Technical Difficulties, Showcase of the South, Alumni Spotlight-Nathan Sabich

Please allow me to apologize for the delay in this post. We changed blog sites and I had difficulty figuring out how to connect to the new site. So we look on the bright side, when one considers my technological deficiencies, it is a miracle that I can blog at all. I will post a coupe of blogs almost back to back as I try to keep everyone current. On this blog, a recap on the Showcase of the South experiences both on and off of the field and also, a nice summary of Metro Alum Nathan Sabich.

Showcase of the South Re-Cap

All 8 High School teams that traveled to the Showcase of the South in Little Rock, Arkansas the last weekend in January had a successful event. As promised players were greeted by a number of college coaches at each game with a large number of schools from throughout the south represented.

On the field, the U16 girls lead the way with impressive shutouts over 5 time state champion NWAL(3-0) and Tulsa SC(2-0). The victory over Tulsa SC avenged an earlier defeat to TSC in the inclement conditions at the GIT in December. The U16 Girls team also tied a quality FC Dallas side in the second game and was unlucky not to walk away with all 9 points.

College Talk in Little Rock

150 players and parents from the SLSG Metro family packed into the Ballroom at the Hilton Little Rock to hear the “College Talk.” Dale Schilly and Mitch Bohnak were presenters for the evening. Topics of discussion included, but were not limited to, an explanation of the various divisions of the NCAA, NAIA and NJCAA; the narrowing of choices by academic and athletic criterion; and relationship building with college coaches.

“College Talk” is one of the highlights of the weekend and is one of the many benefits to being a player in the SLSG Metro program. With a 15-year track record of placing players, there is a lot of experience from which families can draw.

Alumni Spotlight-Nathan Sabich

I was at an Academy event in late January and ran into Nathan. He was playing for the Milwaukee Bavarians. He and I had a few moments to catch up and he offered to send a note detailing his exploits over the last few years. I believe you will find this to be very insightful. His opening line floored me and I wanted to keep it out of the spotlight, but since it was unsolicited, it must have been heartfelt and he obviously wanted to share it.

Nathan was one of the first players from Central Illinois to make the commitment to Metro. I will never forget when he, Chris Loftus, Sean Flynn and Nathan Brewer turned up at tryouts. We knew the quality of soccer that they brought to the program, what we found out later was the quality of person that they brought to the program.

“Deciding to play for Metro FC was the starting point of my life. I knew that if I wanted to play soccer at the collegiate level, and then at the professional level, I had to put myself in a situation where I would be exposed to some of the top soccer coaches in the US!”

Nathan started playing for Metro FC his freshmen year of High School. Four years later, he graduated from Sacred Heart-Griffin High School as an Illinois State Champion. After being recruited by several Division I Universities, (Notre Dame, Indiana, Northwestern, and Akron), he choose to attend Marquette University because they had one of the best engineering programs in the nation.

After 4 years at Marquette, he received his B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, a Major in French, and a Minor in Biological Sciences. During his time as a student-athlete at Marquette, Nathan impressively started and played in every single game throughout his 4 years. His Freshman year, he was named to the C-USA All Freshmen Team and his Junior year he was named Marquette University Big East Most Valuable Player in 2006.

Following his undergrad, Nathan went straight into a Master's program and, in May of 2009, he received a M.S. in Healthcare Technologies Management from the Medical College of Wisconsin and Marquette University. While working on his masters’ degree, Nathan was drafted by the Milwaukee Wave Professional Indoor Soccer team. Nathan’s debut with the Wave saw him notch three assists. During his second professional season, he was fortunate enough to play in the Major Indoor Soccer League Championship match against La Raza de Monterrey.

During the off season, Nathan plays for the Milwaukee Bavarians who in the summer of 2009 traveled to Orlando, Florida, where Nathan scored the game-winning PK that clinched the title of the 2009 US National Open Cup Champions. A week later, the team went on a 10-day tour of Germany, where Nathan had the opportunity to play against professional German club Fortuna Cologne as well as stay to train with top Bundesliga team Bayern Leverkussen.

In May 2010, Nathan was offered a position as a Regulatory Affairs Submission Specialist with one of the biggest companies in the world, GE Healthcare although he continues to play for the Milwaukee Bavarians and train with the Milwaukee Wave in his spare time.

Nathan has achieved a huge amount both professionally and athletically in his young life. His decision to become a part of the Metro Family opened doors for him that he never could have imagined. Once those doors were opened, Nathan worked extremely hard to make his dreams come true and is a tremendous example to current SLSG Metro players of what can be done when a player combines hard work, determination and commitment to excellence.