Periodically over the remainder of the regular season, theRams.com will feature 6 Questions with 6Connex with a different player.
Last but not least is defensive lineman Michael Hoecht, who discusses his experience playing high school football in Canada and the United States, his high-energy personality, why he got into playing the guitar and drums, and more.
1) You were born in Oakville, Ontario and raised in Oakwood, Ohio, then spent first two years of high school in Canada and last two years in Ohio. What was that experience like?
"It was cool, because I got to play under a lot of different football coaches. So I got to play a little Canadian football, and I was at a different high school for my freshman and sophomore year, and then had a different head coach for my junior and senior year of high school. So I got four different head coaches, four different schemes, basically two different styles of football. Pretty fun, just got a lot of experience doing a lot of different things, which, honestly, I think has kind of been a theme throughout my career thus far."
2) I read you were a calculus tutor at Brown. What got you interested in the subject?
"They paid. They paid money, and I was in college, and a little extra money in the pocket wasn't bad. And realistically, like, it's helpful for some of the guys to go through and be able to help them pass one of the harder classes that they have there at Brown, so if I can help out, it was good for me and good for them. Everybody kind of wins there."
3) You have seemingly boundless energy. Where does that come from?
"I think I have a caffeine addiction. But other than that, I mean, I've always just been a high-energy guy. Ffor me, it's what I can control the most. So whatever I do, I end up doing with energy and enthusiasm."
4) What's one thing about playing special teams most people wouldn't understand?
"I think a lot of times, you don't have as much time to prepare as a lot of times you think. We spend most of the day going through offense and defense, and everybody who's playing teams has to know their offense and defensive responsibilities. You have to learn a quick and you have to be dialed in during the meeting time that we do have. And so there's not a ton of time to do it, so you have to learn it really, really fast. I think that's a credit to everybody who's out there doing it, because they spend time watching the extra film, learning the extra stuff and going through it and seeing it. So I think just like how hard that is to learn without an entire day's worth of meetings for it."
5) Do you still play the guitar and drums? What is/was your favorite song to play on either instrument?
"I'll throw in anything by like ACDC or like System of a Down on the drums and really just let it wail. Guitar, a little bit of Bruce Springsteen, but that's about it."
6) What drew you to playing those instruments?
"The drum set was a Christmas present from my parents, and I think it was, again, just a high-energy kid, they just threw me in the basement and let me do some wailing on it, burn off some energy, tire me out. And guitar, it was always a cool instrument and thought it was fun."
6Connex is a proud sustainability partner of the Los Angeles Rams and the leading provider of in-person, hybrid, and virtual event technology for enterprises worldwide. Their cloud-based product portfolio includes event management tools, in-person event apps, virtual venues, webinars, learning management, and more. Learn how 6Connex makes it easy to manage and host successful events at www.6Connex.com.
