NSA’s Student-Athletes: Football Edition
By Zoe B.
Imagine being a full-time student at NSA, but schoolwork is not all you do. Apart from studying at least five hours per day, you also spend between one to three hours per day training for your sport. This is the reality of a few select NSA students, to whom their sport is just as important as their studies. Student-athletes are a unique group of students who demonstrate how useful NSA can be, and who show a level of dedication that is hard to come across. Let us dive into the most popular sport practiced by this group of people: football, better known in the US as soccer.
Sarah, Isaiah, and Adam are all current NSA students, while Lydia has spent the last year at NSA and is now leaving. Sarah does NSA full-time, and Lydia did as well, while Isaiah takes all but one of his classes here and Adam is taking one class here. They all play football and spend between five to twelve hours a week training for it.
Most of them highlight how studying at NSA has given them flexibility to pursue their goals. Sarah recognizes it has allowed her to train as much as she does, which would be impossible if she went to a brick-and-mortar school. She highlights, “Most games are 45 minutes to an hour and a half away, so that leads to very long days in the car. If I could not make my own school schedule, I could never play as much soccer as I want.” Isaiah agrees, mentioning how studying at NSA gives him more time to train at home and attend all his club’s practices and matches, which would be impossible otherwise.
One might ask, why do they put themselves through this and spend so much of their time practicing a sport? Well, the consensus is that they love what they do. While this activity is so physically taxing and exhausting, the feeling after winning an important game cannot be replaced. However, winning is not their favorite part; both Sarah and Isaiah mentioned their favorite part of being a student-athlete is the community, and Sarah in particular mentioned how she loves that all her teammates are Christian.
While it would be amazing if there were no downsides to playing a sport at this level, that is not the case. Lydia mentions how her least favorite part of being a student-athlete is how she has no time for hobbies or homework, and both Adam and Sarah agree. Sarah puts it perfectly, saying “School takes away a lot of time from soccer, and soccer takes away a lot of time for school.”
As in every other aspect of life, there are parts to being a student-athlete one would not know unless they were one themselves. Isaiah shares an interesting perspective about his experience playing football in an Arab country, mentioning how, “People (mostly from other teams) will make fun of you and call you some interesting names [. A] few weeks ago we beat a team 5-1 and their coach left with his entire team because he got a red card for swearing and shouting at the refs. Next practice our coach told us they were saying things like ‘[H]ow did we lose, they’re Christian?’ And [they] called us ‘infidels’ in Arabic.” If one does not live in a country persecuted for their religion, it is easy to forget what TCKs (third culture kids) experience daily. Lydia also shares how as a TCK in a third-world country, being a student-athlete was tough, because she had no football field nearby. This highlights how the things we take for granted can be those others dream of having.
Both the good and bad parts that come with being a student-athlete don’t only translate to performing well on the pitch. Being an athlete means learning skills that prove useful in all aspects of life. Sarah highlights how sometimes more can be less, “Doing more is not always the best option. Obviously, give your best, but it is okay to say no. If you do too much, you get hurt.” Lydia mentions how her communication and leadership skills have grown as well, “Communication is one of the most important things about sports and it has carried into my school life [, as well as] learning how to be a leader.”
Student-athletes are some of the hardest-working people out there. Between practice, matches, long car rides, and school, they have their plate full. While the sacrifices are significant, the reward makes it worthwhile. However, not only their hard work makes this possible: the Lord is the reason they can wake up and give their best to accomplish their goals. As Philippians 4:13 says: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Bible Gateway).
Columns: 👤NSA People 🧑🚀NSA Culture 🔎Informational
Zoe B. lives in Argentina with her parents, dog, and one of two brothers. She is an eleventh grader, and this is her third year at NorthStar but first in the Navigator. In addition to being a writer for the Navigator, she is also one of two Club Coordinators for Student Council and a tutor for High School students. She has been playing sports all her life and is currently a competitive tennis player who dedicates a lot of hours to training and competing around South America.