Wiley Payne is a Senior on the Penn Boys Lacrosse Team.
What has been your biggest challenge when you started playing Lacrosse?: I would say it was the stick skills, which would be passing and catching with both hands, cradling and ground balls. These are still things that I still work on improving.
Is there anything that motivates you?: My motivation would be my competitiveness and drive to win, while also not wanting to let my teammates down.
What are some things you can do to improve your game?: I could always improve my ability to save the ball since I play goalie, I would want to improve my footwork so I could have light feet and be able to move swifter in net.
Who is your favorite professional athlete to watch and what is one skill you could take from them and add to your game?: My favorite professional athlete to watch is Devin Booker, and if I could take anything from his game it would be his mentality because he is meantally strong with having to play on losing teams for most of his career while also striving to be great.
Is there a different sport you thought about playing or wanted to play?: I was interested in taking up golf more seriously but with it being played in the spring at the same time as lacrosse and before that baseball I never really committed to it.
Is there any position you could play other than the position you play now what would it be?: When I first started playing I played defense and I quickly transitioned to play goalie. Since I have played goalie for so long now and I haven’t really had any other stick in my hand I don’t think I could really play any other position now.
Do you have any pre game motive or ritual?: My pre-game ritual is that I arrive around an hour before the game and do my set of stretching, then I get padded up and go out to the net will check to make sure it is in the right spot, and then I will walk the arc and pick out landmarks in the distance make sure I have my positioning right. Then we go into pregame warmups.
Outside of sports what are some things that you do in your free time?: I like to spend time with family and friends. With friends I like to play video games, play some basketball and just to hangout with them.
What is one thing that you think you yourself needs to work on and what is something you think the team needs to work on to become better?: I think I could work on my communication with my teammates, and as a whole we could work on becoming closer and truly embracing the cliche of brotherhood.
How has Covid impacted you as an athlete and your ability to improve?: Covid has made a huge impact on me and my ability to improve since when it first started cancelling things it stopped us as teams and teammates from getting together and practicing and it also cut my travel season short. Ultimately it just has taken away a lot of practice time.
