Interviewing Twins

I spent a lot of time with twin Division III Women's Soccer players that I work with yesterday.

I figured why not interview them. It's not like they usually get interviewed. Plus these two went to the same High School as UConn great Jeff Adrien (Brookline) so they are just legends in my view.

They were Devon and Leah.

Devon was the better interview. She was also the first interview. (I dumbly didn't ask who was first) I interviewed her in the car. (Only one person that has been in my car has been lucky enough to have me completely silent throughout most of the ride)

Devon taught me the difference between a defensive mid and center back. Good ball winner needed both places, maybe more so at defensive mid. I learned that defensive mid can also help start attack. Very technical things for me to learn. (I bet anyone on the UConn team would be impressed to hear me speak using this lingo)

Lingo, what you should be watching TV if you are bored enough to be reading this.

Maybe you will continue if you have had enough with Chuck Woolery. (I googled the hosts name by the way. I did not know that off the top of my head. I might be a loser, but not that big of one)

Anyway, Devon seemed to be happy to be interviewed. She told me she had one story written about her in High School. Never in college, but to be fair she's only a sophomore and the school paper doesn't interview players, they just write about the game and talk to coaches. Of course I asked if it was a story on her and her sister and of course it was. They are twins, you can't do a story on one and not the other, so you do one big one on both of them.

I asked about where she was recruited to play. I was curious because so many people assume that Division III is for athletes who are no good. That's not necessarily the case. The best Division III teams can compete with average or worse Division I teams. Devon was mostly looking at Division III schools, but there were a few Division I schools she saw. I often hear about high school athletes who could play D II or D III in a sport, but decide to go support a DI school as a student NON athlete. Devon said she would have played Division I if she thought she belonged there.

Leah actually said that her team beat Division I foe Niagra. Both Devon and Leah said there are some really good D3 teams and some AWFUL ones.

Neither Devon nor Leah had any sponsors at their school and Devon said that her school has four athletic trainers.

Devon's best moment in soccer came when she scored her first career goal. That's all she told me and I decided to delve deeper into this subject sensing there could be more to it. Scoring your first career goal is usually more than just scoring a goal. You usually can remember a little more about it then that it hit the back of the net. I was correct with my assumption. Devon, who plays at St. Lawrence, scored her first goal, a match winner, in a game against a top five ranked opponent.

Devon and Leah shared one thing in common even though they go to different schools. Devon and Leah both show sort of contempt for the Division I programs at their school. All the sports are Division III at St. Lawrence except for Men's and Women's Ice Hockey. Those sports are Division I. So basically those athletes walk around campus thinking they are the greatest and coolest thing ever because they are DI athletes. I sensed some tension, and some seemed to be acknowledged, between Division III and Division I athletes at the same school even though Devon acknowledged that the Hockey programs deserved more money and support then the other programs because of their different status's.

What about crowds for Division III women's soccer. Occasionally Devon said she could count the amount on her hands, but usually the stands, which she thinks hold one to two hundred fans, were mostly full of family and friends showing support. She said that until this year there were fliers on campus with pictures of seniors promoting each home game.

Then I asked Devon a question that I had to ask. Do you have any creepy fans? (She probably thought to herself, "No, but I do have a creepy guy asking me all these questions") She said no. The reason I asked is that, well, I know that UConn Women's Basketball has quite a few creepy fans. Actually a lot of teams have fans that are so passionate that they are borderline creepy. Devon said that the handicapped cafeteria workers are probably their biggest supporters. I'm sure that the cafeteria workers really do look forward to games and really appreciate any time and attention that they athletes give them. I know the cafeteria staff at South Dining Hall really appreciated it when the UConn Football team would interact with them.

Leah was a pretty bad interview to be honest. She thought the question about where she was recruited was too personal. I don't know why. It wasn't like I asked her where she lived or for her genealogy. I had to spend a good couple of minutes trying to convince her to say something and then she got mad because she thought I was degrading her Division III team, which I wasn't. I was simply trying to figure why an athlete chooses Division III over another Division. Leah said she simply wanted to go to a small liberal arts college.

What I found interesting is that her Coach at William and Smith is one of just four coaches in Women's Soccer, across all Divisions, to have recorded 400 or more wins. She forgot to mention the coach that matters most to me. She learned.

It's also funny to me that Niki Cross, former UConn player, drove past us. She has no idea who I am and her sentence being in here is about as random as her driving past us.

Leah also played in the back and her best moment in soccer was when her team made it to the Division III Final Four.

Leah didn't know what position her father played at BU, so I think I will inspire a dinner table talk one day. Devon mentioned that her father would sometimes get too loud at games. He would start coaching her and she would have to get him to shut up. However, Devon would always ask for her dad's opinion after the game.

Leah also showed contempt for the Division I program at her Division III school, the Men's Lacrosse team. She called them "jerks" except she didn't quite use a word as nice as jerk. I can't imagine how much tension there could be between the Division III programs and Division I program. You know that the Division I program thinks it deserves the attention of the entire athletic department 24/7.

Leah and I got off of track easily and I wouldn't say she was the best interview. I will also say that just because she got irritated at a question or two doesn't mean that she hates me. Quite the contrary actually, I got a nice good bye as we were leaving work.

I did these interviews with some intent too. More of a marketing strategy. I did say I think it would be funny if I wrote a book about all the different athletes that I had met. Then I realized that 90% of the book would be on UConn players that 5% of the UConn population may have heard of. Talk about a small market. Thought having athletes from a different Division, and state other than Connecticut would be good. Variety would be good IF I were to write a book. Don't expect one though. Especially now because the economy can't take another economic disaster, like someone publishing a book I write.