Athlete Q&A: Princeton's Zach Anderson

In Brief:

Zach Anderson is a senior captain on the Princeton Tigers soccer team. The Tigers won a regional championship last year and are looking to improve on that postseason goal this year. Currently, the Tigers are 8-1-1 on the season with regionals coming up in one month.

CC: What do you like and enjoy about soccer?
ZA: I just love the fact that there's no breaks. You're always thinking. You're always on your feet. It can go one way or another. But usually in soccer, the better team wins. It's not always true for other sports.

CC: What do you think makes it better than any other sport?
ZA: I'd probably say the hustle of the people. It's similar to basketball, because people who play basketball hustle as well, but just the people give everything they got for almost every game, and it's great to play with them.

CC: How did you first get involved in soccer?
ZA: I've been brought up in soccer. I've been playing since kindergarten, since I was this tall (puts out hand face down next to hip). My older sisters played, too, so it just kind of came with it.

CC: This is your primary sport, isn't it?
ZA: It's my favorite sport. It's my best sport.

CC: Do you have college plans after high school?
ZA: Maybe intermurals, but I'm not thinking because I'm looking at going to a D-1 school. I'm probably not going to play D-1 soccer. Maybe for fun.

CC: If you had any one moment from your high school career to date that you are most proud of, what would it be?
ZA: Hopefully a future one, if I am valedictorian. I've got a 4.0 right now. Hopefully that will be good enough for valedictorian if I keep it up. I'll be most proud of that, to be honest.

CC: Balancing sports and athletics is a tedious task, but how do you go about doing it?
ZA: There's a lot of time to sacrifice with friends and stuff, because I'm either at sports or i'm doing homework.

CC: What are your goals for this season?
ZA: So far we've been doing real well this year. We played Sterling, and they beat us pretty badly last year; now we tied them. I'm optimistic. We played Rock Island (on Aug. 31) and competed with them pretty well. So I'm hoping at least being a regional champion, maybe sectionals hopefully? Maybe further.

CC: Describe your role on this team.
ZA: As a captain, my main job is to keep everyone cool. Some people get hot-headed sometimes, and I just try to keep people out of trouble.

CC: What's been the biggest improvement since your freshman year when it comes to playing soccer?
ZA: I'd say ball control. My ability to one-touch pass something pretty accurately has improved a lot for me.

CC: What's been the best soccer advice given to you?
ZA: Keep cool.

CC: Finish this sentence about yourself: Other than soccer, no one can beat me at ...
ZA: It sounds corny, but I'd have to say academics.

CC: If there was one rule in soccer that you would like to see changed, what would it be?
ZA: Maybe if people could go out-of-bounds when the ball is in the air and save it, as long as they keep it off the ground. I think that would be a nice rule to have.

FAVORITES

Favorite place to eat at - Los Ranchitos

Musical artist - Seether

TV show - House

Class in school - Anatomy

High school rival - Hall

Pro athlete - Cristiano Ronaldo
Pro sports team - Chicago Bears