After three years on the field, #2 Payton Hickey kicked off his fourth consecutive season for the SMU soccer team a few weeks ago. He has high hopes for his last season repping the red, white, and blue, and also has aspirations to continue with a career in the sport after he graduates in May.
How many years have you been playing soccer?
“I have been playing soccer since I was 4.5 years old, its been a long time, starting to forget my younger days of the game.”
What is your first memory on the soccer field?
“My first memory on the field was with my first team, the moles, because we would get oranges and juice boxes at halftime. I lived for halftimes and after the games because we always got the best snacks.”
What is your goal for this season both individually and as a team?
This season as a team we would like to achieve more than we did last year by making it to the Final Four, win the regular season title again, as well as try to win the conference tournament. If we can achieve those goals then I would say we will have a very successful year. As an individual, I would like to be more productive for my team by creating more chances for my teammates to score as well as scoring more goals myself. I also want to strive to be a better leader for my team.
Who is your favorite pro player and why?
I would say my favorite professional player is Ryan Giggs. He plays for Manchester United and has been with them his whole career. I really like the way he plays and the way he carries himself on and off the field. He is someone I have liked to watch since I was little.
Some Interesting Facts about Payton:
– “I drove a 1971 gmc pickup in high school called ” big blue “
– “I love to fish, something that I haven’t been able to do that much playing a college sport”
– “I have a dog the size of a mini horse named Max”
– “My uncle plays on the shorting series t.v. show, The Big C, John Benjamin Hickey”
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SMU chapter.