Featured Athlete: Ben Willis

Sport: Soccer | Grade: 11

Junior Ben Willis is on the varsity boys soccer team.

Cole Engelbrecht

Junior Ben Willis is on the varsity boys soccer team.

Pre game meal- Chick-Fil-A

Hype song- “Ima Boss” by Meek Mill, Rick Ross

Inspiration- Cristiano Ronaldo

Years played- 14 years

Wingspan: Why do you like playing soccer?

Willis: “I like playing because I like the team aspect, working with my teammates at school, and i just love winning games.”

Wingspan: What’s favorite part about the sport?

Willis: “My favorite part is winning games, knowing that I put in all that work and we got a reward after it.”

Wingspan: Do you have any expectations for this season?

Willis: “My expectations is that we go to playoffs and we get really far in playoffs, and that our whole team works really hard to get there.”

Wingspan: Do you have any individual goals for this season?

Willis: “My goal is to give everything I have in every game and know that I left it all out there.”

Wingspan: Are their any specific team goals for the upcoming season?

Willis: “Going to state.”

Wingspan: Do you have any plans to play in college, if so, which ones are you looking into?

Willis: “I’m still deciding if I want to play in college yet, i’m not really sure, but i’ll definitely keep it in mind.”

Wingspan: What do you think is the hardest part playing for high school soccer?

Willis: “I think the hardest part is working as a team and everybody coming together and everybody wanting to work hard. Wanting to win.”

Wingspan: Is It difficult to play the soccer season in the winter weather here in Texas? Explain how it is.

Willis: “Yes, like a couple days ago we had this game and it was like 1 degree. It was hard to run, my thighs were frozen, but most of the time it’s not that bad.”

Wingspan: Is it annoying to see little people in the stands due to the weather conditions?

Willis: “It doesn’t annoy me that much, I guess i’m too focused in the game to worry about the people in the stands.”

Wingspan: Have you ever played club soccer outside of high school? If so, for who?

Willis: “Yes, I’ve played club for FC Dallas, Solar, and the Texans.”

Wingspan: What do you think is most different from club soccer to high school?

Willis: “I guess the intensity. It’s a lot more intense in club soccer, but it’s still as competitive as high school.”