By Chris Dietrich
VYPE: How long have you played as a goalie?
Alfredo Grandos: My whole life. That’s pretty much my position. It’s a different role from other players because you’re isolated during the game. You have your area and space separate from the rest of the team.
VYPE: Gotcha. How do you prepare for a game?
AG: Preparation starts even two days before a game. It includes focusing on your meals, training, and conditioning. Then, on game day, you must mentally prepare from the moment you wake up, even the night before. You need to have the right mindset.
VYPE: What’s the most challenging part of being a goalie?
AG: Definitely the pressure. Every game, especially at the varsity level, comes with high expectations. Since varsity is the school’s top soccer team, there’s always pressured to perform at your best.
VYPE: Right, that makes sense. Can you walk us through a typical training day, especially on a game or tournament day?
AG: A typical training session starts with warm-ups and ball-handling drills. Then we work on diving and footwork. Sessions usually last between an hour and a half to two hours.
VYPE: What has been your most memorable save or moment in a game?
AG: In our last game, we recently faced a penalty kick. It was the first varsity game of the
season, and I saved it. We were playing against Clinton High School, which was a big moment.
VYPE: That’s awesome. As a goalie, you deal with a lot of pressure and criticism. How do you handle that?
AG: Yeah, goalkeepers receive a lot of criticism and negativity because we’re the last line of defense. If a goal is scored, all eyes are on us. You have to be mentally stronger than physically strong to handle it. I usually just ignore the negativity because letting it get in my head will ruin my game. Also, if I make a mistake early on, I have to shake it off and not let it affect the rest of my performance. Mistakes happen but dwelling on them will only lead to more.
Photo by Adrian Espinoza
