Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/1482731
24 WAC Magazine | wac.net Meet the athlete Gonçalo Mendes By Joey Carreon Gonçalo Mendes grew up playing soccer—or futebol, if you will—in his hometown of Porto, Portugal. While attending Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto (FEUP), an engineering school, he was recruited to play Division II soccer for the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut, where he played in 2017–2020. After graduating, Gonçalo lived in New York before moving to Seattle in 2021 to work as a software engineer. He also joined the WAC and plays for the WAC soccer team. living fit meet the athlete / instructor insights E M I L I O H U E R TA S ( 3 ) Q. What are the main differences between how soccer is played in Portugal and the United States? A. I would say a lot of the differences I noticed are in the way that the game is understood and taught to the youth. At home, it's the sport everyone plays and watches the most, so naturally it's more developed there from the perspective of a player, coach, and even a fan. But the U.S. has the resources to catch up. Q. Did you have any favorite players growing up that you modeled your game aer? A. is might come as a surprise since I'm Portuguese and people expect me to name Cristiano Ronaldo, but I always admired Lionel Messi for what I love in the game, as well as Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho. Q. How was it moving from Portugal to Connecticut? A. My transition overall wasn't very hard, but there were some cultural differences. My English was already decent, so that helped things socially. Coming to the U.S. with a college soccer team ready to welcome me was definitely a blessing. It made differences and challenges much easier to process and learn from. Q. How has the experience been with the WAC soccer team? A. e WAC has been a great experience. I was fortunate to get involved and become friends with a great group of guys that share a love for the sport and just have a lot of fun playing. Q. Any advice for young players looking to make it to the collegiate level? A. Work on the aspects of your game that make you uncomfortable. Whether it's the physical, tactical, or technical aspects, train as much as possible in the places where you can explore your untapped potential. e rest will come naturally over time. Instructor Insights David Hargrave, Yoga David Hargrave discovered yoga on a whim. Aer a friend informed him of an ashram—a monastic community— in the mountains near Montreal, Canada, David's interest was piqued. David joined the ashram in 1972 and got to work learning about yoga. His journey was just beginning. He traveled to India in 1973 to further study yoga, living on the Ganges River in the city of Rishikesh for eight months. When David returned to the states in 1974, he began to teach yoga at his alma mater, Washington State University, and at Central Washington University. David began teaching at the WAC in 2014. He currently combines his passion for yoga with aquatics, teaching Aqua Fit Yoga. "Having a pool full of people is like a pool party," he says, adding that teaching yoga has allowed him to hone his own practice. "I am particularly drawn to the meditation that yoga offers," he says. David also teaches meditation techniques. In his spare time, he oen photographs cloudscapes. He is also the author of a book on yoga techniques titled Bio Electric Yoga. —David teaches Aqua Fit Yoga at the WAC at 10 am on ursdays.