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You might see him walking. You might see him jogging. But you're most likely to notice him as opponents from soccer teams or cross country teams do, running away, a lot faster than they can.
He's STM's Adam Saloom and this senior is enjoying a special fall, and now winter, as one of the Cougars' top athletes. He was named to the All-State cross country team and is now helping the STM soccer team as they compete for a Division I title.
The Daily Advertiser sat down with Saloom for 10 questions to get to know how this running and kicking machine works.
<b>Q:</b> Cross country, and now soccer, two sports that don't come with a lot of glory from the media or even classmates, so what is it about these sports that kept you in them through high school?
<b>A:</b> Well, my freshman year I played basketball, but I wasn't seeing much playing time on the freshman team. In both soccer and cross country I was seeing a lot of playing time and even some varsity time. That's when I decided that I would stick with soccer, so I quit basketball.
<b>Q:</b> Both of the sports you play require a lot of endurance. How have they helped you become better at both?
<b>A:</b> They really work hand-in-hand. To go from cross country to soccer helps a lot. Especially at the position I play, I run up and down the field 100 times a game. That's exaggerating a little bit, but it feels that way sometimes. You need to have endurance to be able to do it. Also, cross country teaches you to keep pushing yourself even though you're tired. That's all you need sometimes in soccer, is that little extra effort that your opponent isn't willing to give.
<b>Q:</b> You were named to the all-state cross country team with teammate Alden Heaphy. How important was it to be named to the team and share that award with him?
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Grant Alexander
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It was a big accomplishment and one of my major goals, especially moving up to 5A. I knew it would be tough. I felt good in some of my races, so this was a big achievement.
It's very important for him to be on there with me. One day I might have a bad day and not want to run. He'd be there pushing me to run as tough a race as I could. I think all season long we helped make each other better.
What is your fondest memory of soccer and cross country?
I think for cross country it would have to be last summer when me and about 10 other runners went up to Oregon for a weekend. It was an awesome experience. For soccer it would probably be heading up to regionals in Oklahoma with my select soccer team. We really didn't play well, but it was a good experience because it really brought you back down to earth. It showed me that I'd have to keep working harder if I was going to be the best.
What about that trip to Oregon was so awesome?
Well, we went up and stayed with my old cross country coach Kevin Castille. We decided to go hang out with him and he trained us for that weekend. The climate up there helped tremendously. In Louisiana it's so humid, but up there it could be just as sunny, but without the humidity you can cut your time by like 15 or 20 seconds.
Besides that kind of stuff, for me it taught me to love running that much more. It definitely sold me on that's what I want to do in college. I get to feel free and have time to myself and just be myself.
So you're willing to make the commitment to running cross country in college. What interest have college teams shown in you and what schools are you considering right now?
I've been looking at schools like UL and UL-Monroe, and I've been looking at schools farther away like Stephen F. Austin. I've talked with the coach at UL, but not about anything too serious. He would just ask me how I did in a race, or how I felt about a certain race. He told me that hopefully I could go to a recruiting trip.
You mentioned Stephen F. Austin. Would you like to move away from Lafayette or are you trying to stay close to home?
Lafayette is a great place and I love it. I've just been thinking that I might want to try something new. I've lived here all my life. That said, if the opportunity is there, I'd definitely think about staying home.
What will you miss about playing soccer?
I've been really lucky to be a part of some of the teams I've been on. They have been awesome to be on. Everybody always got along well and we were always really good at soccer. It was a fun experience and I'll just miss everyone coming together.
So what do you do when you're not playing sports?
Mostly just hang out with friends. I really don't have a whole lot of time for that, though. It goes school, sports and homework. That's pretty much it. But, when I have extra time I hang out with my buddies.
We do normal stuff like play video games. My friend has an X-Box 360 so we'll play Halo. I'm not good at any of them.
Do you have any collections or quirks that people might not know about?
I have posters and quotes all along my walls. My whole bedroom is just posters.
My favorte quote comes from the Bible. It's Philippians 4:13. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." When I first read it, it caught my eye. I think about and say a prayer before I run or play in a soccer game.
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