I’m not a big fan of writing about myself. That’s for other people to do. However, it’s best if you know at least a little bit about me before I start rambling about what I think is best. So, this will have to do.
I grew up in suburban Ohio, just north of Columbus in a town called Lewis Center. It’s the only home I’ve known. Summers were spent outdoors, doing anything a parent can think to keep their kid busy. This is where I learned about sports. I played five different sports growing up. Like most kids in the midwest I played soccer at a young age before moving on to baseball and basketball. I tried running track for a year but it wasn’t any good. I never saw the point of just running in circles. I also hurt my back trying to do the high jump so that didn’t help.
Believe it or not I settled on volleyball as my main sport in high school. It was an upstart program at my school and I found a home right away. I love the mix of high intensity and tiny movements that can change so much about every point. There is so much mental strategy and momentum involved in the sport, yet every single point means so much. Down 16-20 and you feel like the set is over but when it’s 17-20 the win is right there.
This is what I love about sports. There’s so much variation yet the same basics can be talked about. Not everyone knows what a libero does or why you can’t ‘carry’ the ball but the setter is basically throwing it every play, yet the basics of defense and momentum are always there. The saying “defense wins championships” can be said for every sport, yet the way to play defense in American football is a lot different than defense in the world’s definition of football (us Americans call it soccer).
Where was I?
Before I became addicted to the world of sports, I tried a lot of other activities. I was in scouting for nine years, made it all the way to star scout before my troop dissolved. I did some acting, starring as Mr. Green in my high school’s production of Clue. I even tried streaming on twitch a couple of times, although I doubt anyone would be able to find it (if it’s still up).
One thing that’s a staple in my life is family. I have a lot of cousins, and my parents have more than I can count. Pretty much all of them are in Wisconsin, so if you live there, I’d say there’s a 30% chance that we’re related somehow.
As a family, we would go up to Green Bay, Wisconsin every year to visit my Aunts and Uncles. One of them used to work security for the Packers so I’d get to go tour the stadium and we’d get a lot of extra merchandise that would be handed out during the games. I never did meet any of
the players. Nonetheless, I developed a love for the Packers, which turned out pretty well for young Alan (until the annual NFC championship defeat).
Most of my other alliances are for the Columbus teams, the Blue Jackets and Crew. In the case that I do write about any of these teams, which is unlikely in Arizona, I will be as objective as I can. It’s good to know where implicit bias can lie, so I felt being upfront was the way to go.
Despite me taking nearly exclusively sports journalism classes, I haven’t narrowed down my career path just yet. I do very much enjoy writing about my favorite sports, like I was with State Press last semester, but that’s not necessarily my final path. I enjoy being behind the scenes even more than being in front of the camera, with the technology required and used to stream games getting more complex every year.
I have also thought about trying to be a volleyball coach. With my wide positional knowledge and playing experience, I would love to teach the next generation and expand the sport. However, that pay is terrible and honestly, I don’t have the expertise I would need yet.
But that’s for me to figure out, not you. My job is to ramble to you about my opinions and back them up with more knowledgeable opinions. The thing I am most concerned about in the sporting world is player safety. There’s a lot of new science coming out about overworking joints and so many athletes are tearing ACL’s and achilles’ that there must be a better way. Not to mention concussions, which are taking away the futures of so many athletes before they even realize it. Injuries are a part of sports, that’s why they get paid so well, but there’s a point where they can be solved. Action must be taken to solve these issues.
