INSIDE THE LOCKER ROOM... Erica Goodman takes a time-out to talk to us

Author: Tom McCann, Sports Editor

The Campus: Where did you grow up?

Erica Goodman '06: I grew up in Fort Anne, N.Y., which is about an hour away from Middlebury

Campus: Have you always played basketball?

EG: Yeah, I've played basketball for about as long as I can remember, but I also played field hockey and softball too.

Campus: Did you want to play all three sports when you came to Middlebury?

EG: Basketball has definitely been my favorite. I played JV field hockey here for two years and I actually thought I was just going to be playing field hockey, but ended up playing basketball and just stuck with that.

Campus: Do you mind that Middlebury is so close to home?

EG: No, 'cause it's close enough that I can go home and have dinner with my family if I want to, and come back, but it's also not close enough that my parents are here all the time - they've been pretty respectful of this being my own space away from home.

Campus: How has growing up on a farm influenced you?

EG: I mean, I'm really close to my family, which is part of the reason that I want to be so close, but also I've gained an appreciation for the land and what it has to offer. I haven't really worked on the farm - I've, you know, fed cows but seeing my dad and my uncles work and just knowing how much time and energy it is - the hard work - it's fulfilling in the sense that what you're getting out of it is benefitting other people.

Campus: So, tell me about the bone marrow drive.

EG: Towards the end of the season, our coach's [Noreen Pecsok]brother-in-law was diagnosed with a blood disease where he needed a bone marrow transplant. She was trying to get on the registry, but the closest place was Hartford, Conn. so she said it would be great if people had the opportunity here to do that. So I came back a few weeks early in the fall to work on it and got in contact with the National Bone Marrow Foundation and they said "yeah, we could definitely set something up." We were hoping to have it more campus-wide, advertise more, but we just started talking to teams about signing up. They were very responsive, actually more so than we thought.

Campus: Do you think it will continue here next year in your absence?

EG: Well, hopefully. I'm talking to some teammates to see if they'll take it up next year, and ideally I'd like to work with community groups. Part of the thing was bringing it to Vermont because it's not available to anyone not living near Hartford or one of the other sites.

Campus: Right… so, how's the season going?

EG: Very well! We're 6-1. We've haven't gone into this part of the season with such a winning record, at least as long as I've been here, so everyone's pretty excited.

Campus: Why is this team particularly strong?

EG: We have a very strong freshman class, and it's just, four of the seniors have been playing together for four years and Lacey [Hebert '06] and Fehs [Katie Fehsenfeld '06] are back from ACL injuries so they're just dying to get out there and everyone on the team is happy to be playing and happy to be at practice and in general, the team just gets along very well.

Campus: What role do you feel you play on the team?

EG: I feel I have a sort of leadership position - especially to help the new players feel included in the team and be confident in what they do and understand that they are great players.

Campus: Where can you guys get better?

EG: Well, we're working on our press a little bit here, but I would say to take advantage more of our inside game. The last couple of years we've lost a lot of our height and this year we've gained it back - a couple of the younger players are 6'-2" or 6'-3" and Micaela [McVary '06] is like, 10 times stronger. We have good outside shooters, but we don't do enough on the inside as I think we could.

Campus: How far can you go?

EG: I don't know - further than last year. We lost the first game in the NESCACs, so let's just say we'll win the first one and then we'll see how it goes from there.

Campus: If you could take your teammates on a free trip anywhere you wanted, where would you go?

EG: I would take them to some warm island because we spend all winter together. We come back early, and we spend all of February here when a lot of people are taking their warm breaks.

Campus: Did you manage to stay in shape over Thanksgiving?

EG: Well, we went to St. Louis this year, so we all came back pretty tired. We were traveling all day Friday, played Saturday and Sunday and traveled all day Monday, but yeah, we still came back full from all the turkey.

Campus: Have you ever had any superstitions?

EG: Well, when I was first starting to play, I used to drink Mountain Dew before every game. I don't know why and don't even like Mountain Dew, but I just had it one game and I guess it was a successful game. I also have to listen to the same songs before a game - every year it's different. I don't know why but I've got into Hate it or Love it so it's the last song I listen to before I get off the bus.

Campus: So, you call a timeout down by two with six seconds to go. What's the plan?

EG: Get Katie Fisher ['08] the ball - just set her up on the three-point line.

Campus: Do you think you'll play competitive basketball after you graduate?

EG: [Laughs] Maybe for, like, alumni games, but beyond that, no.

Campus: Do you play intramural basketball?

EG: Yes, I played for two teams last year - Team Gold and Animal Thugs, but decided, although the Animal Thugs are not happy, just to devote to one basketball team because it can cause some rough going when the two teams play each other.

Campus: Could Team Gold beat your varsity team?

EG: Yes… No… I don't know! [Laughs] I don't know, it depends on the day - as everyone on the team says, it depends on how in-shape they are that day.

Campus: Any early New Year's resolutions for you?

EG: Let me see. Well, for basketball it's always to be stronger, especially now that I'm playing post, but generally to take advantage of having so many friends in such close proximity.

- Tom McCann, Sports Editor