Oct. 15, 2008
A staple in the starting lineup ever since setting foot on the UCF campus, junior Becca Thomas continues to be an offensive threat for the Knights this season. The Burlington, Wash., native is tied for the team-lead with 10 points, and is serving as UCFAthletics.com's final edition of this weekly series.
For a look back at previous editions, check out Lacing Up the Cleats With...
Becca Thomas - Jr. - MF - Burlington, Wash.
What drew you to UCF when deciding where to attend college?
When I came to Orlando I saw all of the tourist attractions, Universal, Disney, and Sea World, and I saw a lot of malls and stores to shop at. Most of all though, I come from Washington and it pretty much rains every day so to be able to go outside anytime and be an hour away from the nearest beach was definitely a plus. The campus was also very beautiful, and from all the college campuses I had visited, UCF had the most beautiful campus of all.
How does it feel to be a member of this soccer program, which is historically one of the most successful teams on campus?
Being part of an organization that developed players like Michelle Akers is something to be proud of. The high standards that UCF has in conference, as well as in the national rankings, is also something I wanted to be a part of. I like to have goals and be around people who set a high standard and reach them.
Describe your favorite soccer moment.
Watching ESPN as we received a seed into the NCAA Tournament last season.
Describe your favorite personal experience.
Playing with my little brother (Larsson, age four) and sister (Alivia, age three) every time I go home to Washington for Christmas, and my little sister makes animal impressions. Also last year when I was coming back from Washington my little brother gave me a pair of plastic toy pliers and told me I needed them more than him.
List your top three places you want to go to.
- Barcelona, Spain- I want to watch Barcelona play against Real Madrid live since they are my favorite soccer team.
- Athens, Greece- It would be amazing to visit Greece because of the history of the Olympics and where some of the great minds from history like Plato and Socrates set the foundation for higher learning.
- Milan, Italy- Because it is the fashion capital of the world.
What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
I would like to continue playing soccer as long as possible, but if that doesn't happen, I would like to teach children in first grade so they can turn out as cool as me!
Where do you see yourself living in 10 years?
Boston, Florida, possibly somewhere out of the country, but honestly if possible I'd like to have tons of money so I can just travel from place to place, country to country and have fun.
What game show would you rather be a contestant on and why?
The Amazing Race! It's problem solving and competition, but you also get to travel the world. I am so competitive would love to be on that game show.
If you worked for CNN, would you be at the anchor desk, out in the field, a cameraman, a weatherman, a sportscaster or sitting in a cubicle all day away from the studio.
Probably out in the field. I definitely would not want to be in front of the camera, and I can't sit at a cubicle all day I need to be involved in the action somehow though.
Reflect on elementary school. Is there a project you had that you will always remember, like a field trip or cutting open a frog?
Yeah, Every grade kindergarten through eighth grade was in our auditorium for a school assembly. I was in sixth grade. The principal drew names from every grade and the person's name that was drawn had to go up on stage to compete in a competition. My name was drawn and I got to pick a partner to compete with me. I picked my best friend and we competed against pairs of every other grade. The competition was that one partner was blind folded and had to feed the other person whip cream and bananas and when a minute was up we had to stop. The pair that had the most gone at the end won. My best friend and I won, and then we got to pick any day of school that we wanted to just hang out all day and were excused form class. They bought us food, and we got to play games all day while we were supposed to be in class.
You have $1000 to spend at Best Buy. What do you get?
I would probably get a bunch of things and not know what they do. Is it possible to get the money for Nordstrom or Armani Exchange?
You have $50 to spend at Publix to stock up the kitchen. What do you get?
I'll eat anything so it depends on what's on sale.
You're going to play a 2-on-2 pick-up soccer game tomorrow and you can pick anybody who has ever lived to play with you, even if they never played soccer before. Who are those three people?
Johan Cryuff, Rivelino, Zidane