Wolf junior midfielder Zack Nall (20) holds off two pesky foes in a game this season. (John Fisken photo)
A good performance on the field will equal a good performance in the classroom.
That’s the plan for Zack Nall, a junior midfielder in his second season of playing for the Coupeville High School boys’ soccer squad.
“I started to try something new and challenge myself,” Nall said. “And to make sure that if I play, then good grades must follow.
“So it was like a way to tell myself that I have to keep good grades if I wanna play my passion.”
Away from the pitch Nall enjoys longboarding, weight training and “long, long runs,” which has helped prepare him for the constant flow of action in soccer.
“I enjoy how quick the sport is, it’s something I am getting used to,” he said.
Close friends Ryan Freeman, Josh Datin and Loren Nelson, all soccer players, originally talked Nall into trying the sport, something for which he is grateful.
“The had the biggest impact on me playing,” he said. “All they did was encourage me.”
An opera fan who has a talent for writing and spends his free time “fixing my hair or making people laugh,” Nall is working on fine-tuning his craft on the field, building on strengths while trying to become a well-rounded player.
“My strengths are my speed and vision, to be able to see a run and to make that run, or to be able to see a player make a run and I just have to send them the ball in the right spot away from danger,” he said. “It’s up to them from there, but I am always looking around and I am almost always open.
“I’m a tough opponent to guard when I’m on the run.
“What I need to work on is quicker reaction time. If I’m on the ball too long, even if I have control or not, coach doesn’t like that,” Nall added. “I’m in a new position so I’m used to taking the ball straight to the top, but in my new position it requires more defense and passing, which I am learning more and more about.
As he goes through the rest of this season and his senior year, helping to build team chemistry is a big goal.
“Something about the sport and how certain players interact and create team chemistry is really something to me which I am eager to pick up on more and more,” Nall said. “Now the team just has to figure out the type of player I am and I have to do the same in order for us to be a complete team.
“My goal is to ensure our team has a captain to look up to next year, and who they can rely on to ask for any kind of help or questions about the pitch,” he added. “I love making a good influence on people about this sport.”
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