There are so many things people don’t tell you or can’t really prepare you for. And just about every realtor and lender, anyone really, will tell you not to switch jobs while you’re in the process of buying a house. Well, I definitely broke that rule. I was transitioning into a full time role with the Triumph, actually, but hadn’t officially started until the week that I closed. I was very concerned that everything was going to fall apart at the last minute, but it all came together and I’ve been a homeowner for two years come May.
5. If you’re up at 2AM on a Saturday night, what are you eating?
I am not, by any means, a night owl. And I am rarely up at 2AM. Grandma status, already. BUT if I am, it’s usually because we just had a home match. So, for me, that most likely means that I’m grabbing a Wendy’s 4-for-4 on my way home from Legacy. My typical 4-for-4 order is chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce, fries, a junior bacon cheeseburger and a sweet tea with no ice. Now, if I just need a snack at 2AM? That’s going to be something more like finding some break-and-bake cookies in the fridge.
6. What’s something you learned recently that blew your mind?
So I learned this on TikTok randomly a few weeks ago, and it still pops into my head. But did you know that 85% of people only breathe out of one nostril at a time? If you put your hand under your nose and breathe through your nose, you’ll feel the air flow onto your hand, right? Okay, now put one finger under one nostril and breathe. Then do the same thing under the other one, and if you’re like most people, you’ll only feel air flow out of one nostril. I don’t know what’s crazier, that, or the fact that the air flow switches around every four hours. Weird, right?
7. Triumph SC announces they’re bringing a celebrity to the next home match and is wondering if you have enough time to say, “Hello.” Who’s the celebrity you’re most excited to have at a match?
Who do we have to call to have Thomas Rhett perform at one of our games? I mean seriously?! His new song with Kelsea Ballerini called “Center Point Road” is a current favorite. But I really love all of his music and his family. They all seem so down to earth and like they could be friends with anyone. So, I’d love to say hello to them on a match day, and then forget about all my other game day responsibilities and just hang out with his family the rest of the match. They actually adopted one of their daughters, so I’d definitely want to chat with them about that process.
8. What’s the most memorable sports moment you’ve had as a fan?
If you haven’t picked up on it by now, I kind of like running. At the end February, I went down to Atlanta to watch the Olympic Marathon Trials. Close to 700 runners qualified, 480 women and 215 men. To even participate in the Trials, the men had to qualify with a marathon time of two hours and 19 minutes or under and the women had to qualify with a time of two hours and 45 minutes or under. That is stinking fast. Galen Rupp, who I’ve followed for a while, won it overall for the men’s side. I was really hoping to see Sara Hall qualify, but she unfortunately didn’t finish. Getting to see that many athletes who I have followed for years finally race in person and chase their Olympic dream was a very memorable experience for me. Because of the looped course, we were able to go to different points of the course and my favorite part of the race had to be the finish chute. We somehow found a spot 200 meters out from the finish line and watching the emotions come down with the last leg of the course was incredible.
9. What sporting event have you always wanted to go to and why?
The Stanley Cup Finals, for sure, and a game seven in the finals would be even sweeter. The Stanley Cup is one of the best trophies in sports, and if teams are playing in a game seven, you already know the atmosphere is going to be electric. From a game operations standpoint, seeing the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Golden Knights would be awesome. Between the post-game Storm Surge in Raleigh and the drum line party out in Vegas, it’s bound to be a good time. So when the NHL is back, if someone would like to hook me up with tickets I’d be totally okay with that.
10. If you’re part of a PK lineup, what number are you taking your penalty?
For the sake of the team, I think it’s probably best that I sit on the bench for this…we don’t need me tripping over the ball if we’re in a serious PK situation. But if I absolutely have to take it? I think maybe first or second? No real reasoning behind that, just don’t want to go last…
11. Last week, newcomer Abdi Mohamed asked me that if you had the day off to do anything in the world, but you weren’t allowed to choose anything photography related, what would you do?
I take my camera everywhere, and most of the places I’d love to see and visit revolve around me wanting to take pictures! But if I had the day off…plus a couple more, please…to do anything non-photography related, I would love to just go backpacking for a couple days. I’d go either on the Appalachian Trail or somewhere out in Colorado. If I didn’t go backpacking, I’d love to take a trip out to see my brother. He is currently stationed out in California. I would love to visit California and have him take me around the National Parks out there, and show me the Pacific Ocean, which I have yet to see.
Next week, I’m speaking with the team’s High Performance Coach, Ryan McKie. What would you like me to ask Ryan?
If you could go back in time and befriend any person in history, who would it be and why?
