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PHOTO BY BEN MILLER

FEIST

Athlete Spotlight: Alex Feist

By Ben Miller

Tacoma Weekly: You were named to the All-Narrows League team last year. How did you end up at Lincoln?

Alex Feist: I play select soccer out of Bonney Lake and I actually travel to Bonney Lake. I decided to come to Lincoln because that was my geographical area, my home school. Most people who play select soccer go to Stadium or Bellarmine. I decided to come to Lincoln because that is my home school.

TW: How did that decision work out for you?

AF: I think it’s great coming to a program that’s not as well known. We’re building it up. This year, we have a JV team and we’re just building on it every year. I think I have more of a hand in the coaching and whatnot because I help coach other people also that don’t know as much. We have a lot of Latino players who play in their backyard and are good but not necessarily trained in that way.

TW: When did you start playing soccer?

AF: Oh, I don’t know. Maybe when I was 5 years old, playing competitively on a team. I’ve played soccer my whole life and my dad played soccer. My whole family played soccer. I started playing select about U-13, U-14.

TW: What select team do you play on?

AF: The Auburn Rainiers. Last year was the last year. We took third in the state. We traveled all over. Going to Idaho, Canada, Oregon and California twice.

TW: How big is select soccer a part of playing soccer in college?

AF: Select soccer is huge. We travel all over many states and it’s all about getting recruited. Not too many people get recruited out of high school per se. For select, there’s tons of people getting recruited and there are huge tournaments with hundreds of teams and scouts always come out and watch.

TW: Why is there the difference between getting recruited on a select team and not getting recruited on your high school team?

AF: The coaches have more of an emphasis on getting recruited. High school coaches are more about winning and getting a team together and playing good. Whereas, select coaches are all about going to college. They play tournaments, all about going to college.

TW: How is the atmosphere different between playing on a select team and playing in high school?

AF: Lincoln is more fun. We like to have fun. On select soccer you have to do well so there’s a lot of pressure on you. It’s fun also, but there’s a lot of pressure to be the best and get things done right. But here, if you mess up a pass or whatnot, they don’t jump on your back. It’s all about fun.

TW: What do you like about soccer?

AF: It’s just something I’ve always done. I’ve just always enjoyed it. You get your frustrations out and have fun. It’s physical.

TW: What are your strengths as a soccer player?

AF: I think my heart. I can chase people and whatnot and use my physical attributes. But I think that I have more heart than a lot of people. It’s just something that I’ve always done and I just love the game.

TW: Do you have any weaknesses?

AF: My health. I think that’s my biggest thing, trying to stay healthy. I have pulled muscles and whatnot. When you play the way that I play you get a lot of injuries.

TW: Do you play any other sports?

AF: When I was younger I played. But when I started playing select soccer I couldn’t play any other sports because I didn’t have time. You have to practice three or four times a week plus games, it’s kind of hard to play any other sports.

TW: What is your role on the Lincoln team?

AF: I think more of a leadership, being a captain and whatnot. And being more trained than some of the other players and bringing the guys together. We have a lot of great talent, we just try to bring those guys together. That’s the hard part.

TW: Have you seen the program take big strides since you have been at Lincoln?

AF: Definitely. My freshman year we barely had enough people for a varsity team, and then from last year making the playoffs to this year even having a JV team, there’s definitely been a growth in soccer players. I look forward to coming back in a couple years and seeing it progress even further.

TW: What are your goals for the end of your career this year?

AF: I think more to develop the younger players. They are going to be the future and those are going to be the next guys who develop and keep developing. Our senior class is going to graduate this year but these younger guys that we teach still have a couple years to grow.

TW: What do you want to do after high school?

AF: I’d like to attend Western (Washington University) and hopefully play on their soccer team and get my degree. I’m still not quite sure what I want it in yet.

TW: Why Western?

AF: I just like the school. That’s the school I visited the most and I love that school. The campus seemed to fit me the best.

TW: What do you do when you are not playing soccer?

AF: I just like to hang out with my family and friends, listen to music, go for rides, hang out on the waterfront. Mostly just relaxing because playing soccer takes a lot out of you. So anything I can do to relax is best.

TW: What frustrates you most when you are playing soccer?

AF: Just simple things like if we see something we can do better and we are not playing to our potential, that frustrates me the most.

TW: What about soccer really makes you feel good?

AF: I love when it all comes together. When you finally start playing well and you are all passing it around and all playing as a team, that’s the best part.

TW: Who inspires you?

AF: I think my parents. They are the ones who push me the most and they have the great work ethic. That definitely inspires me.

TW: What has been your favorite moment playing soccer?

AF: Through my high school it was probably last year. We won in a shootout to go to the playoffs. It’s probably the best feeling we’ve ever had. That was the first time that Lincoln had ever been to the playoffs and we went in to a shootout and won at that dramatic point, that was the best.

TW: What has been your toughest moment?

AF: Not having the backing of the school really. Soccer doesn’t get many fans out and not necessarily the funding that other sports like basketball has. Also, soccer is a very elitist sport where you see Bellarmine and Stadium are getting all the funding and all the players and we have to struggle to compete with them.

TW: What is a typical day like for you during the soccer season?

AF: Wake up, come to school and do my bookwork. We have a break in between school and soccer because our coaches go to a different school. I usually go to get something to eat or run home and change. Come back and do soccer practice from 3:15 to 5:15, and then do homework, go to sleep and do it all over again.

TW: Is that a lighter load than during the club soccer season?

AF: Yeah, high school soccer season is definitely a lot easier. It’s a lot easier on the body also. Select soccer, we do running and that kind of thing whereas with high school soccer, we work on the basics.

TW: Are you and your teammates close?

AF: Yeah we’re really close. Even more so than on the select team because the select team the guys come out from different schools. We all come here to Lincoln together and we all see each other every single day, talking in the halls and playing after practice, hanging out.

TW: How do you get ready for a big soccer game?

AF: Just concentrate on it the day before. Getting a good night sleep definitely the night before.

TW: What do you want to be remembered for at Lincoln?

AF: Being a mentor. Helping others and whatnot.

TW: What kind of music do you listen to?

AF: I listen to everything really. I like mostly alternative or punk rock.

TW: What is your favorite movie?

AF: Probably the “Italian Job” or “Gone in 60 Seconds.” I like cars and anytime you get those action-packed movies, they’re a great movie.

TW: What is your favorite thing to watch on TV?

AF: I watch a lot of soccer on TV. We have the soccer channel and so there’s always a game on at my house. I’m always watching soccer if I’m watching TV.

TW: What is your favorite sports team?

AF: Probably Manchester United, out of England. When I was growing up, that was always the team that everyone loved. My coach loved it, and through him I always watched them have success.

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