Chants of “Maka-who? Makasini! Maka-who? Makasini!” can be heard from the LSU Soccer Complex when junior midfielder Michelle Makasini makes an impressive play.Clearly, the name is an unusual one that prompts some creative fan cheers.Makasini’s father, Fa Makasini, is from the Kingdom of Tonga, an island chain in the South Pacific. The name Makasini translates to “magazine” in the Tongan language.”Every time the cheer happens, we all just laugh,” said junior midfielder Veronica Godbolt. “We goof around all the time in practice. When she hits the ball, we’ll be like ‘Maka-who? Makasini!’ It’s the funniest thing ever.”Makasini played for Tonga’s national rugby team as a teenager, and his daughter largely credits him for passing down the athletic gene.Michelle Makasini started playing soccer as a 5-year-old on a team full of boys in her hometown of Euless, Texas. “Her mother and I both knew that she would be good,” Fa Makasini said. “She had a lot of energy, and we saw that she always did whatever the coach wanted her to do. She was so strong.”The early start paid off. Makasini earned 2007 First Team All-Southeastern Conference honors as a sophomore and recorded her second career hat trick this season. She is No. 2 in the SEC with an average of 0.64 goals per game.Coach Brian Lee said Makasini’s success is linked to an “immense” improvement in conditioning.”She’s embraced fitness,” he said. “As a freshman, we used to have to bring her off because she was fatigued. Now that’s certainly not the case. She’s much quicker, much fitter and much more agile.”Makasini admits she’s not the fastest player but says she does boast impressive “quick feet.”Those quick feet were honed when she competed as an elite jump roper from the third to seventh grade.Her team, called the Jumpin’ Jammers, traveled to Disney World for the national championships.Makasini specialized in the Double Dutch freestyle. She once even juggled three balls while jumping — a trick she thought “for sure” would guarantee a top-three finish. In the end, she settled for fifth place.”There’s also an event called ‘Speed,'” she said. “It’s where you alternate feet for a minute and see how many times you can hit your right foot on the ground. It really helped my foot skills.”Makasini gave up jumping rope in lieu of soccer, which she said was always her first love. But she still values many lessons learned from jumping rope, including attention to detail, hard practices and the value of team unity.”She’s peaking right now,” Godbolt said. “This is the best she’s ever been playing. Everything is coming together for her.”After her senior season, Makasini may pursue a career in the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) league. The league will launch in 2009 and replace the Women’s United Soccer Association that folded in 2003.”You have to be able to get up and want to work out at 6 a.m.,” she said. “I know this is perfect for me when I get up, and I’m so excited to get out here and practice.”—-Contact Amy Brittain at [email protected]