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You can also follow them on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. This podcast is being brought to you by WXAV88.3FM and WXAV.com, WXAV bringing the best podcast to you. Salutations listeners and welcome to the Player Profiles podcast. I am your host, Jockam Israel and if you're looking to get to know the many great athletes here at St.
David University, then I must say, you've definitely arrived at the correct destination. So who is the athlete that is going to be featured on today's episode? Well, I'll let my imaginary interview wheel answer that question. Hey, cut the music real quick.
Alright, let's give this thing a girl's spin! And today's athlete is going to be... Ah, Olivia DeJada's. Yeah, tell me about how bowling is.
So you bolt, right? I do. So what got you interested in the bowling? So when I was three years old, I started bowling.
My dad and my mom actually met at a bowling alley and I grew up in a bowling alley, basically watching my parents' bowl every night. And I actually just started picking up a bowling ball and I fell in love since I was three years old. Well, three years old. Yeah.
Wow, that's very young. So you were dedicated from the jump, huh? I was. And I actually used to play softball too, but I had a severe injury to my knee.
I tore my ACL and my MAMCL. And I decided to stick with bowling too. That was a big decision in my life. And I couldn't be happier, honestly.
I love my bowling family and I'm the person who I am today because of it. So you went to Lincoln Way West and they had a bowling team, obviously. What was your mindset as you were going through... I don't know if they had a triad, but what was your mindset as you were starting to begin your high school bowling career?
Yeah, I definitely had a different mindset than I had now. I thought I was a superstar bowler and I think I was a little cocky when I was younger, obviously. And I think my mindset has changed significantly. I'm a very team player now when I was younger.
I thought this is just individual sport, which it is, but now it's a completely team sport. I love my girls and I feel like my mentality towards this sport has changed significantly. And I've seen those results come up in the past few years. We'll get to that later.
But I do want to highlight you were on a very, very historical team at Lincoln Way West. If I'm not mistaken, you were on the lone team in the school's history to have to win a sectional title. So what in the world was they like to make history that kind of history is just not seen every day? What was that like?
Yeah, it was us a real time. We were going into sectionals thinking like we're not going to make it, honestly. Like our team was good, but we're going against like the best of the best. And going on that win and taking that sectionals W out, it was insane.
It was a real moment and we were all in shock and then we went to state and we had a ball. Having the girls on that team, I really do miss them. But like I said, we were going into that sectionals and we were not expecting to pull out a win. And we did.
And it was a really surreal moment. You know, I'm not too unfamiliar with SWSC stuff. I got a little SWSC in me. I went to HF.
At least I didn't want to think about East because that would have been awkward. Or central, but I'm sure we all hate Eastmore. But I will say this, when I was looking at, because I used to do this very same thing in high school, so I covered a lot of sports in high school. One interesting thing that I saw before I came here is that when you guys did win that sectional, it was not just the fact that you did it was your first sectional title in school's history, but it's like who you beat to win that sectional.
The team that finished second, Manuka, that it's not just that you only beat them by 21. That looked very tight. But Megan Gilson was on that team too. Who is your current teammate?
And then the team that plays third, Joliet West. Barbara Lusberg was on that team. So two of your current teammates were on the team that you competed and finished, you all finished top three at that sectional. When I say that, what goes through your mind when you consider that you know them at this very moment right now?
Yeah. Actually, my freshman and sophomore year I've been with Barbara, and now my roommate is Megan Gilson. So, yeah, let's just say, tensions, not we're high, but it was just funny how we're like, holy crap, we're all wearing this sectional together. And, you know, I got the first place with my team, but, you know, we're doing big things here at same Xavier.
Last year we made complete runs, and it's just surreal because it's like, wow, I beat them in sectionals and now they're my teammates. It's crazy. We talk about that all the time how we used to compete against each other in high school, and now we're teammates here. And it's amazing.
Yeah. It's definitely funny. We like laugh about it because it's like, how can we like compete in high school and now we're teammates? But, you know what, we make it work and it is what it is.
And we're doing big things here, which kind of mean more too now in the future. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, definitely. Like, when you came to this school, you know, there wasn't a lot of history behind it.
I mean, the program had just launched in what, 2017? Yeah. So you were, you know, coming into like an era where, yeah, there was, you know, there were footsteps that were made before you. But now it's like you and the squads right now are taking the program to new heights.
What has it been like to be on this team for the past couple of years? Yeah, it's been surreal. Obviously my freshman year, we still have the COVID-ish. So I didn't travel too much, but last year was insane.
We traveled like nonstop. Definitely took some tolls on me in a way. But what we did in our history books, it's insane. We made ITCs for the first, or not for the first time, or yes, for the first time.
The NIA, yes, yes. It was insane. I mean, we made NIAs for the first time and we made a decent run. I think we placed this, I believe, if that like worked out in the match way and that's the highest we ever been.
ITCs, I believe that was our first time too. And we did awesome. We made it to the Nationals. Had a great run there.
And I'm honestly, I'm so excited for our season to start this year because we made such big moves last year. I think we can make big room moves this year. Yeah. And considering the way you started last year, you guys won the Golden Eagles invite.
We did. And you were a big part of that. Yeah. And I think it's going to be the recipe to kind of replicate that successful start to a season like that.
That was big. Yeah, it was definitely big. I think our heads are held high right now because it's such a great season we had. And going into the Golden Eagles invite, it's our first tournament this year.
Having winning it last year, I think we have a lot of confidence. And I think my girls and I are going to do some big moves. And we have a couple new girls coming in. And I think that we're going to have to grind out a little bit.
Our mental and physical games have to be on point and I think we'll do good. Yeah. And obviously, you know, the team is going to be transitioning a little bit, obviously, with Katherine and Hannah and so many seniors that made a big impact. They've obviously graduated and they've moved on.
What do you think is going to be the key to kind of re-tolling this team to try to replicate and then build off of the success that they had last year? Yeah. I think the key for me, I am the oldest on the team, including Barbara. And I think for me, I'm going to probably be that person for them.
I'm going to have to be the person that they'll come to for things and whatnot. Because Katherine was a huge part of that. And so was Hannah. We would always go to them about some things.
And now that they're gone, I think the key part of it is going to be we're going to be in their shoes now. And the girls can come to us about bowling or anything in general. So I think that's going to be a major key where we're going to help the younger classmates and succeed in our bowling careers for this semester and this year. Yeah.
Because your first competition starts next month. Yes. And you guys, without a doubt, have the longest season in the entire school. No other sport goes through a much longer season.
I don't even know if they have half as long as the next longest sport has half the season that you guys have. So what's the grind like you're in and you're out? Yeah. It's definitely a grind.
Mental health and physical health is very important for us. Our sport is not like tackling each other and nothing like that. But definitely we use our whole body. We're lifting 15, 14 pound balls every day.
Use our legs. We use our arms. And grinding it out with classes too. You have to be on top of your schedules.
You need to communicate with your professors and definitely it takes a toll. That's for sure. Because like you said, we're the longest season. We start next week and we end April, whenever we move out May first, honestly.
But it's definitely a toll on your body and your mental health for sure. And you just have to keep grinding with it. Go talk to people. Go reach out or even just go on simply walks.
That's it. Just clear your head out and then go from there for sure. So put that in the context. Major League Baseball has a 162 game season and they don't even stretch their season eight months.
Like you guys like like spring training starts in late February. We'll say the post season ends late October. But spring training is like two months. You girls are literally going full strength full force for eight straight months.
Yes, it's very dwelling for sure. Yeah, that's impressive in its own right. I will say that. Yeah.
But I will say I will ask this last question about S.X.U. going and we'll get to some other things. You know, obviously you're a junior right now. If you return next year, you'll have one more year in you.
Halfway through your S.X.U career. What do you want your legacy and what do you want your team's legacy to be when you ultimately graduate and have to part ways with the school? Yeah. My legacy for this school, I obviously want to make it as far as possible.
I think that's always a dream. I mean, I see all these other schools like Wichita State, Stephen F. Awesome, McHenry. They're making big moves.
I want to be them. I want to make same Xavier that name. I want to show girls that same Xavier is here to play and we're here to bowl. And I think we can do it with the potential that we have with our girls.
We can for sure do it. And I want to leave a name here. Yeah. And speaking of Stephen F.
Austin, you know, you played them in the postseason. I forget if it was the NAI tournament or the ITCs. It was the ITCs. Yes.
And you were the 13th seed. Yes. And you actually, you know, first of all, you upset St. Mary's, which was a big move.
That was a big upset. But obviously when I looked at the lineup of the six bowlers that you guys put out, somebody season, I didn't know who I didn't know by how much, but somebody season was going to end by the hands of that lineup and just happen to be St. Mary's. But you drew the eventual national champions in the round after that.
Yes. And I know, you know, they ended up going on their run. Sadly. Very sadly.
But you know, what, how can you use that Stephen F. Austin experience to go even farther and farther in the years to come? Yeah, we could definitely take so much information that we got from that match because we put up a fight we did. And I'm proud of my girls.
Like we pushed through as much as possible. They just had to get carried. We were hitting the pocket. Just leaving stone eight stone tents.
It's that's only for you. But now we take that information and we just grind it out. We have to get into their head more than them getting into ours too. Because obviously we're all thinking in the pit.
Oh, crap. She just struck. So I think we need to focus on our game more than theirs and then move from there. Nice.
And obviously time will tell. I really have a lot of faith in this program because it's like, you know, it's been moving up. Like they're like, this thing just started in 2017. And it's going to be really cool.
Like by the time you graduate, you'll be on over half of the teams in the school's in the program's history. So you'll have opportunities to really leave your mark for not just the teams that come a year or two after you, but for many teams to come in the years following that. So I will say do your best and obviously be your best. Yes, for sure.
I think we will. I'm excited for this year. Really into let's talk a little bit about your career aspirations. So I know I talked about this a little bit, but for those who don't know, what do you think you want to do with your life?
So I am a psych social work major. And I think that I want to take psychology into either sports and help sports athletes via sports psychologist, or I might go into the psych ward on the hospital or I'm not even really sure. Like I'm just reaching out right now. Like branching out seeing what I like.
Psych is everywhere. And I think mental health really matters for me. So I want to help people and I love talking to people. So I think that I want to be obviously a psychologist and help people because I feel like it's not talked about enough.
Yeah, I agree. And obviously, you know, a lot of that was swept under the rug, but a lot of some of those things came out of the rug, you know, because of COVID. You're seeing a lot of people, you know, those problems, you know, just shot out of the air and you know, they were there up there. So I got to ask, you know, how do you how much of a detriment do you think COVID was to people's mental health?
I think it definitely affected a lot of people's health because it's like you get trapped in a little room or in your house and it's like you can't go do anything. Yeah, you could go on for walks and stuff. And it's like that's not enough. That is not enough.
Once you get your whole schedule shut down, it changes. That's for sure. I know myself. I definitely struggled a little bit.
I try to kept myself as much active, like be active as much as possible, but it's still dwelled on me and I was just like kind of, you know, so I think COVID impacted mental health significantly. Yeah. You were the high school class of 2020, which was, you know, the beginning of the classes that you know, had a lot of unconventional stuff happen and while they were still in high school. So coming into college, you know, not even just, you know, dealing with sports and just dealing with, you know, the bowling teams and just dealing with life going into your freshman year of high school into the teeth of a pandemic.
You know, what was that experience like? It was different. I mean, wearing a mask everywhere, you're not even able to see people's faces like freshman year of college, like it's a whole new life and mine was kind of, you know, I mean yours was probably too so because we saw the way mask and stuff, but it was just a whole different experience. Like now, junior year, I'm living like my freshman experience, like completely normal, you know, going into in-person classes, not having to wear masks.
Oh, this class has to be online because of someone, someone is sick, you know, but now I just, I'm living. I'm having so much fun with my friends and like I said, we're doing as much as possible because this past couple of years, like it, well done us. Now we have to catch up. So from the COVID.
So, you know, yeah, it's been really good to, you know, see normalcy develop year after year. Exactly. Because, you know, it for me, it just felt like it was never going to end. No, I know.
It was just like how long was it going to go on? Right. And it's still going on, but it's not as bad as we were in, but we just had to keep ourselves safe and try to live life as much normality as possible. Yeah, no, because I mean, the thing was like when I graduated high school the year after you and I came into my freshman year, I was thinking, you know, I'm coming into freshman year.
Yes, I'm going to have to wear masks. Yes, I'm going to have to do this and that. But it was definitely a lot more normal than having a full-blown online year, you know, like I'm assuming is what happened as saying Xavier, while I was a senior in high school with all those online classes. It's like, it's the difference between being a senior in high school and a freshman in college.
It's a big difference. People might think, oh, it's just one year of school. No, the lifestyle is different. Your decision making is different.
The responsibility is different. The power is different. Everything about it is different. And you know, it was just like, I really felt remorseful about the class before me because it's like, I'm going to literally get a practically half normal freshman year at the very least.
Exactly, and I can agree to that too, for sure. Yeah, it was just like, and another class that's coming in now, they're just, you know, obviously they're, it's going to get as normal as it can possibly get for what our standards were two years ago. Exactly. I mean, we'll get the time that we get of normalcy in college, but yeah, it's just great to see progress too, you know.
I agree to that. Yeah, but it's definitely, it sucks, but like you said, progress, it's insane how much we've changed as people too. So psychology, I know there's a lot of avenues that you could possibly go with this. Yes.
But I got asked, is why do you want to help people? I want to help people because I was a mercy major, and I switched to psych. I love talking to people like I said, I want to help people in that aspect because it's tough. Some people don't like talking about it, and I know in a couple of friends that pass away because of mental health, and seeing that is just enough.
And I want to help them. I want them to be able to talk to people, be able to feel welcome. And I think that I can do that. And that's why I changed to psychology.
And I love the brain. The brain is, there's so much you can look into. And not a lot of people know that. I mean, people do, but once you get into that, there's so much you can look into.
Yeah. And obviously, you know, when you're our age, it's even that much more important because you know, you get all this talk about the next generation and you know, how we have, you know, to carry the load on and this and that. And you know, obviously the first part of that is having the mindset, having the right mindset. So I completely agree with that.
Like when I was younger, you know, I wasn't really the best kid. I was a very disrespectful kid to the people that matter, that should have mattered the most, my teachers, some of my classmates. I wasn't as disrespectful to my parents, but you know, because I was disrespectful to everybody else, you know, it was, you know, I had to be disciplined enough to be on the right track. And I even got myself a detention for it.
I know one is probably much less than a lot of people expect when you have a description like that, but you know, I still felt like, you know, my social work is at that school really helped me on the right track because, you know, there was a lot bottled up to me. And I had to get it out somehow. And when I got it out, I instantly, I went from detention to, you know, and sees on the report card and just bees and sees being the only person in fourth grade to have all A's in a quarter. And I was just like, and I still had that, I had that little banner to myself for many, many years.
And it was, it just felt good. So it stood as a staple of the turnaround in my life because I got my mental health injection. Right. And you trusted that one person to talk to, you know, and I want to be that one person for these kids that need help as potentially kids or athletes or anybody.
I'm not 100% sure yet, but I want to be that one person that they could trust and come to and be able to talk to you. Yes. And, you know, I always get a lot of talk about my majoring stuff because people always ask me what I want to be in them. And I'm like, you know, I know I want to be a sports caster and stuff like that, but it's like, you know, and people ask me, you know, why I don't take school all that seriously, you know, that stuff.
I mean, there's nothing wrong with, you know, being a good student. There's nothing wrong with not being the best student. As long as you know your best path to success, it's, you know, you'll be all right. And my path to success, I mean, right now that it's cool because I want to be able to do what I, you know, already know how to do at the highest level.
Right. And it's, I take it as a little investment because like, I don't just want to be on local televisions. I want to be worldwide. And so I have to get this degree to, you know, you know, be able to bolster that resume.
But you know, one person has to be why, you know, I'm so lax today's goal with it because I have more video games than my book bags and I do books. I will be perfectly honest. And I still got on the Dean's List first semester last year. Yeah.
So yeah. But you know, I said, because, you know, being a sports caster is not as serious as being an educator or being a psychologist or being, you know, being anybody that can be of great use to the next generation behind us with, you know, being a good person, being, you know, happy people because before sports, there comes people. And that's what I tell people all the time. It's like, you know, I know, you know, sports is fun and all that, but we can't, we can't be athletes if we can't be people.
And that's, you know, that's kind of what I stress a lot. So I just, I just, you know, try to make sure people are good people first before we, you know, have fun and stuff like that. Speaking of fun, hobbies. Tell me about your hobbies.
I know there has to be some beside the bowling. Oh, there's always this. Spilly. I love to cook.
I cook here at S.X.U. for my roommates. I love playing Fortnite. Yes, I love to play Fortnite with my friends.
And I also like to read. I've been on a reading kit lately. I used to never like to read. I started to read over the summer and I really enjoy it.
And yeah, some mental health books or just some, you know, relationship books, whatever. I just, I haven't getting into that. But those are the top three that I would say love to cook or love to play Fortnite and love to read. You know something about reading?
It's always great to read when you do it on your own terms and on your own wheel. Yes. When you're reading in school? Absolutely not.
For school, absolutely not. But on your own terms, for sure. And because you get to pick the books that you like. I mean, you get to choose.
But for school, different story for sure. Yeah. And I've taken a little different term when it comes to reading. I'm actually writing a book.
It's, I haven't, obviously I haven't finished it yet. I just started it like last year. Okay. And it was kind of like my COVID book.
It was like, it was like a book that I was writing a lot to, you know, when I was at home all the time. Yeah, for sure. I call it fingerprints. It's not where he was basically around a guy who's, you know, a senior in high school.
And he has like, he's like, it's like, it's like sci-fi. Okay. But it's like, there's like another universe out there. And it's like people are, you know, having bad things happen to them.
There's that one person that wants to be good for everybody. And he gets shut down by the whole, you know, his whole universe. So he has to come to earth and he has to find the chosen one to help, you know, save his own universe, you know, being destroyed by their own, you know, bad thoughts and bad people and stuff like that. That senior in high school sees a watch in his driveway and he says, you know what, I like this, this is, I saw my wrist automatically.
He puts it on. It's like, you know, now he's being tasked with being, you know, having to save both his universe and the universe of the watch. And you know, he has to break a curse and, you know, all this and that. I really like the direction that I'm, you know, going with this.
I, the, my main reason for writing it is because I had a weird, like this weird goal to like write a book that would be used in English classes and that would actually be fun. Okay. That's a good, I like the aspect of it for sure. Yeah.
And obviously, you know, I want to make it fun, but I also want the moral of the story to, you know, be, you know, prominent. And the moral of that story is aiming to be, you know, be, try to be good when you can't, because you never know when somebody else will need it. You never know how big of an impact kindness will, you know, have on another person. You just never know.
Like, and I learned this because I had a friend in high school. She was, I noticed that she was looking very sad consistently, more sadder than I'm used to seeing her. And I just, I just walked up and asked, are you all right? And obviously she said yes, because she's not going to want to immediately, you know, say she's not feeling all right.
Yeah. We go to the very next weekend and she texted me about how I basically saved her life by asking that question because she, she had gotten help. She was about to, she was about to, you know, cut it and kick the bucket. And I was like, so I just saved somebody's life just by asking a question.
Yeah. And that makes you feel so welcoming. So like, you know, you feel like you're there. You help somebody.
You feel like people care about you. Yeah, for sure. You just never know when that ounce of care can turn into a gallon of hope. Exactly.
And you never know what people are going through and that simple question can change them. And that's, that's kind of why I, you know, started that book and I, I hope to finish it before I graduate college. I just have a lot of time, but yeah, when you said reading that automatically triggered, you know, my little, my little project. Yeah.
That's awesome. I also love listening to music too. I had to point that out. You know, I make music.
Do you? I, a lot of people know that I want to be a sports caster. A couple of people know that I want to be an actor, not a lot of people know about my little sneaky music actor. Very sneaky.
I'm a rapper. Okay. I've been a goofing off with this whole little rapid things as I was a freshman in high school, but it started a little more serious when people saw that, you know, they were like, Jonathan, this is actually pretty good stuff. I'm like, Oh, really?
And I obviously didn't have the resources to make like real music. Like this is the same place where I record. Yeah. And I'm just, I'm just like for the heck of it.
And that's how it's always been. But, you know, if I do make some noise, like with my other careers, I probably might have been trying to drop some, some, some lyrical bombs on these people, you know. Yeah, for sure. That's awesome.
Yeah. I like, I'll probably call myself something like the microfonic mastermind or something. That's cool. Something a little fancy, little spice.
Yeah. Speaking of spice, cooking. So what are your favorite things to cook? Yes.
I love cooking. We're a big pasta people in 305. Yeah. Love pasta and tacos.
We make tacos. Love tacos. I'm about to get out of you. Make me hungry.
I just ate breakfast a little bit. Yeah. So we're more so pasta taco. Breakfast for dinner.
Yeah. That's good. Breakfast for dinner is so much better than breakfast in the morning. I don't know about you, but I do, I am a breakfast person, but it just smacks in the night.
Oh, that's a, I know it's, I know it's been a rising trend over the years. Yes. I mean, this school even has, you know, a couple of events based on breakfast for dinner. Yeah.
Especially when I at least expected it. It was like, you know, waffles at eight o'clock at night and not eight o'clock in the morning. It hits different. And I was just like, oh, you should try.
I have. And I was just like, I mean, I still eat breakfast in the morning more often than I do at night, but it's like at night it does feel different. Once in a while. It's a little better, a little different, a little, a little more flavor.
Right. Like this is weird. It's different. But, you know, we cook a lot of chicken too.
I would say chicken breasts, you know, you could do anything with that, but we cook a lot. And it's fun. Like you said, like I said, a little hobby that we have in the Rio Five, I live in O'Brien this year. So, yeah, I have a souvenir or yeah, we have a microwave, a conventional oven.
We have all the fixings, pots, pans, hot plates, you know, oh man, yeah, my roommate is going to kill me because my roommate, we, um, we're, you know, applying for housing last year, right? And we were at the time we were, we had no expectations of what the quad halls were like. And it's a different, it's like a apartment. Yeah.
It's different. As I, as I planned as they have saw, I saw, I was, I walked in two last Tuesday and I was like, what a world. Right. I know.
It's a, it's a change. It's a different experience for sure. Yeah. But, um, obviously we only have the confession oven in the refrigerator.
Um, we don't have a stove. We don't have, um, our own pots and stuff like that. Yeah. And my roommate was fully expecting to have those pots and that stove and I'm like, I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on here buddy.
We got to wait and see if we actually have this stuff and more. It's because, you know, we don't know if it's the same as O'Brien or Ruble off or McCarthy. We don't, we don't know anything about what those rooms look like on the inside. Mm hmm.
Yeah. Completely nothing. You have to bring everything yourself home. Yeah.
No. And I was just like, he was like, oh man, I was going to get to get the glass of the leg freaking, freaking, freaking pasta man. And I'm like, I'm like, well man, you're going to have to find some alternatives unless you want to apply for O'Brien next year. Yeah.
Um, but yeah, no, you got some, you got some good hobbies there. That's, um, you seem like, you seem like you have a lot of action going on. You keep it busy. I try to keep myself busy.
I like it. And for me, I do the same too. Cause it's like, I have a lot of time on my hands. Cause, you know, even though I have a lot, you know, to do, I have this job, I work in my home and I'm a athletic worker, I, you know, I have school to worry about as everybody else does.
And I have, you know, the occasional hobbies and all this and that, but I still feel like I have way too much time on my hands because I spend only what five hours in the classroom, you know, on average, maybe four. Like a week? Yeah. I know.
And it's just like, it's very different from high school. Like, I used to wake up at five 45 and have class from seven, 33. Yeah. And I'm not even, I'm not even waking up in college until like nine o'clock in the morning.
It's like elementary school, sleeping times again. I'm like, wow. And you still had to keep going after high school. Once you're done with three, you have extra activities afterwards.
You have to go to practice. You have to do homework this. We can go, Oh, I'm double class. I could go take a nap.
No. Yeah. You know, it's definitely changed. It's tough.
You wake up at seven and then you're done at three here. You wake up at 10 and you're done at 11. You know, it's absolutely insane. It was one of the biggest bell ringers that I learned when I stepped foot on his campus.
It's like, when I figured out, you know, I have how to make my own schedule. I was like, Oh my goodness. Yeah. I don't have to.
I don't have to take an eight o'clock in a clock. I don't want to. Yeah. Or you don't have to have class on Friday.
Oh, man. I know people feast off of that. Yes. I mean, I'm sure they'll take loading up their Tuesdays and Thursdays to not have to come school on Fridays.
Exactly. Yeah. For sure. It's very fun taking around with schedules.
Like, you know, you got to figure out which class you want to take, you know, when you want to take that class, not just in terms of the day, but in terms of the semester that you want to take it because it's, I mean, there's some classes like freshman year, they tell you got to take this as a freshman. Yeah. But other than that, it's like most of my classes is like, you know, I just have to complete them before I graduate from schedule to graduate. I'm like, yo, I can, I can, I can have a whole philosophy to this whole, a whole plan to this if I really want to.
Yeah. It's, it's really amazing to see. Do you ever like think about that when you're like, you know, planning your schedules out? I know you've had a few rodeos with this.
Yeah, I definitely do because I practice Monday through Thursday and we have Monday and Tuesday night practices, Wednesday, Thursdays, 11 to two. So I definitely have to change my schedule a little bit and I have to either load my Monday sometimes or load my Wednesdays and go by my practice schedule too. And if I have to have class up right, it is what it is, like whatever, but more so I definitely tinker with my classes because I have to. Yeah.
And working around, you know, athletics is a, you know, big thing for athletes on this campus. I, I've come to know that because, you know, obviously this is kind of what I do. I've interviewed, you know, many, I've interviewed many athletes in my lifetime and knowing schedules is like, it's like a double life. I feel like, yeah.
And I feel like the same Xavier were a huge athletics campus too. They have, they have championships, you know, I mean, I can only imagine what this campus was like in 2011 when they won the football national championship. I know. Oh, this place must have been a mad house for sure.
Hopefully we can get another one of those and we can experience that. Oh, yeah, I would love that. Me too. Because we still have, we still have some very competitive teams and it doesn't just have the football.
We have some very good programs all around the horn, you know, our both of our volleyball teams and really, really good, you know, both of our basketball teams are very competitive, especially the girls, the women, the women in sports are criminally underrated. I cannot, I cannot stress this enough. Yes. And I had a little, I had a bowl point that I made a couple of nights ago.
I told somebody that Subert was the greatest athlete to ever play in the city of Seattle. And you know, I'm like, and there were some great ones. I mean, there's a couple baseball players, each row in Ken Griffey. They were like really, really great Mariners.
But I'm like, just the fact that Subert, she had, she has four championships. The baseball players had none. And Russell Wilson, the quarterback to see off at the time, he only had one ring. It could have had two, but he choked in the Super Bowl.
But no, Subert got Seattle for championships throughout 21 years playing in the Pacific Northwest. And she had the responsibility of, amongst all the things she did on the court, she had to show the responsibility of keeping the sports in Seattle alive because there was an NBA team in Seattle, but they decided to move to Oklahoma. So now the only basketball that there is, that there is in Seattle is the Seattle Storm. And basketball could have easily died in that city.
But she was so great in that sport that she kept the, she kept the entire sport alive in that entire city and maybe even that entire state of Washington. Yes. That's how, that's really how great she was. And I was just like, don't underestimate the power of a woman in sports.
Very true. I agree. But it always grinds my gears. It's like, I mean, women always get flack when it comes to dealing with anything sports, whether they're talking about it, whether they're playing it, whether they're writing about it.
It's always something. Do you ever have a chip on your shoulder when you're playing or have you just ever played like an edge? Does that ever come to mind or anything? I wouldn't say so, but I know some people do, but for me I wouldn't say so.
Yeah, I know it's not a commonly thought of thing during competition. But it's like, when it comes to the biggest stages, it's more and more and more and more talking. It's just like, yeah, no, there's for sure talk is just when I'm competing. I just don't really think about that.
But after competition, I feel like, yeah, we do talk about it. Because sometimes you're in the boys are like, oh my gosh, the girls scores are so much lower. It's like, okay. And just because you guys are so much higher, you guys work harder than I mean, we're doing as much as possible to it.
I guess it's always just like that and bullying that girls, girls, scores are lower, but at the same time, it's just like it is what it is. Like we're trying to compete too. Yeah. In many cases, you know, the girls are more competitive than boys.
Yeah, we need to be. You know, people want to say, you know, lower scores means less entertainment and all this and that. But think about it, if all those scores are closer together, does it that mean there's more action? Yeah.
You know, say if a guy is bowling 250 and everybody else is bowling like 125, do you really think that's more entertaining when all the girls are batting? Like not batting or bowling around 225 to 20 all at the same time? No, that is not more entertaining than that. Like, it shouldn't matter how good they are in comparison.
You know, with the fact that it's, you know, that they're doing so well and they're competing at the highest levels against each other, you know, and you know, it's great to watch and it's great to be a part of. Yes. That's really what matters the most. Well, we have higher scores in comparison to you.
But it's like, that's why there's women in sports too, you know? Yeah, I mean, but even then it's like even with that handicap, if you want to call it that, like I've seen some insane like between NBA and WNBA. I've seen some finishes in the WNBA. I've never seen in the NBA.
Right. Like I've seen some things that I have never seen some great finishes, half course shots in the like in playoffs, like elimination type stuff. Like that's like I've seen some stuff that I just have not seen in the NBA that I have seen in the WNBA. Well, like, and even the Chicago sky around here, they made noise last year when they won the finals.
Yes, they did. Yeah, it was insane. I'm like, oh, yeah, basketball is back on the map as the Bulls. They had a one to finals since the 90s.
They like the gold about the 90s. Yeah, they were even making some noise too a little bit in the early season until people got hurt. But still, basketball was coming back here in Chicago. And big part of that is because of the sky.
I mean, Candace Parker came back home, pulled a freaking LeBron James came back home delivered a champ. Right. That was so raw. I remember watching, I remember watching Game 4 live.
I was like, yo, I was screaming. I was screaming at the top of my lungs in the picelli lounge watching that game. Like it was a crazy comeback. I was actually nervous that we actually had to go back to Phoenix for a winner take all came by.
And I'm just like, like the relief that I felt when they won that championship was just like, oh, man, then that got me to that. That got that really got me to being a real, real sky fan. Like I really liked the sky before he won the championship. But when they won that championship, it was like a surreal moment for sure.
It was my it was probably the generation of Chicago's first taste of a basketball champion. Yeah, right. It was so insane. And I couldn't be more grateful.
And obviously, you know, women's sports, they have, you know, it's like a certain place in my heart. It's like the first sport I ever really, you know, got connected with was girls volleyball in high school. And I just will never forget the memories I had. You know, I rushed a quarter couple of times because we beat some pretty good teams.
And I got to call on some of their games and stuff. And it was just like, it was so cool, you know, you know, being a part of that. And even right now, you know, I'm going as far as women's bowling right now. Like this guy is the limit.
It's not even the limit. You know, it's like, I don't even know where the limit is. I mean, maybe guys, the limit. We could say that.
But no, the limits are just not there for me. Like, I mean, I'm really happy that you, you know, took your time to, you know, come out and do this because, you know, my job, you know, is to cover sports and all that. And it's, you know, you could just sometimes people just call it off there. My job is to cover sports.
But my thing is I don't just want to be football basketball and everything else at the bottom of the barrel. You know, if sports are especially if they're succeeding and people are thriving, like we're good. Everybody's going to get that piece of the pie that slice of the pie. And it's going to be big, you know.
Yeah. Because a lot of people think bowling isn't a sport and a lot of people do think bowling is a sport. But I feel honored that I'm here being able to talk about it because I enjoy it and I do believe it is a sport. So yeah, I mean, we have esports here.
If you if people are out here believing that he's more, this sport, then bowling should most definitely be a sport. I agree. And I'll end off with this. What do you think is your favorite bowling memory ever?
Oh, take your time. That's hard because I have so many, but I would have choose one. My favorite, yeah. One of my favorite bowling memories is actually last year's St.
Xavier. And I think the bus rides are the best. When we come home from a tournament, we win. It's insane.
The bus rides are the best. Also, I would have to squeak this in Vegas. We go to Vegas. Yeah, Vegas was so much fun.
And I think that's such a core memory that I will always remember. It was amazing having to be there with like the people that your second family. It was insane. I will always remember Vegas trip.
Las Vegas. Yes. Oh my gosh. I'll make sure to chug a water bottle for you since I can't legally drink right now.
But that is awesome. Yeah, that is crazy. That must have been a freaking power trip. Yes.
I'm excited for this year. Yeah. I'll say my favorite bowling memory was my 16th birthday. And I decided to go bowling.
Oh, fun. And I had done it a couple of times before in my life. It was like a few years between me and my bowling. So my play uncle, he arrives and we're bowling.
We're mid-game. Yeah. The lane to my life is occupied by professional bowlers. Like people actually really competing.
I'm talking and they were deep into it. I'm talking. They had the hand guards, the sleeves, the shirts, the uniforms, all that. All the gear, the bowling gear you could ask.
I was like, and obviously we had to get the lane courtesy. And at the time, I understood what lane courtesy was. I was more pissed off at the time. I was like, man, that's my birthday.
I want a bowl. I have to stand there and wait for them. It's settled. Take like 15 seconds.
They're the pins. All the good. Yeah. Yeah.
I was like, man. And meanwhile, next night you have a bunch of kids just going up. I had a ball chugging in within five seconds. And we were not so much.
So my plate, Uncle, he tells one of the women that were bowling over there. He said, hey, see that guy up there? Pointing to me. He'll match you strike for strike.
And she was like, oh, really? Game of the look? He was like, yeah. Yeah.
And then when I got through bowling in my turn, they were talking while I was bowling. And when I came back, she gave me this look. And I'm like, why is you looking at me like that? And my plan was like, all right, I'm going to need you to bowl a strike.
And I'm like, what did you do? And he told me to spiel. And I'm like, are you crazy? Are you okay?
I hadn't bowl a strike all game long. Oh, why? Did you strike? Yes, I act.
But it was crazy because it was her turn first. She got the first turn. Okay. And it gave my mind.
She is bowling competitively right now. Yes. So she goes up there, bowls a strike. Oh, why?
And she gives me the stare of death. And I give my plan and go that same stare at death because I'm like, as you said, because you're like, why did you sign me up for this? Yeah. You put your bow strike, bro.
Yes, I'm putting this on you, bro. Yeah. So I go up there again, hadn't bowl a strike all game. Yeah.
It was like maybe the sixth or seventh frame. I'm like, man, I'm feeling this pressure. Everybody's making noise all of a sudden because everybody except my mother knew exactly what was going on. And it was just a lot of pressure, but I'm like, I'm going to calm down because I have been bowling extremely hard, like maybe like 19 miles an hour.