This week, I sat down with men's soccer goalie James Hickok '17, fresh off his Ivy League rookie of the week honors. In the last week, Hickok went 2-0 in the net and had an assist in a 2-0 win over the University of Massachusetts. This interview has been edited for clarity.
What does earning rookie of the week mean to you?
JH: It's a testament of the hard work I put in this summer and the work I've put in this preseason, which has been pretty tough. It's not easy being a freshman coming in and trying to get a spot on the field. I guess it means to me that I've done a good job so far but I still have a long way to go.
What did you do over the summer to prepare for preseason?
JH: Definitely a lot of fitness. I did a lot of training with a few summer teams full of college guys, and that wasn't easy either. Just a lot of hours on the field.
What was your schedule like for preseason?
JH: Preseason lasted about three weeks. It was pretty much two-a-days with practice at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day, preseason scrimmages and video sessions in between. The first week was really tough and definitely was really hard on my body, so it was great to get through that.
What was the most fun part of preseason and what was the most challenging?
JH: The most fun part is only having to think about soccer and just getting to hang out with the team. There's no school for pretty much the first month, so getting to know all the guys and just getting to hang out with is awesome. The hardest part is probably mentally getting up for every session and every time you go out on the field.
What did you think of just being on campus with the other fall preseason athletes?
JH: It feels good when you talk to people who are also on a sports team, it's an easy icebreaker and easy way to get to know people, especially fall athletes.
What are your predictions for the season?
JH: I'm hoping, like everyone else on the team, for us to get into the NCAA tournament and win the Ivy League. Two years ago we did win it and we were really, really close last year. I'm predicting that we will get that far this year because we have a really deep squad and we're doing really well so far.
What have been some of the difference makers to allow you personally and the team to be so successful?
JH: I think it's been our team mentality for all of these games. They have all been close games with two ties and two wins, and they weren't easy wins either. A lot of times we may we get off to a rocky start in a gam,e and as a team we have to collect ourselves together and come back and start scoring some goals. I thought we've done really well with that in our wins. If we can get up for every single game and keep that focus we should get even more.
What is the most challenging part of being a goalie?
JH: The most challenging part of my position is probably the fact that there is only one on the field at a time. I'm still battling it out with a sophomore [for the starting role]. It's a position where you're pretty much alone for 90 minutes of the game. It's pretty tough mentally on you, so especially at the beginning of a career you just have to come out with confidence and just start feeling out all your teammates and going after your defense right away. You don't really have time to get used to the position; you just have to jump right into it.
What are some of the team's keys for the season to maintain your success?
JH: I'd say it's still getting up for every single game coming to every game knowing that we have to win this game and that no opponent is an easy opponent. In college, soccer games can pretty much swing any way possible, so getting up for every single game like they're the number one team in the nation and coming in with that kind of attitude will be really big in grinding out some important wins this season.
What have you thought about classes here so far?
JH: Nothing has really been overwhelming yet. I'm still kind of sinking into it since it's just the first week, but I like my professors and everything has been going really well. I'm excited to keep going.
