Why You Play

He knew the transition from high school soccer to college soccer would be hard, but he didn’t realize how hard it would be until he got to college and the idea of quitting entered his head. But as soon as that thought came, it left. Because no matter how many bad practices he had, the thought of ending his career before he physically had to was something Nick Szczerba couldn’t imagine. “I just feel like it’s part of who I am,” Szczerba said. “I knew I loved it so much for so many years that if I ever did quit or stopped playing before I physically couldn’t anymore I would just come back to regret it.” Soccer has always been in Szczerba’s blood. He went to his first game when he was only two weeks old, started playing with a small ball in the living room with his dad when he was two and played in the backyard with his older brother and sister when he was three. “A lot of what I can remember is me and my dad playing in the living room with a really small ball,” Szcze...

Photo credit: Madonna Schwentner Before the students start arriving at DuBois Central Catholic, the lights turn on when Albert Varacallo walks into the gym, the same one he played in ten years earlier as a Cardinal, the only difference is he now wears a DuBois Dream shirt and works on shooting three’s from 23.75 feet out, rather than 19.75 feet. Varacallo’s love for basketball started when he was in first grade playing on the hoop in his backyard, the courts at the YMCA and inside on his nerf hoop where he would imitate Trajan Langdon, a former Duke Basketball guard, while he and his three brothers would pretend to be playing in the NCAA March Madness Tournament. That love for basketball followed him through elementary school when he started playing organized basketball in fifth grade and when he had to make the decision between take a division one scholarship to play baseball, or to continue his basketball career at the collegiate level, his senior year of high school...

Behind every athlete, there is a reason. There is a reason why they play the game, why they have dealt with the pain, heartbreak, early morning workouts, lack of a social life and injuries. There is a reason they have lost time with their families and have given up numerous things to play a game. That reason is why they step on the field or court every day and it is something that the fans don't always get to see.  The purpose of this blog is to help tell the athlete’s story and let the fans know the real reason #whytheyplay. If you or someone you know has a reason #whytheyplay and would like to share, please let me know.