Glen Vass Prepares For His Senior Season

Glen Vass Prepares For His Senior Season

Written by: Cali Reis

Having been injured sophomore and junior year, Glenn Vass is looking to come back strong as ever. Vass expresses how lucky he feels to have a sister that plays on the women's team as he heads into his senior season. Santa Clara Broncos (SCB) caught up with Vass to talk about his soccer experience thus far.

SCB: Having earned a spot on the WCC All-Academic team in 2011, 2012, and 2013, what are your keys to success in balancing school and soccer?

GV: I love the sport, I enjoy learning new things and I have been able to find the motivation to want to work hard, to be disciplined and succeed in both soccer and school. Going to class and paying attention is one of the keys for me as it limits the amount of time I have to spend on homework and studying for exams in order to do well in my classes. Staying on top of assignments has helped me manage my schedule more efficiently and get the rest I need to be able to reach my potential on the soccer field. I try to minimize any type of distractions off the field in order to able to play at my best when I am out on the field.

SCB: What has your injury and recovery process been like at Santa Clara?

GV: The recovery process has been long and tedious for me. It was challenging for me to have to deal with injury in both my Sophomore and Junior years after having played well and free of injury my freshman year. Thankfully, I am blessed to have family, friends, coaches, doctors and athletic trainers who support me and help me through tough times. One of the main lessons I have learned during my recovery process is that it is easy to give in to the belief that you are not contributing to the success of the team if you are injured and watching the games from the sideline. However, this is not true. There are many other ways that you can positively affect the success of a team without necessarily having to be on the field.  

SCB: After having a successful freshman year scoring a total of four goals, how do you envision your senior year going?

GV: In my time here we have not been able to win a WCC title. In each of the seasons we were off by a single point and I'm determined to not let this happen again my senior year! 

SCB: Having a sister that now attends Santa Clara and plays on the women's team, in what ways have you been able to help and support each other?

GV: Whether spending time together on the field to improve our soccer skills, supporting each other academically or simply being there for one another, Julie and I have found ways to help each other grow and reach our personal goals. Growing up, we would compete a lot against each other and without her, I probably would not have the strong will to compete that I have today.

SCB: While you are already able to speak three languages, French, German and English, are there any other languages you're interested in learning?

GV: Italian and Spanish are my two favorite choices of languages I would be interested in learning.