My Other Talent: Chris Rindov

The Fall 2022 issue of ONE MARYLAND Magazine recently arrived in the mailboxes of Terrapin Club members. ONE MARYLAND features stories of strength and perseverance, of determination and spirit. These stories define our athletics program, and this new magazine will allow us to share these stories with you. Over the next few weeks, we will be rolling out these stories on umterps.com as a preview of what you will find in ONE MARYLAND. To receive future issues of the magazine when they debut, please join the Terrapin Club. We hope you enjoy.

Listening to the motivational song Climb Champions. Solving a 3x3 Rubik’s cube four times in a row. 

That’s how standout defender Chris Rindov prepares for every single game without fail. 

“It relaxes me,” Rindov said. “After that point, it’s when I put my phone down until after the game. It’s kinda a transition into the game where after that it’s all about the game.” 

Rindov first started getting into Rubik’s cubes when he was around 8 or 9-years-old. His parents, both from Bulgaria, were growing up when the cube was invented in 1974 and ultimately passed their interest down to Rindov. 

One day, Rindov’s dad printed a sheet of instructions for him and that was that.

“It all built from that moment,” Rindov said. “It sparked a really heavy interest in it at those ages.”

Rindov, a local product from Rockville, started with beginner’s methods and then eventually got into more advanced algorithms. By the time he was about 13-years-old, he was quite skilled, solving the Rubik’s cube in times as fast as 16.52 seconds. 

“It’s all about repetition,” Rindov said. “At this point, it’s more muscle memory than me thinking about it because I’ve done it thousands of times. The way I look at it, if you want to be good you have to be precise. It’s not just about doing it as fast as you can because then you start messing up algorithms.”

Rindov had interest in trying Rubik’s cube competitions, but it was hard to find the time as he balanced his blossoming soccer career as well. 

“Growing up (the Rubik’s cube) was definitely a side-by-side interest with soccer,” Rindov said. “Now, soccer’s taken first place, but it’s definitely something I still do to just have fun and calm myself down.”

He also enjoys experimenting with different cubes. Rindov had all the classics from the 2x2 up to the 7x7 in addition to more unique ones such as a 2x2x7 and a 3x3x5.

And while his younger self enjoyed trying the new ones, the standard 3x3 is the one that’s closest to his heart—and the one he uses for his pregame ritual. 

“It’s the one I solve the most and it’s the one I’m most comfortable with,” Rindov said. “It’s a classic.”

A former walk-on, Rindov has started all 16 matches this season and 43 of Maryland's last 44 matches overall. He has been a massive contributor to the Maryland back line all season and played a key role in the Terps' Big Ten Championship run, winning the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award two separate times. 

The Rubik’s cube ritual was there for it all. 

“It’s just a way for me to have fun and relax. It’s a great skill to have and it's been a great part of my life.”