A Role Model for All to Live By

Students Name

Date

Nick Downing

A Role Model For All To Live By

As a member of the University of Maryland’s soccer team, I have had the privilege of meeting many inspirational people. However, there is one who truly sticks out in my mind as being one of the most influential people in my life. When I found out that I would be rooming with a junior for my first semester of college, I knew there were both an upside and a downside. After meeting Nick Downing I knew that he was going to make that first semester the best time of my life. Nick was not only fun to be around but he was mature beyond his years. It was the first day of pre-season when one of my new teammates, Sumed Ibrahim began to persuade Nick to finish school, rather than leave early to enter the Major League Soccer draft. Sumed, a native of the African country of Ghana has never had a lot of money, so when Nick assured Sumed that he would send him a part of his check each week, Sumed light heartedly offered to help Nick with his packing. It is generosity as displayed here, that made me look up to Nick as I have to no other individual in my nineteen years. What is special about Nick is not that he has gone on to play at the professional level, but instead how he achieved this life long dream. It has been years of hard work, dedication, selflessness, and leadership that has allowed Nick to move on to the professional level, while in the process impacting every individual he has come into contact with in a positive way. These qualities, along with Nick’s on the field accomplishments is why I feel that the number 7 should never be worn again by a member of the Maryland soccer program.

Nick Downing has always been one to lead by example. As a freshmen, I learned that as long as I did whatever Nick was doing I would never be in the wrong. However, I also figured out that if I tried to keep up with Nick’s lifestyle I would never get any school work done. While the rest of the team was trickling outside for practice each and everyday, Nick had already been out there working on individual skills in which he thought could use some improvement. Not to mention, after practice he would stick around either to do sprints, or just play a fun game involving skill with a handful of players. It is this type of hard work that has allowed Nick to gain the respect of both the coaches and his fellow teammates. As only a sophomore, Nick was voted to be captain of the Terrapins. Only in rare cases is even a junior given the responsibility of being a team captain. Coaches, satisfied with his performance in the previous year granted Nick the privilege of wearing the captains armband again as a junior.

What sets Nick apart from many other successful people is that he is not doing all this hard work for the individual accolades he receives; he is simply doing it for the love of the game. Since he was five years old when he began playing soccer he had only one thing on his mind, which was to play professionally. Over the years he has never once lost sight of those around him. As a freshmen, I was not sure how to find a couple of buildings on the first day of classes. Rather than send me in the relative direction of the buildings like a handful of people did, he opted to be late for his class so that I would not get caught wandering around campus all day. Yet I never really understood how self-less Nick truly was until the week of exams, when he was done and had caught a flight home to Redmond, Washington. He told me he had left behind a couple of articles of clothing, and if I wanted any to feel free to take them. While rummaging through his belongings, I stumbled upon his Most Valuable Defensive Player award that he was given just days before. It was at this time that I realized Nick did not care about any awards, he was doing what he thought was in the best interest of our team.

It is not as if Nick was the perfect human being while at the University of Maryland. He was by no means worried about his education. He was known to skip a few classes every once in awhile. I remember half way through the semester he figured he could not pass Math002, so he took that extra time to catch up on some lost sleep. Keep in mind that the only reason he was in Math002 was because he had failed Math001 twice, and the University required him to move on. I figured out early in the semester as Nick had years before, that school simply was not his thing. He was determined to play as a professional, and used his free education as a time to highten his skills for when the time would present itself. However, it was not as if Nick was relying on soccer for the rest of his life. He plans on finishing school a few years down the road, when it is the right time in his life.

Nick has been at a disadvantage for most of his life. I remember him telling me that through all his years playing soccer everyone said he was too small to amount to anything. Rather than take their word for it and give up, Nick used this as fuel to try even harder to succeed. That is not the only hardship Nick has had to over come. As an infant, he contracted a virus that forced him to see black and white up until this past year. When he had his eyes dilated, enabling him to see some colors. He never once used this to feel sorry for himself. Nick had overcome so much, and as a result was determined to turn professional if it were the last thing he did on this earth.

Even if Nicks professional career does not amount to anything, it was not as if his years of playing soccer went unnoticed. Nick had the opportunity to play on the U-17 National Team, which he captained, in addition to the U-20 team which traveled to Egypt for the World Cup. In 96’,’97’, and 98’ Nick was named a NSCAA All-American. In 99’ Nick was named to the Maryland/Fila Pre-season College Kickoff All Tournament Team. As a freshmen Nick was the captain of a solid defense, which got him named to the Freshmen All American Team. In his final two seasons at the University of Maryland he was also a finalist for the Hermann Trophy Award. Which is an award given to the most outstanding college soccer player in the nation (Mociun 11).

Nick Downing has influenced so many peoples lives not by coincidence, but rather by using hard work, dedication, and thinking of others first to accomplish as much as he has both on and off the soccer field. Nick has taught me to strive for excellence in everything I do, and never let others talk me into believing that I may fall short. If any athlete could adopt just one of Nick’s traits I feel they will be able to get more out of themselves day in and day out. It is this reason, in addition to his on the field accomplishments that I feel the number 7 should never be worn by another Maryland Terrapin soccer player.