Julie Chu

#3 - U.S. Women’s National Team

Pregame

What’s your favorite drill?
I like flow drills, especially ones that incorporate a lot of different skills and a lot of different players so it has game-like situations.

How do you mentally prepare for a game?
Just being in the locker room, being around my teammates is a huge part of it. I love the atmosphere; it helps me get settled and calm. I also use visualization techniques right before I go on the ice.

What’s your warm up routine?
When I get to the rink I get into my workout gear right away. I like to tape my stick and listen to some music and hang out with my teammates. Then I chew a piece of gum and go out for warm-ups. Then it’s game time.

What type of music do you listen TO to get ready?
I like every kind of music.

What kind of food do you eat before a game?
I like to have a balanced meal with some chicken, pasta and some kind of vegetable.

 

Main Event

When did you start playing hockey?
I started when I was 8. I’m from Fairfield, Conn., but started at the Wonderland of Ice in Bridgeport.

Who was your favorite coach growing up?
That’s a hard one. There are coaches along the way that you take a little bit from each of them as you go on. I’ve been very fortunate that all of my coaches have been extremely supportive and helped me get to the next level. Recently, I worked closely with Katey Stone at Harvard. She’s been a great mentor to me. She helped me grow as a player and a person. She’s equally invested in developing both the person and the player, which will correlate to what happens on the ice.

What other sports did you play growing up?

I played soccer, basketball in middle school and then softball in high school.

How important is it to play other sports?
One of the biggest things when you’re young is you want to be active. You want to be on the ice or running around on the field or on the court. You want to do as many things as possible. I think being able to play other sports just helps you develop more skills that will correlate to hockey. Having played soccer and basketball I know how to look for passing lanes, know how to support my teammates. Just little things, and working with team dynamics. That’s what hockey is, only at a faster pace. The more active you can be and the more sports you can play, the more well-rounded you’ll be as an athlete and as a hockey player.

Who’s the toughest goalie to score on?
Kim St. Pierre of Canada. She’s pretty tough.

How often do you practice shootout moves?

With the National Team we’ll finish a practice with a shootout game. As far as individually, if we’re messing around with goalies we’ll be working on different moves. It’s one of those things where you’re always trying to pick up new moves. I love watching some of the new players, like Hilary Knight, who’s so shifty and so creative. They’re always trying new moves. I say I have to try this. Of course I can’t do it for a long time, but I keep trying.

Do you have a favorite shootout move?

I do, but I can’t tell you, or everyone would know and I’d never score.

In The Bag

Skates: Bauer 7000 (custom)
Stick: Bauer 30 shaft, 77 flex
Helmet:  Nike Bauer
Gloves:  Nike Bauer 30

Issue: 
2007-12

Poll

Who is your favorite American player?
Auston Matthews
21%
Jason Robertson
6%
Tage Thompson
11%
Matthew Tkachuk
7%
Patrick Kane
22%
Other
33%
Total votes: 339