Managing Editor Brett Bodner, sits down with All-American defender/midfielder and one of the captains on the men’s soccer team, RJ Allen.
Outlook: What’s your greatest memory so far, while playing soccer here at Monmouth?
RJA: I’d have to say either beating UConn in the NCAA tournament or winning the NEC in both the regular season and conference tournament the past two years.
Outlook: What are some things that you’ve done, which have allowed you to encounter the success you have had here?
RJA: I just continue to work hard and I put in a lot of work in practice with my teammates and that’s really it.
Outlook: What are your thoughts on the upcoming NEC games?
RJA: The NEC is a tough conference to play in. You just have to have the right mentality and get through every game.
Outlook: What’s your favorite movie?
RJA: I’d have to go with Taken or 8 Mile.
Outlook: What is your favorite pregame meal?
RJA: Chicken Parm.
Outlook: How would a guy like me do in the teams conditioning program?
RJA: Every year we have to run two miles under twelve minutes and besides that we have to take part in other fitness tests. We also start and end every practice with sprints. (Basically, the conditioning is not easy.)
Outlook: What do you look to do after school?
RJA: My first goal is to play professional soccer and if that doesn’t work out I’ll go to graduate school to get my Masters to become a chiropractor or a physical therapist. I’ll also be graduating a semester earlier this year in order to achieve my goal in becoming a professional soccer player.
Outlook: Do you or anyone else on the team read The Outlook?
RJA: I believe so. A lot of my teammates look into it, but our coach tells us not to look too much into the papers because it is all about the team.
Outlook: If you had one message to get across to the new guys on the team before you left what would it be?
RJA: Continue to work hard and win the conference. I’d like to see them carry on the tradition that has been in place since my freshman year, and that’s winning the conference every year in both the regular season and NEC Tournament. I’d also like to see them have a good a run in the NCAA Tournament. That’s pretty much what I’d say.