By Jordan Stepp. Cal Athletic Communications
With the Cal Men’s Soccer team now just one week away from opening their 2014 campaign, CalBears.com caught up with senior midfielder Connor Hallisey in this edition of Inside the Lair's "Getting to Know..." spotlight.
CalBears.com: What are your favorite things to do off the field?
Connor Hallisey: “I’m actually a big golfer. Growing up, my brother Ryan played college golf at Nevada and my family has always been really in to golf. Golfing is a huge thing for me, and whenever I go home or get a day off I try to find my way onto a golf course. Actually a lot of guys on our team like to go out and play too. I also enjoy snowboarding and wakeboarding, we were about 10 minutes away from a lake, so I was able to get out there a lot. I grew up in Granite Bay, so I was only ever really an hour and a half away from the slopes and my parents have a place up in Truckee, so I spent a lot of my winters up there, and I still do over my winter break. When I’m here in Berkeley, I really just like hanging out with the guys and we play beach volleyball a lot.”
CB: Outside of soccer, what are your career goals when you are finished playing and why?
CH: “I’ve always put a lot of focus into schooling, and I am part of the Haas Business School. I worked really hard to get into the business school. Now I’m not quite sure what I want to do, but this summer I am going to start to look for jobs. I think I am going to go the finance route and my dream job would be something to do with investment banking. It’s a very competitive area, but I’ve learned so much during my time here in Berkeley, both in the classroom and in life in general.”
CB: Who has been the most influential person in your life and why?
CH: “I would have to say my parents because when I was growing up, they always were pushing to be the best I could possibly be. They always told me I could play college soccer and I could go on and have such a bright future. When I was about 12, I didn’t really care about soccer that much, but when I was 13 or 14 my parents started saying that I had a lot of potential. They told me I had a great opportunity to go on and play in the future. From there I really started taking it seriously and my parents always made sure I was on top of my schoolwork on top of soccer. They have always pushed me in the right ways to go to higher levels and I think that has really helped me get to where I am with the business school. It’s part of why I chose Cal in the first place because the academics are just unreal.”
CB: What has been your favorite moment during your time in Berkeley?
CH: “My best experiences here were the 2013 season, just because my first two seasons were pretty rough from a results standpoint. I think last season was a revelation and I had so much fun throughout the year. For six weeks we were No. 1 in the country and were unbeaten. Then we had a little bit of struggles, but fought through it and reached the quarterfinals which was a very historical year for the team and I just had a blast.”
CB: What are three things that everyone should know about you?
CH: “I love milkshakes, specifically mint chocolate chip. I am a terrible singer and am very musically challenged, I cannot sing, play the guitar or piano and the last thing everyone should know is that I am a big Tom Petty fan.”
CB: What is your favorite home-cooked meal?
CH: “This one is easy. Pesto pasta, a great steak, scalloped potatoes and a salad.”
CB: Who was your favorite athlete or someone you looked up to most when you were younger?
CH: “Tiger Woods.”
CB: If you could leave a season ticket to come see you play for one celebrity, who would it be dead or alive?
CH: “After a lot of thought, I would have to say Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard.”
