Welcome to another edition of my Player Profile blog series. If you have been reading some of my more recent interviews, you may have noticed that I have interviewed two young players by the name of Skylar Skelton and Cooper Thompson from the USA. Today’s interviewee is another youngster from the USA – Kolby Sessions. As you will read, Kolby is a determined and hard working young man who I believe may very well go onto have a bright future in the game.
My thanks to Kolby for agreeing to this interview and also to his Father (Adam) who has provided me with the photographs of Kolby. All of the photographs that you will see of Kolby are of him in action during a recent state championship game.
Name: Kolby Sessions
Age: 15
Place of Birth: Salt Lake City, Utah – USA
Currently Living: As above
Position: Goalkeeper
Current Club/Team: Judge Memorial Catholic High School and UAFC (Utah Arsenal FC)
Any Other Interests: I enjoy spending time with my pet dog (a German Shepherd) Ping Pong and I have an interest in Marvel Movies.
GT: Kolby, thank you for agreeing to this interview I am looking forward to hearing about you time in football thus far. I am interested to hear that you are a Goalkeeper – I was a Goalkeeper myself and I know what a difficult yet rewarding position it can be. How did you get to become a goalkeeper, was there something in particular that interested you about the position?
KS: Honestly, it is the only position I have ever played. When I joined my first competitive academy I fell in love with soccer. On the day of our first game the coach asked for a volunteer to play the first half in goal. I wasn’t a huge fan of running so I figured goalkeeping would be a good fit, I have played as a goalkeeper ever since. Getting to wear a different kit and having gloves to use with your hands was also more interesting than just always kicking the ball!
GT: It sounds like you were destined to become a goalkeeper then Kolby? Before we start to talk about you playing the game I’d be interested to know which goalkeepers playing in the game today that you admire?
KS: Ha Yes, it does sound like it for sure! That is an easy question for me – My favourite goalkeeper has always been Nick Rimando from Real Salt Lake. My Dad and I would go to every home game an hour early so I could watch him warm up. Everything from how he jogged or stretched and how he caught the ball while he was getting ready for the game was important for me to study.
GT: And as a goalkeeper now yourself, do you try and model your own style on Rimando’s?
KS: Yes, as much as possible. I have watched him so much through the years in person so it’s hard not to try and do things they way he does. In fact one of the things I like to do on game day is to watch his highlight videos on YouTube before leaving for the drive.
GT: OK Kolby, can you now tell me about your time on the playing field, first of all with your school team please. Do you have any performances that stand out for you?
KS: From a school perspective we have just finished winning our third straight State Championship as a school! Although for me, this was a completely new thing as I was in grade school when the other two were won.
You know how crazy it can be as a goalkeeper! There were a bunch of games where our defence was so solid that there just wasn’t that much I had to do. I think my best game was actually one that we lost. We had to go on the road for a late season game against one of the best teams in the state. It seemed like the whole town showed up to watch too! They just attacked the whole game and kept putting balls on frame. Late in the second half we gave up a penalty in the box. They took a great PK and then scored again on a counter where I actually stopped the first shot. I parried the ball back into traffic and it hit my defender in the knee who was chasing. It was an own goal, so we went from up 2-1 to a loss at 2-3. We went onto beat this same team in the State Championship game 1-0.
GT: Congratulations on a successful season. It also sounds like that you on a personal level have performed to a high standard too. I would also like to hear about your time playing for your club – Utah Arsenal FC. First of all when did you start playing for this club?
KS: I started playing for Arsenal (UAFC) about two years ago. I’ve really really enjoyed my time with the team so far. My teammates and I are extremely close and I think that helps us all preform well on the field. We started out pretty shaky but over time I think coach really moulded us into the team we want to be. I am looking forward to us all joining back together soon now that the High School season is over.
GT: What are favourite moments from playing for UAFC so far?
KS: My favourite moment so far came from winning a tournament we hosted last summer. This one is weird but one of my favourite things about my team is we all show up 30 minutes before practice to play rondo and have fun. It’s almost like a warm up before the actual warm up.
GT: That is great dedication by you and your teammates Kolby, a real credit to you all. So from one of your previous answers, it sounds like your club season will be starting soon. What are your hopes and aims for this season both for your team and on a personal level?
KS: Yes our Club tryouts are the first week of June. My first goal is to make the team again and continue to improve our defense. We have always been really connected.
My second goal would just be to help us win games anyway that I can. That means making every save I am supposed to make and also making some that maybe I am not supposed to make. Often those are the ones that make the difference between winning losing. That is the best feeling, I believe the harder I work the luckier I will get.
GT: That’s interesting, so at the start of each season do all players have to attend the tryouts in order be on the team irrespective of if they played the previous season?
KS: Correct. Seems like we add and subtract 3-4 people each time. This will be my third season with this group.
GT: Are you confident about getting through the tryouts and remaining with the club for the forthcoming season?
KS: Yes, I am confident but I still have to keep working as hard as I can everyday to improve. I can only control my effort and my attitude. The rest just takes care of itself.
GT: And as we look to the future Kolby, what are your aims in let’s say the next five years or so?
KS: I am really looking forward to the recruiting process for college. That for me seems very exciting to research then visit new places. I just hope to be studying something I enjoy and then be lucky enough to still be playing soccer at the same time. For me I love the travel time with teammates, getting to know them better and spending time together. Those times seem to bring us closer together on the pitch. If I still have that in five years, that would be amazing!
GT: I wish you all the very best of luck Kolby and thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. One final question if I may – as you are a young player trying to make your way in the game, what advice would you give to fellow youngsters who are trying to do the same?
KS: Really the biggest piece of advice I would give to kids would be to have fun. Enjoying what your are doing makes the process so enjoyable. After all this is a game we all started playing for fun.
Gareths Football Travels 