Nkululeko Mabona '21 Recruiting Profile

^{Growing up all I ever wanted to be was a professional soccer player, my dream is to make it to the professional and repay my parents for all they've done for me. My whole life I was told to find something I love to do and stick with it, that's when I knew that soccer could be my free ticket out of South Africa. As my knowledge grew, I started to realize the struggles college would put my parents through financially, and that's when I decided soccer was the way to take care of that all. But as a kid, you don't see the full picture and you honestly never will, but all I knew was that I was not the best at school but I loved to play sports. Growing up I've always had people tell me to take care of my school work and be a student first. As a kid, you understand that school is important and a priority to get through}

Staying up late to finish up an essay, or studying late at night after a long day of a physical and mental beat down, is pushed through with determination. Soccer taught me determination, and it comes with work ethic. Being a student athlete would add to my leadership qualities both in the classroom and on the field. Nowhere in the classroom will I be put into situations where quick decisions must be made and consequences are waiting to follow. The discipline that is required to be successful at a sport and school has only strengthened me in every aspect of my life. The discipline through sports has taught me to respect everyone, be coachable, and not to sell myself short. Everything learned through sports gives me a big advantage in school as well. For many of us, if it wasn't for sports, we wouldn't want to be in school working this hard for an education. Being a student athlete would help me prepare to catch anything life throws at me, and to handle it very well.