Already one of the club’s hardest workers, FC Tucson goalkeeper Wallis Lapsley added another job this year: podcaster.
The Men in Black’s No. 1 launched a podcast in February called “The Separation is in the Preparation.”
“I always liked listening to podcasts and I had done a few as a guest and I always thought, ‘Well, maybe I can do this in a different way, put my own sort of spin on it,’” he said.
That preparation comes to the forefront when FC Tucson hosts North Carolina FC at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night. It’s Fuerza Frontline Workers Night at Kino North Stadium.
Lapsley, a Seattle native, arrived in Tucson with some media experience. While at UC Davis, he worked at the college radio station. … and majored in global disease biology … and worked three years in a microbiology lab in the school of veterinary medicine.
That work ethic is why coach Jon Pearlman calls him “a consummate pro,” “arguably the hardest-working player on the team” and “so detail-orientated.”
Lapsley’s podcast features guests from diverse fields and focuses on preparation. His most recent guest was Mike Crimmins, a climate extension specialist at the UA.
“I think that the way people get ready to do their job, whether it’s my job, your job, there’s a lot of things that go into it that people overlook on the outside, we like to think about the end, the final polished product,” Lapsley said. “I’ve always been interested in the way people prepare and I spend a lot of time preparing for my job, so I’m always curious about how people prepare for theirs.”
In his day job, Lapsley is second in USL League One in saves with 67 and tied for seventh in clean sheets with four.
“He’s a great teammate,” Pearlman said. “He’s made a ton of big saves for us in games.”
The Men in Black need him now more than ever. With 33 points, FC Tucson (9-9-6) is in the sixth and final USL League One playoff spot. Wednesday’s opponent, North Carolina FC, is 5-15-4 and at the bottom of the standings with 19 points.
Corner kicks
Every fan in attendance Wednesday will receive a voucher good for one ticket to one of FC Tucson’s final two regular-season matches.
