Senior Paxton So of the Rock Ridge football team is a key contributor and leader on and off the field. In our interview, he gives us information about himself, how much he likes football, and his future goals on the field. 

Q: What’s your name, and what grade are you in?

A: My name is Paxton So. I am a senior.

Q: What sport do you play?

A: I play football.

Q: What position do you play, and how long have you been playing it?

A: I play linebacker. I’ve played linebacker for about five years now.

Q: How long have you been playing football overall?

A: I’ve been playing football since I was around 12, so about five years.

Q: What inspired you to start playing football?

A: To be honest, I don’t know. I started wanting to play in sixth grade, but because of the whole quarantine thing, I never got the chance to. I always watched football with my dad, but I was never super into it. I never expressed wanting to play it, but out of nowhere I was just like, “I want to play football. I want to play this position,” and stuff like that. It kind of just dawned upon me.

Q: How would you characterize your past season?

A: Unfortunate, probably. A lot of stuff comes to mind, but it just wasn’t in the cards for us. As an athlete and as a man, you can only control the things you can control. There were a lot of things that season that we couldn’t control. Our roster was short, and we didn’t have a lot of guys. That in itself was probably our biggest problem. We just didn’t have enough players.

Q: What’s one moment that stuck out to you from the season, and why?

A: A big moment for me was our game against Falls Church. If you watched that game, you knew it was a close game. That was a prominent 6A high school with a winning record – a good winning record. They go to the playoffs, and in a lot of Northern Virginia rankings, they’re ranked as a top-10 school when it comes to football. We were tied with them at halftime. I think we were actually beating them at some point, but towards the back end of that game, we just didn’t have enough people [because of] injuries, and people getting tired because we had no subs. There was no one [able] to play because then you just have JV guys, and if you put them in, they’re just going to get hurt because they’re not ready. That was a big moment for me because it kind of showed we have the talent and the skill to play and win these games. It’s those factors that you can’t control that keep getting in our way.

Q: What song do you listen to to get pumped up for games?

A: For me, I like “Fanito” by Chief Keef. That’s probably what I listen to the most.

Q: Which professional athlete do you look up to and why?

A: I look up to a lot of athletes. For my position specifically, I look up to Luke Kuechly a lot — the way he plays, the way he preps for his games, [and] how he studies. He knows the offense front to back. I love to model my game after him. But as an athlete, I love Jalen Hurts. Everything about him — his poise, his ability to be a leader, the fact that he doesn’t really let anything get under his skin. I love that as an athlete.

Q: Do you have any superstitions before games?

A: I don’t have any specific superstitions. I like to tape my wrists. I used to do it because I have weak joints in some places, so it was hard to catch the ball when I was skinnier. I would tape it to make it easier to catch. Now I just do it. We had this one superstition that the number 11 was cursed because everyone who wore it got injured. And so far, it hasn’t been proven wrong. That’s why I stopped wearing 11 after junior year.

Q: What are you doing when you’re not playing football?

A: When I’m not playing football, I’m usually training for football. As soon as the season’s over — the season’s really never over because I’m always training. I’m trying to play at the next level. I’m still training. Now that I’m playing soccer in the spring and just doing school, there’s not really too much else.

Q: What do you see yourself doing in five years, and what role will football play in your life?

A: I plan on playing in college, so that’s four out of the five years right there if that’s where it takes me. A big reason why I want to play at the next level is because I was injured all of last year. I had a big chip on my shoulder trying to prove something this year, and we just couldn’t, as a team, get it done. So I feel like when it comes to football, my story doesn’t end here. I feel like I have a lot more to offer to the sport. I want to play at the next level and keep going. So that’s the next four or five years. Then I plan on pursuing business in college. I want to run a martial arts school like how my dad does, because it’s familiar. I’ve been doing it my whole life, and it makes good money.

Q: What was your goal for the season, and did you accomplish it?

A: I didn’t have a specific end goal. For me, it was more about taking it one game at a time. So when people ask me, “What’s your goal by the end of the season,” I’m not even focused on the end of the season. I’m just focused on what’s coming up this week. It’s the summertime, it’s the middle of August. They’re like, “What do you expect for the end of the season, what are your goals?” And I’m like, “My goal is to accomplish this by the end of the week.” I feel like when you set your views too far ahead, then you lose sight of what’s in front of you. So I took everything one week at a time. [In the] first game of the season, my goal was to beat Warren County. We did that. In the second game, I’m like, “I need to have this many tackles, and we want to beat this team.” I didn’t particularly have personal goals. Of course, everyone’s goal is to have a winning record — that’s always a goal. But personal goals, not as much, because it’s not just about me. That’s why I feel like winning was the whole thing.