Alex Hall heads to Germany to play pro

By Chris Nicolini
Sports Editor

I’ve known Alex Hall for quite some time. We both entered UNCP in the summer of ’99, where we stayed in West Hall before it even had air conditioners or internet access installed.

A lot has changed since back then, not only the shape and form of the campus, but attitudes and hairstyles as well. Back then, Hall rocked the natty dreads. Now his noggin’ is more Euro-defined.

Hall is graduating on Dec. 13th, and is preparing
to return the favor that the international player’s
did for our school this year; yes, he’s heading to Germany to play professional football, or soccer for us Yanks.

Hall and I had a chance this past Monday to sit down, take a break from all the stress of the last two weeks every semester inevitably brings, and share a few pints of Guinness Draught.

We discussed the time he spent here at UNCP, the people who influenced and helped him along the way to reach his goals, and maturing and succeeding in life in general.

CN: What kind of changes has the program gone through since your first season here?

Hall: A lot of changes, that’s for sure. Freshmen year I injured my finger and got a concussion, so I medically red-shirted that season and was unable to play goalkeeper. Sophomore year was my freshmen year playing, and that year we had Chris Little as our grad assistant. The keeper who started before me, Eric Gossett, re-injured his knee, and I stepped in. That was one of our worst seasons ever in Pembroke’s history. I lead the Peach Belt in saves that season. My junior year here we changed a few things, with Little in charge or recruiting. He recruited some really class players and put together a quality team who worked hard and had a lot of raw talent. I lead the Peach Belt in saves again that season, with 136, with a 10-7 overall record. Little installed the European style of play that made us so successful.

CN: That’s what I’ve noticed, watching the team play your sophomore year compared to this season. The style of play had definitely changed, from the force-it-down-your-throat style of play the team used then to the controlled style used this past season, like a surgical strike, switching fields beautifully all across the field. It’s a shame that the season ended the way it did, but it was still a great accomplishment for the school to only lose one game all season. We have teams here now that can barely win one game all season!

Hall: (Laughs) Yeah, that’s the truth.

CN: I don’t know if you realize it, but us as a student body, especially my group of friends…

Hall: Y’all really got into it, I know.

CN: We were all tailgating and it gave us a sort of school pride that as long as I’ve been here have never experienced before. It was exciting for us; I could only imagine how it felt for you and your teammates.

Hall: Yeah, this whole fall has been a buzz around the school. In past years when the season ended it was depressing for us, but when it ended this year it was depressing for the whole school it seemed.

CN: What kind of effect did UNCP have on you?

Hall: That whole personal-touch gimmick of advertising really has taken flight with me though, cause I will say that everybody here, professors and people, they have helped me to grow in the classroom, on the field, and emotionally as well.

CN: What’s up with the tattoo?

Hall: Ah, the tattoo. It represents Manchester United, which is the football team I support, so that’s what the tattoo is for. But it came out of a Japanese motif design book.

CN: So how does it tie back with Manchester United again?

Hall: It’s in the shape of a rose, which is Manchester United’s symbol.

CN: So tell us about this Germany thing.

Hall: I will be leaving Jan. 20th to go to a town right above Stuttgart, in the province of Badenwürtemmburg. It’s next to Bavaria and another one I can’t pronounce.

CN: You’ll be able to pronounce it soon enough.

Hall: I’m already working on my German. I’ll be playing with a team there in the fourth division, which is pretty high up. I’ll be getting paid by the club, and hopefully I’ll be signing some contracts after my agent promotes me to some teams. I’ll also work a little on the side.

CN: Living the dream?

Hall: That’s right.

CN: How much do you credit Coach Schaeffer for the transformation the program has had?

Hall: I credit Coach Schaeffer a lot with helping me mature as a person. I was very immature both in the classroom and on the field my freshmen and sophomore years, and Schaeffer gave me some drive and gave me direction. He set things straight with me and let me know how things were going to be. He put things in perspective for me, letting me know that if I didn’t do the things properly I was going to fail in the classroom and fail on the field.

CN: Best of luck next month with your new squad. Is there anything else you want to say or pass on to the team your leaving behind?

Hall: I’d just say good luck to the team for next year and years to come. It was fun, good luck, and best wishes (which he spoke in German).