Wake Forest Athletics
The Recruiting Trail: Anthony Arena
2/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Feb. 23, 2009
With February 1st come and gone there is a new crop of Wake Forest Soccer players heading to Winston-Salem. Instead of posting a press release with the "generic" profile, we thought we'd dig a little bit deeper with each player and provide you with an in-depth look at each student athlete. Some basic information for you to know before we meet our first recruit: There are six new student athletes joining us in the class of 2013. Two are on campus and training full time with the team. They come from as close as 10 miles from campus and as far away as Seattle. Today we meet incoming freshmen, Anthony Arena.
The Wake Forest coaching staff first saw Anthony Arena play as a sophomore in a recruiting event out in Southern California. Straight away Arena struck the coaches as a player who would do very well at Wake Forest. The main question, like with most kids from out west, was is he willing to make the trip out east for college? Speaking with Arena you quickly know that he is a young person that makes his own choices and is a leader. Arena has spent time with Ike Opara on the U.S. U-20 team and also grew up playing with fellow Washingtonian, Danny Wenzel, in Seattle. Arena has a great soccer frame at 6'1 with athleticism and a great soccer brain. He has spent most of his career on his Crossfire club team as a center back but moved into midfield during his time with the U-18 and U-20 National Teams. Anthony caught up with WakeForestSports.com to answer a few questions. Hopefully Coach Grobe doesn't read the release about our 1st team all-state kicker, Anthony Arena.
Q:Why Wake Forest?
A: Wake was one of the only places I went to where I don't feel like I left home. It is a great opportunity to get out and live in another part of the country. Also all the people at Wake couldn't be more kind. I heard the soccer team wasn't too bad as well.
Q: What do your friends from Seattle say when you tell them you are coming to Wake?
A:When people ask where I am playing next year and I reply Wake Forest, it always takes two times for them to really grasp it. There is a nearby city called Lake Forest Park and people seem to get it confused. When they find out that it is Wake Forest, everyone gets really excited for me because not too many kids leave the state or the west coast.
Q: What was your experience on the U.S. U-20's? Where did you go? What did you learn? Any Wake Teammates?
A: My experiences with the U.S. U-20's were unbelievable. I was in a camp in Florida with Ike Opara from Wake and we played Guatemala two times. The other camp was in Madrid, Spain. Just being invited to these camps showed that my hard work for my club team and the U.S. U-18's paid off. Playing with them also makes the transition to the college game easier as some of the pros in Spain were huge and very good.
Q: What were your accolades for Football? Did you get recruited to kick anywhere?
A: Football was something I decided to do just for the heck of it my junior year. I figured kicking a football couldn't be that hard. I ended up being 1st team all King County kicker both my junior and senior year and was first team all state for 4A my junior year. I was a honorable mention all-state kicker my senior year. As far as recruiting goes, I didn't hear anything during the seasons, but was recently told that most Pac-10 schools were very interested. Oregon expressed the most interest but once they heard I was going to Wake for soccer, they shied away.
Q: What are your goals at Wake?
A: I really have two main goals at Wake. The first one is to graduate with a degree, not sure in what, but a degree in something. The second goal is to sign a professional contract whether it be with MLS or somewhere overseas. I guess winning a national championship wouldn't be so bad either, so I will do everything I can to bring another one back to Wake.
Q: Tell us about your recruiting trip to Wake Forest? Who did you hang out with? What did you do?
I took my official visit when Wake played UCLA this year. I had a great time. I roomed with Corben Bone and Danny Wenzel. I mostly hung out with those two and Ike Opara. During my visit I got to know some new people and saw all the facilities again. I also got to witness Wake stomp UCLA 3-0. It was nice to finally get to see a game live and against a good opponent. The visit just made me want to get out there even faster and start playing.
Q: What player are you looking forward to playing with the most?
A: Probably Ike so that I can prove who has the bigger vertical. Aside from that, the whole team really. It will be cool to start working with a new group of guys. I have been playing with the same guys on Crossfire for years so it will be nice to start fresh with a different group. Obviously getting back to playing with Danny will be fun. I'm just excited to get there.
