Welcome back to 20 Questions, the series where we help you get to know the players on this year's squad. In previous interviews in this series, we went behind the scenes with Alfonso Vazquez, Parfait Mandanda, Tyreke Johnson, Matheus Silva, Nicky Downs, Conor McGlynn, Arthur Rogers, Danny Barrera, Mads Jørgensen, Alex Davey, Noah Paravicini, Aiden Mesias, Mac Steeves, Kevin Politz, Gabriel Torres, Cheno, Harry Swartz and Alex Dixon. This week, we caught up with first-year defender Alex Lara who made his first career start against Loudoun United two weeks ago. Enjoy!
1) How did you get into playing soccer?
AL: I guess you can say soccer has always been a part of my life. My two older brothers played soccer for a really long time and my dad also played soccer, so did my grandpa. Growing up, soccer was always a part of my life and I knew it was what I wanted to do. I was so passionate about it and from a really young age, I was already in the soccer world and knew I wanted to be a professional and make a career out of it. Just seeing my older brothers and my dad, watching games with them, going to their games, and watching them play, that's how I got into it.
2) At what point did you realize that you had the talent to become a professional?
AL: I don't know if there's a specific point. I always just wanted that to happen. I told myself it was gonna happen, regardless of whatever obstacles I face, as long as I put my head down and work I’m gonna make it happen. That was my mentality from when I was really young. Like I said, I don't know why, I just gravitated towards that idea of becoming a professional soccer player, and I stuck with that. Even when things became difficult I was always making sure I believed in myself and trying to work on things I needed to do.
3) What were some of those obstacles or difficulties that you faced along the way?
AL: Oh man, I mean, there's a lot that every player goes through, you know? Challenges and obstacles that they have to deal with, people deal with them differently. The most common one I'd say for players is maybe you're not performing as well as you want to or you're not getting the playing time that you want to be getting and I think that's something that every player has struggled with and I have too throughout my career. There were certain points where it became very difficult for me because I always had that drive to not only play, but play well and perform at a high level. When you're not able to do that or you're not given the opportunity to show what you can do, I think it can be a big blow to certain people, especially if it's something you really care about. You can oftentimes lose yourself in the process because you only know one thing, which is to play. So when you're not playing it's like, “What’s going on? Is there something that I have to work on?” It can be a difficult and frustrating process but like everything else, if you put the time in, stay patient and work, the majority of times you can end up on top. I've had to deal with it throughout my life and honestly it's something that I'll probably deal with even later on in the future.
4) You’ve recently broken into the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the first couple matches. Is that something that you’ve dealt with here?
AL: It is in a way because that competitive side of you comes out and you're like, “I want to play, I want to be starting and getting the minutes and doing well.” But honestly coming into Hartford, knowing I'm a rookie and I'm relatively young, I had already prepared myself mentally to know, “Okay, you might not necessarily be starting, or this season might not go the way you want it to as far as getting playing time, but that's okay because there's obviously going to be an adjustment period. And in that adjustment period, you're gonna get better, you're gonna get more experience, and eventually you're gonna get the opportunities you're looking for.” So that's kind of what I would tell myself to prepare for this coming season. I've dealt with situations like that before in my past, specifically in college seasons I had to deal with challenges like that, so having that experience and then learning from that, and bringing what I learned to the professional level was a big help because it wasn't completely new to me.
5) What's been the most difficult adjustment going from college to the pros?
AL: It's just a different level. As you go up, especially professionally, it gets more difficult. The style of play is oftentimes quicker, especially the style of play that our coach wants us to be playing so I think just mainly decision making, being sharp and being able to identify what the correct pass is, or the right thing to do at that moment is definitely something that when you get to a new level you have to adjust to quickly because, as you go up the ranks in your career, that time that you have to make those decisions gets smaller and smaller.
6) What is the best sporting event you've ever attended in person?
AL: To be completely honest, I don't attend that many sporting events live. Most of my good experiences with sporting events involve me playing. Since I was playing, they're more memorable to me.
7) What is the best sporting moment you've personally experienced?
AL: There's a few that I can think of, one of them being when I won the state championship with my junior college team my freshman year. That was a big one for me because winning a championship is always memorable and especially with that team because we were a really close team and we were all really good friends with each other so I really enjoyed that. Other moments in college, big wins that we fought for as a team, like when we beat UCLA at UCLA that was a big win for us, wins against, University of Washington at our home, that was another big win, against UCI in the Big West playoffs, so there's a few that that definitely left an impression on me. Hopefully here at Hartford we can make a few more, that's the goal.
8) How did you end up with Hartford Athletic?
AL: That's a funny story because I had no idea about Hartford Athletic to be honest with you. Coming out of college, the topic of what's going to happen and your plans after college really starts to dawn on you, especially when you're heading towards the end of the season. So I was kind of at a crossroads, I knew I wanted to go and keep playing, but how am I going to get there? A lot of people were like, “Hey man, you should start looking into getting an agent so they can set you up with teams,” but I was always skeptical about the whole idea of that. So in the summer, I played for a USL League Two team called Ventura Fusion. I had a good season there, we made it to the Western Conference Finals, and they had mentioned to us they usually hold a professional combine in the winter. So I’m in the middle of planning how to pursue my career and I had completely forgotten about it. A friend of mine who also played for Ventura reminded me about the combine. I was actually contemplating whether I should go or not, because you had to pay to go. So I'm going back and forth on whether I should go and finally I decide to just look at it as an investment in myself and I went and I did well and luckily, Paul Buckle happened to be there. From that combine me, Dre (Deas) and Noah (Paravicini) were there at the same time and all three of us got picked up from that one combine. I was so close to not even going! It was a pretty crazy thing to happen especially because it was such a quick turnaround after my senior season and I really had no direction as far as what to do next.
9) Was it helpful for you to come out here and start your career with two guys who you knew and had already played with?
AL: Oh definitely. That was a big thing for me, Dre, and Noah coming over here and already having a familiar face. It was definitely a big help, especially in the beginning because at first you don't really know what to expect. Since you're a rookie it's hard to make headway on the team at the beginning, but all three of us are really close. We both played with Noah in the summer a little bit with the Fusion and Dre and I played for a few years at CSUN (Cal State Northridge) in college so having a familiar face, a support system around me has been huge and I'm sure they'd say the same thing.
10) What has the change been like coming out here from California?
AL: It's a lot different. I like it because I'm doing what I want to do, but I'm pretty much born and raised in California, so that's what I was used to. Coming out here, especially when I first got out here, it was a lot colder than I was used to. Everyone was saying it's not even that bad, this was a really good winter for us and I was saying, “I don't know man, seems pretty cold to me!” I got you know pretty comfortable with the whole cold weather thing but now it's like raining in the summer and thunderstorms and things that would never happen where I'm from. But it's definitely been cool, I like being able to see new places, travel, and get the experiences I wouldn't have otherwise.
11) Besides your family, what do you miss most about home?
AL: Going to the beach. I haven't gone to the beach since I got out here and I know there's a few that are maybe an hour away, but I would go to the beach a lot back home. That's something I've been missing, especially because it wasn't even that far for me. It was just a 30 minute drive to the beach, and I’d just relax with my friends and my brothers, play soccer in the sand and just have a good day. That’s a small thing, but definitely something I miss.
12) What is your match day routine?
AL: It's pretty simple, I wake up, have a good breakfast, make sure the night before I got good sleep and hydrate a lot. I'm focusing all day but when I get to the stadium, that's when I really start to delve in. I'm kind of strange because most people listen to music walking up or right before the game to pump themselves up, and I kinda got into the habit of not listening to music and instead, getting into that zone where you're not too excited, you're not too casual, but you're right in between. That stemmed from college because at one point, for whatever reason, I didn't have headphones. We would go on trips, and everyone was doing their own thing, listening to music and I wouldn't because I didn't have any headphones. So I would just be in my own mind and think about the game and just really try to visualize every scenario that could happen. That's one of the biggest things I do on game day or even the day before game day is literally try to picture everything that could happen in the game and try to like make some sort of imagery in my head from first person and also third person perspective. I think that helps me a lot.
13) Messi or Ronaldo?
AL: Have to go with Messi. There's a lot of different reasons why, but, I just think he's one of the best players to ever play. His stats, you can look them up and see where he compares with everyone else, but when you watch him play he makes things look so easy that really are not easy at all. The amount of goals he scores and the amount of goals he gives assists to is ridiculous. The numbers are insane. Credit to Cristiano Ronaldo, he’s also ridiculous and I know he's also one of the best ever, but if I were to compare the two, I would think Ronaldo is a product of extreme work ethic, grinding every day and having a drive to be the best. Messi, on the other hand, so much talent oozes out of that guy. They’re two different types of players, but they're both really effective and efficient. I would have to give it to Messi just because he's a magician.
14) If you could talk to animals what would be the first thing you'd ask them?
AL: The first thing I'd ask them. Maybe what it's like to live their life and if they're content with the life that they live. I would want to talk to a dog and ask, “Dude, are you just chillin’ all day and you love that? It seems like you live a pretty good life man!”
15) You play the same position that coach played during his career. Has that helped your development at all?
AL: Oh yeah, of course. I definitely am fortunate to have such a good coach my first year, but also a coach that played the same position as me. He’s played at the highest level, he knows what it takes and he knows the things that I need to work on to get there. So having that my first year is a huge advantage, because I'm gonna be able to absorb whatever he teaches me and use that going forward.
16) If Alex Lara weren't a pro soccer player he would be what?
AL: I don't know I've asked myself this question, to be honest. I can't even come up with the answer because my whole life has revolved around soccer. It's literally all I wanted to do my whole life. It's cheesy but I remember in elementary school, they would make you write what you want to do when you're older and I had no intention of being anything besides a soccer player. That was my dilemma in college because I had to pick a major and I'd say, “To be honest, up until this point all I thought about is playing soccer so it's hard for me to figure out what I want to do in school.” Hopefully I would still be in sports because I like that kind of stuff.
17) What did you major in?
AL: Kinesiology. It still revolved around soccer. I said to myself, What do I want to do? I have to make a decision to make sure I had all the classes I needed, and I was looking at the different majors and I've never been the type of person to sit in an office all day so a lot of them didn’t interest me. So the counselors and advisors directed me to Kinesiology and I thought it sounded kind of cool because when I'm done playing, I could still stay around soccer or even athletics in general and help other athletes achieve their goals.
18) What do you do on an off day?
AL: We don't do much, man. We basically try and get ready for the next day. It sounds kind of boring but that's pretty much what our life entails if you're trying to be a high level athlete. We'll watch TV, Netflix, maybe some Playstation, but it's mainly just hydration, recovery, ice, whatever. I like to work out or even get a small workout in after practice. It doesn't sound like much but that's what I like doing.
19) Who was your favorite athlete growing up?
AL: I have a few different ones but one of the athletes I thought was really cool to watch was Puyol. I really enjoyed watching him because he was just a pure defender, a solid defender, but the way he led his team and the way he showed how much of a leader he was left an impression on me more than anything else. There's this really famous video of him from a game against Madrid, someone from the crowd threw a lighter and hit Pique and Pique picks up the lighter and he’s complaining to the referee about it. Puyol glances at him and he takes the lighter from his hand and he throws it off the field and pushes him like bro, forget about that, get ready the corners about to be taken. I just love things like that you can tell he was a true leader and I always enjoyed watching that.
20) What are your goals for your career?
AL: My current goal right now is making it to the playoffs and then going and winning the whole thing. That's my goal as of right now but as far as my career, I don't have too much direction as far as, I want to make it to this team, by this year, if you know what I mean. I just know that I want to keep improving every year, so every year has to be better than the last one. Whether that be me doing better in the USL next year or making it to the MLS and then going on to play in Europe. I have a lot of belief that I can do it and that if I work hard enough and be patient, I can get to a really high level as long as I stick with it. Improving myself as much as possible is one of the biggest things I look into.
Welcome back to 20 Questions, the series where we help you get to know the players on this year’s squad. In previous interviews in this series, we went behind the scenes with Alfonso Vazquez, Parfait Mandanda, Tyreke Johnson, Matheus Silva, Nicky Downs, Conor McGlynn, Arthur Rogers, Danny Barrera, Mads Jørgensen, Alex Davey, Noah Paravicini, Aiden Mesias, Mac Steeves, Kevin Politz, Gabriel Torres, Cheno, Harry Swartz and Alex Dixon. This week, we caught up with first-year defender Alex Lara who made his first career start against Loudoun United two weeks ago. Enjoy!
1) How did you get into playing soccer?
AL: I guess you can say soccer has always been a part of my life. My two older brothers played soccer for a really long time and my dad also played soccer, so did my grandpa. Growing up, soccer was always a part of my life and I knew it was what I wanted to do. I was so passionate about it and from a really young age, I was already in the soccer world and knew I wanted to be a professional and make a career out of it. Just seeing my older brothers and my dad, watching games with them, going to their games, and watching them play, that’s how I got into it.
2) At what point did you realize that you had the talent to become a professional?
AL: I don’t know if there’s a specific point. I always just wanted that to happen. I told myself it was gonna happen, regardless of whatever obstacles I face, as long as I put my head down and work I’m gonna make it happen. That was my mentality from when I was really young. Like I said, I don’t know why, I just gravitated towards that idea of becoming a professional soccer player, and I stuck with that. Even when things became difficult I was always making sure I believed in myself and trying to work on things I needed to do.
3) What were some of those obstacles or difficulties that you faced along the way?
AL: Oh man, I mean, there’s a lot that every player goes through, you know? Challenges and obstacles that they have to deal with, people deal with them differently. The most common one I’d say for players is maybe you’re not performing as well as you want to or you’re not getting the playing time that you want to be getting and I think that’s something that every player has struggled with and I have too throughout my career. There were certain points where it became very difficult for me because I always had that drive to not only play, but play well and perform at a high level. When you’re not able to do that or you’re not given the opportunity to show what you can do, I think it can be a big blow to certain people, especially if it’s something you really care about. You can oftentimes lose yourself in the process because you only know one thing, which is to play. So when you’re not playing it’s like, “What’s going on? Is there something that I have to work on?” It can be a difficult and frustrating process but like everything else, if you put the time in, stay patient and work, the majority of times you can end up on top. I’ve had to deal with it throughout my life and honestly it’s something that I’ll probably deal with even later on in the future.
4) You’ve recently broken into the starting lineup after coming off the bench in the first couple matches. Is that something that you’ve dealt with here?
AL: It is in a way because that competitive side of you comes out and you’re like, “I want to play, I want to be starting and getting the minutes and doing well.” But honestly coming into Hartford, knowing I’m a rookie and I’m relatively young, I had already prepared myself mentally to know, “Okay, you might not necessarily be starting, or this season might not go the way you want it to as far as getting playing time, but that’s okay because there’s obviously going to be an adjustment period. And in that adjustment period, you’re gonna get better, you’re gonna get more experience, and eventually you’re gonna get the opportunities you’re looking for.” So that’s kind of what I would tell myself to prepare for this coming season. I’ve dealt with situations like that before in my past, specifically in college seasons I had to deal with challenges like that, so having that experience and then learning from that, and bringing what I learned to the professional level was a big help because it wasn’t completely new to me.
5) What’s been the most difficult adjustment going from college to the pros?
AL: It’s just a different level. As you go up, especially professionally, it gets more difficult. The style of play is oftentimes quicker, especially the style of play that our coach wants us to be playing so I think just mainly decision making, being sharp and being able to identify what the correct pass is, or the right thing to do at that moment is definitely something that when you get to a new level you have to adjust to quickly because, as you go up the ranks in your career, that time that you have to make those decisions gets smaller and smaller.
6) What is the best sporting event you’ve ever attended in person?
AL: To be completely honest, I don’t attend that many sporting events live. Most of my good experiences with sporting events involve me playing. Since I was playing, they’re more memorable to me.
7) What is the best sporting moment you’ve personally experienced?
AL: There’s a few that I can think of, one of them being when I won the state championship with my junior college team my freshman year. That was a big one for me because winning a championship is always memorable and especially with that team because we were a really close team and we were all really good friends with each other so I really enjoyed that. Other moments in college, big wins that we fought for as a team, like when we beat UCLA at UCLA that was a big win for us, wins against, University of Washington at our home, that was another big win, against UCI in the Big West playoffs, so there’s a few that that definitely left an impression on me. Hopefully here at Hartford we can make a few more, that’s the goal.
8) How did you end up with Hartford Athletic?
AL: That’s a funny story because I had no idea about Hartford Athletic to be honest with you. Coming out of college, the topic of what’s going to happen and your plans after college really starts to dawn on you, especially when you’re heading towards the end of the season. So I was kind of at a crossroads, I knew I wanted to go and keep playing, but how am I going to get there? A lot of people were like, “Hey man, you should start looking into getting an agent so they can set you up with teams,” but I was always skeptical about the whole idea of that. So in the summer, I played for a USL League Two team called Ventura Fusion. I had a good season there, we made it to the Western Conference Finals, and they had mentioned to us they usually hold a professional combine in the winter. So I’m in the middle of planning how to pursue my career and I had completely forgotten about it. A friend of mine who also played for Ventura reminded me about the combine. I was actually contemplating whether I should go or not, because you had to pay to go. So I’m going back and forth on whether I should go and finally I decide to just look at it as an investment in myself and I went and I did well and luckily, Paul Buckle happened to be there. From that combine me, Dre (Deas) and Noah (Paravicini) were there at the same time and all three of us got picked up from that one combine. I was so close to not even going! It was a pretty crazy thing to happen especially because it was such a quick turnaround after my senior season and I really had no direction as far as what to do next.
9) Was it helpful for you to come out here and start your career with two guys who you knew and had already played with?
AL: Oh definitely. That was a big thing for me, Dre, and Noah coming over here and already having a familiar face. It was definitely a big help, especially in the beginning because at first you don’t really know what to expect. Since you’re a rookie it’s hard to make headway on the team at the beginning, but all three of us are really close. We both played with Noah in the summer a little bit with the Fusion and Dre and I played for a few years at CSUN (Cal State Northridge) in college so having a familiar face, a support system around me has been huge and I’m sure they’d say the same thing.
10) What has the change been like coming out here from California?
AL: It’s a lot different. I like it because I’m doing what I want to do, but I’m pretty much born and raised in California, so that’s what I was used to. Coming out here, especially when I first got out here, it was a lot colder than I was used to. Everyone was saying it’s not even that bad, this was a really good winter for us and I was saying, “I don’t know man, seems pretty cold to me!” I got you know pretty comfortable with the whole cold weather thing but now it’s like raining in the summer and thunderstorms and things that would never happen where I’m from. But it’s definitely been cool, I like being able to see new places, travel, and get the experiences I wouldn’t have otherwise.
11) Besides your family, what do you miss most about home?
AL: Going to the beach. I haven’t gone to the beach since I got out here and I know there’s a few that are maybe an hour away, but I would go to the beach a lot back home. That’s something I’ve been missing, especially because it wasn’t even that far for me. It was just a 30 minute drive to the beach, and I’d just relax with my friends and my brothers, play soccer in the sand and just have a good day. That’s a small thing, but definitely something I miss.
12) What is your match day routine?
AL: It’s pretty simple, I wake up, have a good breakfast, make sure the night before I got good sleep and hydrate a lot. I’m focusing all day but when I get to the stadium, that’s when I really start to delve in. I’m kind of strange because most people listen to music walking up or right before the game to pump themselves up, and I kinda got into the habit of not listening to music and instead, getting into that zone where you’re not too excited, you’re not too casual, but you’re right in between. That stemmed from college because at one point, for whatever reason, I didn’t have headphones. We would go on trips, and everyone was doing their own thing, listening to music and I wouldn’t because I didn’t have any headphones. So I would just be in my own mind and think about the game and just really try to visualize every scenario that could happen. That’s one of the biggest things I do on game day or even the day before game day is literally try to picture everything that could happen in the game and try to like make some sort of imagery in my head from first person and also third person perspective. I think that helps me a lot.
13) Messi or Ronaldo?
AL: Have to go with Messi. There’s a lot of different reasons why, but, I just think he’s one of the best players to ever play. His stats, you can look them up and see where he compares with everyone else, but when you watch him play he makes things look so easy that really are not easy at all. The amount of goals he scores and the amount of goals he gives assists to is ridiculous. The numbers are insane. Credit to Cristiano Ronaldo, he’s also ridiculous and I know he’s also one of the best ever, but if I were to compare the two, I would think Ronaldo is a product of extreme work ethic, grinding every day and having a drive to be the best. Messi, on the other hand, so much talent oozes out of that guy. They’re two different types of players, but they’re both really effective and efficient. I would have to give it to Messi just because he’s a magician.
14) If you could talk to animals what would be the first thing you’d ask them?
AL: The first thing I’d ask them. Maybe what it’s like to live their life and if they’re content with the life that they live. I would want to talk to a dog and ask, “Dude, are you just chillin’ all day and you love that? It seems like you live a pretty good life man!”
15) You play the same position that coach played during his career. Has that helped your development at all?
AL: Oh yeah, of course. I definitely am fortunate to have such a good coach my first year, but also a coach that played the same position as me. He’s played at the highest level, he knows what it takes and he knows the things that I need to work on to get there. So having that my first year is a huge advantage, because I’m gonna be able to absorb whatever he teaches me and use that going forward.
16) If Alex Lara weren’t a pro soccer player he would be what?
AL: I don’t know I’ve asked myself this question, to be honest. I can’t even come up with the answer because my whole life has revolved around soccer. It’s literally all I wanted to do my whole life. It’s cheesy but I remember in elementary school, they would make you write what you want to do when you’re older and I had no intention of being anything besides a soccer player. That was my dilemma in college because I had to pick a major and I’d say, “To be honest, up until this point all I thought about is playing soccer so it’s hard for me to figure out what I want to do in school.” Hopefully I would still be in sports because I like that kind of stuff.
17) What did you major in?
AL: Kinesiology. It still revolved around soccer. I said to myself, What do I want to do? I have to make a decision to make sure I had all the classes I needed, and I was looking at the different majors and I’ve never been the type of person to sit in an office all day so a lot of them didn’t interest me. So the counselors and advisors directed me to Kinesiology and I thought it sounded kind of cool because when I’m done playing, I could still stay around soccer or even athletics in general and help other athletes achieve their goals.
18) What do you do on an off day?
AL: We don’t do much, man. We basically try and get ready for the next day. It sounds kind of boring but that’s pretty much what our life entails if you’re trying to be a high level athlete. We’ll watch TV, Netflix, maybe some Playstation, but it’s mainly just hydration, recovery, ice, whatever. I like to work out or even get a small workout in after practice. It doesn’t sound like much but that’s what I like doing.
19) Who was your favorite athlete growing up?
AL: I have a few different ones but one of the athletes I thought was really cool to watch was Puyol. I really enjoyed watching him because he was just a pure defender, a solid defender, but the way he led his team and the way he showed how much of a leader he was left an impression on me more than anything else. There’s this really famous video of him from a game against Madrid, someone from the crowd threw a lighter and hit Pique and Pique picks up the lighter and he’s complaining to the referee about it. Puyol glances at him and he takes the lighter from his hand and he throws it off the field and pushes him like bro, forget about that, get ready the corners about to be taken. I just love things like that you can tell he was a true leader and I always enjoyed watching that.
20) What are your goals for your career?
AL: My current goal right now is making it to the playoffs and then going and winning the whole thing. That’s my goal as of right now but as far as my career, I don’t have too much direction as far as, I want to make it to this team, by this year, if you know what I mean. I just know that I want to keep improving every year, so every year has to be better than the last one. Whether that be me doing better in the USL next year or making it to the MLS and then going on to play in Europe. I have a lot of belief that I can do it and that if I work hard enough and be patient, I can get to a really high level as long as I stick with it. Improving myself as much as possible is one of the biggest things I look into.
