Q&A with Spring Creek soccer player, rising senior Arena McDermott
SPRING CREEK, Nev. — A Q&A with Arena McDermott who is a soccer player and rising senior at Spring Creek High School.
ATHLETE INFO:
Age: 17
Sports participated in: Soccer, Rodeo, Track and Field, Basketball, Volleyball
Years in current sport: 13
Team/s: Spring Creek High School Girls Soccer
Grade/Year: 2023
What are your personal goals within your sport/athletic dreams?
Arena McDermott: My goals for soccer are to take my high school team to the state championship this year. In the future, I hope to continue playing soccer in college and receive scholarships that will also support my academics as I pursue a degree in nursing.
What is your biggest challenge in your sport and what do you do to manage this challenge?
McDermott: I would say that the biggest challenge in my sport is needing to have a short memory. In soccer you can’t think about a mistake you made or the last play because everything is always moving so quickly and you are forced to focus on the play in front of you. My dad has always told me to have a short memory when I rope so I have always applied that to my soccer games. Another thing that helps me with this is the focus exercises I do with my trainer, Raul Lopez, that are designed specifically for refocusing after a mistake in a game.
What was the best advice you were ever given?
McDermott: The best advice I’ve ever been given is to work hard, outwork everyone else, and put in the work needed to get to my goal. This advice is the most important to me because it has been given to me by all the people in my life that mean the most to me and they have all shown me what working hard means.
What do you love about your sport?
McDermott: Something I love about soccer is that there aren’t any set plays. My coach is always telling us that soccer is a game of mistakes. I love that those mistakes create the opportunities needed to win games.
Do you have a pregame ritual you follow?
McDermott: I would say that my pregame ritual is always done with my team. We call it our two minutes before games. During this time no one can talk and we have the time to prepare and focus ourselves before we warm up. I like to spend my two minutes thinking through what I know about the opponents and visualizing what I am going to do in the game.
What do you like to do outside of your sport?
McDermott: Some other things that I do besides playing soccer are team roping and rodeo, water sports, shopping, making jewelry, and hanging out with friends and family.
What has being a member of a team taught you?
McDermott: Being a member of a team has taught me important lessons about responsibility, leadership, communication, sacrifice, trust, and perseverance. My teammates and I have such a unique bond that I don’t have with anyone else and that carries into the way we play together and into our everyday lives.
What is the best piece of advice you received from a coach or mentor?
McDermott: My high school soccer coach, Kami Crowe, has told me since I was a freshman to trust myself and to have confidence in myself when I have the ball. This has helped me a lot throughout the years and has made me a much stronger player.
Describe a mistake you made while competing and how you overcame it.
McDermott: I make a lot of mistakes every game. There have been several times when I have stepped too early to a ball and my opponent gets a shot off or a good cross. I overcome my mistakes with the help of my teammates who always cover for me and because I know I am going to be there when they make a mistake.
I would like to thank my parents, family, friends, coaches, trainer, mentors, and teammates for pushing me to be my best and supporting me in all that I do, I would not be where I am today without them.
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