As I waited for the clock to strike 4:00 PM, I finished memorizing my notes/ questions. 4:00 came and there came Carlos through the end of the hallway, Mikhael was already with me as I had run into him along the way. We had chosen to meetup in the Men’s locker room as it was a space where we could easily meet with no interruptions and they both shared a locker in the same little area in the Lockeroom. There was a space to sit, which made it even easier, As I sat across from them. Mikhael was full of sweat from head to toe and he had just come from the gym. Carlos, however, came in casual, a pair of blue jeans and a black tee shirt, with athletic shoes on too. I had run into them beforehand on campus saying hi here and there but never really a full conversation with them.  

Upon beginning the interview, I firmly shook hands with them both, whilst they seemed tired after a long day on campus. They sat up straight and gave me constant eye contact. In the beginning with the open questions, it was a terribly slow start but once they began to realize I had played sports in my youth as well they seemed to open more and felt comfortable sharing more information. I was easing into the open questions as if they were ice breakers. They only worked to an extent; the interview really picked up when the general closed questions finished. I had set up 3 closed questions to start off the interview. “How are you today”? Things of that nature to be able to ease into the interview. I was met with cold replies. That was until I turned to the more sport related closed questions such as “what sport do you play”? Or “How long have you played said sport”? Once they heard those questions their faces lit up like a child seeing candy. Immediately they wanted to answer and thus began my interview. It was like a very normal flowing conversation, with everyone inputting. I noticed Mikhael a bit nervous as he was stumbling on his words, and frantically pacing his leg in place, but he still managed to convey what he was trying to say. Carlos seemed like he had been through 100’s of interviews before. He did not stutter and could answer the questions professionally.  

Throughout the interview they never lost focus, they kept wanting to add on increasingly as an athlete would when speaking about a sport, they are passionate about. Sports are something an athlete is proud of and if they have a genuine passion for it, they will be able to speak about it for hours on end as I soon learned. While my interview was originally directed at the differences between colligate athlete life and a regular student life. The interview became more about their journey to playing sports and the bridges they opened through having the opportunity to play colligate sports. Both were on the soccer team, and you could sense a sort of brotherhood between them. As if I was interviewing a pair of siblings.  

I learned during their season they had a packed schedule, practices 3-4 times a week, with games 2 times a week and their regular college student life. Often many players feel incredibly stressed because they have so much going on in their lives. I seemed to have gained a form of respect for them because of their commitment to the cause. Having such an important schedule and still being available to work a job and do schoolwork was a challenge for them. Many players lost sleep due to these schedules, but they did not stop. 

As I was conducting the interview, I was quite nervous at first because I do not have particularly good people skills nor feel extremely comfortable speaking to people in a professional setting. I consider myself a very “to myself “type of person, which was part of the reason I enrolled in this course. To be able to get out of my comfort zone as public speaking is a crucial part of life. Thankfully, I was able to resonate with my interviewees and it felt like an incredibly open conversation shortly after. There were smiles, laughs, a couple jokes made. The tone was not as serious as it first was, it was more friendly but still professional. I feel like being able to relate to my group in a way that somehow made them more comfortable and allowed them to see me more as a friend than as a stranger. The interview was a roll coaster of emotions for me because I had not expected it to go as well as it did. I learned a lot about interviewing and colligate athletes. By the time we finished I looked at the clock and it was 5:15 PM, We all looked surprised at one another because it felt like we had been there for a mere 30 minutes. Upon ending I thanked them for their time, shook hands once again and we went our separate ways.