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Alex Arlak (Brown '05) |
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Bio
 What was your experience in youth athletics? Were there opportunities available to you?
I played a lot of sports when I was little. I played tennis, basketball, and softball. I started off in my town’s recreation program and my church had a basketball league so I joined that as well. When I was about 13 or 14, before going to high school, I decided to focus more on tennis. I then was able, because of my parents, to take lessons and join programs at local tennis clubs. I enjoy playing sports and I did use the opportunities that were available to me. I didn’t have a hard time finding sports for me to participate in.
How does an Ivy League experience affect your athletics pursuits?
Playing tennis at Brown and keeping up with my academics has not been an easy task, but I’ve found it manageable. You don’t have a lot of free time which isn’t great but there are the benefits of playing a sport in college such as the traveling, the team. Sometimes I wish that I had the time to be able to participate more in academic clubs and stuff like that. Also I try to make my academic schedule fit my tennis schedule such that I try to keep the workload easy during our busy season in the spring. Another problem with athletics and academics is when professors don’t accommodate athletes’ schedules.
What obstacles still stand to young women who want to participate in athletics?
Some of the obstacles of young women in athletics I think are that people do not take them as seriously as male athletics. I think they are easily overlooked and the same goes for tennis. It’s usually the big name sports like football and basketball that get the attention. And it’s also the male teams of theses sports that are more talked about and supported. A women’s team has to be really good to get the attention that average male teams get. There’s not enough coverage on women’s athletics, which is discouraging for women athletes.
What do you see in the future for women's athletics, will it continue to expand?
I think that women’s athletics will slowly progress and eventually be on the same level as men’s athletics. I don’t see any fast improvements happening anytime soon. I probably do feel that the progress has stagnated a little.
What has athletics done for young girls that choose to participate?
I think athletics has given women who participate respect and the mentality that they’re just as good as men. Women athletes put in the same amount of time and work in their sports as male athletes do so I think it says a lot for us. We also get the benefits of traveling and meeting people and competing. It all builds character.
Would you ever consider coaching?
Yes, I would consider coaching. I’m actually looking for an assistant coaching position for next year.
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