San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Brad Ring has seen a dramatic increase in playing time recently and earned his first career MLS assist last weekend in the Quakes’ first home victory of the season over the Columbus Crew. The Illinois native sat down with SJEarthquakes.com to chat about the team’s recent win, his role in the squad and the chances of his beloved Chicago Bulls in the NBA Playoffs.
SJEarthquakes.com: First of all, congratulations to you and the team for earning your first home win of the season. How did it feel to get that first victory in front of your supporters?
Brad Ring: It felt great to get that first home win. Our crowd support has been fantastic this year. We felt like we’d let them down on the first few occasions, so it felt great to get that first home win for the fans.
SJEQ: You’ve been getting a lot more playing time recently. What do you attribute that to?
BR: I think I’ve been working hard all year. We had a few games in which we struggled at the beginning of the year, and I think the coach was just looking for something different to spice things up a bit. He went with me and it’s been working so far. Hopefully we can keep it going.
SJEQ: You were pretty highly touted coming out of Indiana University, but then had to sit out your first season as a pro due to a hip injury. What was the toughest thing about dealing with that?
BR: The toughest thing was that the doctors told me to do nothing, so I pretty much just rested for six months. I couldn’t work out or anything. Obviously I got the Earthquakes website up on my computer so I could check it weekly and see how they were doing. It was definitely a tough year, but I think it made me mentally tougher for my rookie year and for this year, as well.
SJEQ: Well, you look to be back at 100 percent now. How long did it take you to get there?
BR: After sitting out for six months and not doing anything, it came around slowly. It was a very gradual process. But after about three months of working my way back into it, I was definitely in top shape last year coming into pre-season.
SJEQ: You notched your first career assist last week against Columbus, so congratulations on that. Can we expect to see more of that out of you in the near future?
BR: I hope so. I’ve had a few goal-scoring opportunities that I should have done better with. I think I’ve had about one decent look per game, so I have to do a better chance of putting those away.
SJEQ: So do you see yourself as more of a creative type or a scoring midfielder?
BR: No, I don’t think that’s my best attribute. I think I can do a bit of it if given the situation, but I think I’m more of a hustle-type player. I try to get everyone around me moving, fighting and hustling, and keeping the team going forward.
SJEQ: Frank (Yallop) has used lots of players in the central midfield, including you, Sam Cronin, Khari Stephenson and Simon Dawkins, when healthy. Do you feel equally comfortable playing with each of those guys and does your role change depending on who you’re partnered up with?
BR: It might change a little bit, but I’m definitely comfortable playing with all those guys. All of them are great professionals who have been around for a few years, so it’s easy to switch the lineup in and out and feel comfortable with whoever I’m playing with in the middle.
SJEQ: Going back to your days at Indiana, you led the team to four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths. What was the best memory of your time there?
BR: It’s funny, but one of my best memories is of a game against Notre Dame that we actually lost, 5-4. It was just a crazy game, with some great players who are now playing in the MLS today. Also, the IU Classic tournaments every year were great.
SJEQ: Coming up as a youngster, who did you model your game after?
BR: You know, I don’t really think I modeled my game after one particular player. I just watched a lot of soccer and tried to take bits and pieces from a lot of different players.
SJEQ: Being from the Chicago area, you must be pretty excited about the Chicago Bulls. How do you see their series against the Miami Heat playing out?
BR: Oh man, I’m hoping we win in six games, though I’ll take any win. The Heat are obviously a good team. Derrick Rose has been carrying the Bulls game in and game out, so it’s going to be tough for him alone to beat the Heat. But it’s possible. I think they may take it in seven.
SJEQ: Do you follow and/or play any sports other than soccer?
BR: Yeah, I’m a big Bulls and Bears fan. I watch the White Sox when they’re on, but I’m not a huge baseball fan. I mess around with tennis every once in a while, and sometimes play a bit of volleyball recreationally, just hitting the ball around with friends. I go to the driving range every once in a while to hit some golf balls, so I’d say I like to stay pretty active.
SJEQ: As a Midwesterner, how have you found the transition to the Bay Area?
BR: I feel like it’s been fairly easy. I’m used to Chicago, Indianapolis and some of the bigger cities in the Midwest, so I feel like the transition hasn’t been too hard. Traffic-wise, it’s obviously a bit crazy, and the cost of living in general is the biggest thing to get used to.
SJEQ: And what do you like most about the Bay Area?
BR: I like that there’s a lot of stuff around here. Napa Valley is close, San Francisco is obviously nearby, Lake Tahoe isn’t too far, Yosemite isn’t too far, Big Sur is a pretty cool area, Monterey... there are just a lot of things around the area that you can do on a nice one-day trip.
SJEQ: If things hadn’t worked out with soccer, what do you think you’d be doing right now?
BR: I think I’d probably be in law school right now. I majored in legal studies at Indiana, so it’s still something that I might go back to at some point after I’m done playing.
SJEQ: And to finish, where do you see yourself five years from now?
BR: I hope to be an All-Star in this league. Ideally, that would be a pretty cool place to be five years from now. Obviously it’s going to take a lot of hard work to get there, but anything’s possible.
SJEQ: Well, if you continue to play as you have been recently, surely you’ll get there. Thanks for your time and good luck!
BR: Thank you.
