Indiana University Athletics
10 Questions With Kevin Sparks
12/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Dec. 15, 2006
Freshman Kevin Sparks is in his second year with the team after redshirting in 2005. The Bloomington native played against IUPUI on Oct. 10. He sat down with IUHOOSIERS.com to answer a few questions about himself.
If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go and why?
I want to go to Hawaii. Both my parents and my brother have been there. I want that chance to go see what it's like. I think it'd be a fun trip. Although it's still the U.S., it's a whole other world there from what I've heard from my family. I'd like to go see that.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully with a steady job; I would like to do something with coaching. My major is fitness specialist, and I want to be a personal fitness trainer. I would like to get a job with that. I would like to be married and possibly starting a family by then.
Since coming to Indiana, I've learned:
To manage my time better. In high school, I didn't have a lot of time because I was playing just about every sport and between that and school there was no time for anything else. I finally made time for other things without jeopardizing anything else.
What is your favorite sport besides soccer?
Basketball. My dad and brother both played and there were times when we would all go outside in our driveway and get a game going. We'd have some competitive one-on-one games or play HORSE, making it as competitive as possible. It was something that we've always had fun with.
Who has been the biggest influence in your life and why?
My dad and my brother. My dad has always been the coach that's there to push me. He's always been that influence who has told me that I can do things, not to let anything get in my way, and always believe in me. He's always been there to push me and helped make me the driven, competitive person that I am today. If it weren't for that, I probably wouldn't be where I am. With my brother, he's always been the athlete that I can relate to in terms of life experiences. He was always there if I ever needed to kick the ball around, he'd always be there to play with me and do what he could. If I wanted to go running or work out, he would always want to join in. He helped make me competitive that way.
The teammate I most admire is who, and why?
Julian Dieterle. Julian is a great leader. He's always been there to help me and talk me through things. He's that competitive player also, so I can relate to him in some ways. As a captain, I was really able to look up to him. In high school, I was the captain and didn't really have anyone to look up to myself, instead being the person that everyone looks up to. Now, coming here, I have that influence.
Do you have a nickname that your teammates gave you? What is it and why?
Most of them are some variation of my last name, Sparks. I vary rarely get called by my first name anymore. There are a lot of Kevins on the team, so that helps. Sparkles is the one that I hear a lot. I got it freshman year from some of my teammates and it just stuck.
What makes Indiana different from any other program?
The tradition and the history that they have. When we go out to play, whether it's practice or games, we're going to go all out no matter what roles we each play on the team. We're going to make everyone better each day. That's what I enjoy the most, being able to play with the best and knowing I'm going to get better each day.
My favorite thing about Bloomington is:
I've lived here almost all my life. I've been around it all and probably my favorite thing is the tradition with IU. Everyone has always backed the university, no matter what is going on. The community has been very strong. I've got a lot of family and friends here who support me in anything that I choose. They come to the games even when I don't play. It's nice that they like to see that someone from this town can make it here. I love this town. I've talked about going other places, but it's hard to leave this place when I've got so much history here that I'd miss.
What's your favorite class and why?
My favorite class is bowling. I took it this semester. My whole family all bowled back in the day. They were really good and used to go to tournaments all the time. We grew up around it and I'm not bad at it. I found out that my professor worked with my uncle on bowling, so that was cool. I had a lot of fun in there.
