College is hard. Studying, deadlines, test, finals. Juggling all of  the academic responsibilities that a student takes on, not to mention a social life, and maybe even a part time job. Try to manage all of this on top of being a student athlete.  Two hour practices everyday, four hour bus rides at least once a week for your away games. Josh Crim, a second year soccer player at Northeast Community College, shows a little insight on what it is like to play at a college level, and how it has changed from a high school level to a collegiate level.  “It’s really been a different experience for me.” says Crim.  “Since I got here last summer I have had to play seven or eight different positions and there are only eleven positions on the field including goalie.” Crim hasn’t  minded having to learn new positions because it gives him more playing time by being flexible with his talent on the field. Crim agrees that the experience at Northeast hasn’t been bad at all. “Its been a great learning experience, learning about the player I am and the person I am” says Crim.

Crim explained that he has learned a lot off the field as well. He said ” I know there always hasn’t been success on the field so being able to see who I am after everything is something I can take from this experience as well.” Crim also explained the stress level difference between the first year and the second year. ” I think I had 19 credit hours my first semester with soccer so that was pretty crazy. I had two major changes in my first semester, but I made it work. It is all about balance I think.” said Crim. One thing that Crim struggled with was adjusting to the new atmosphere. He has played with the same time since he was in the third grade. ” On my high school team I was someone who was a go to person, and its hard not getting that same respect here. Also incorporating the language barrier and nationalities makes the game come with two different playing styles,” Crim said. He also explained that in the beginning of the season it was hard but now he feels everything is starting to click together. The Hawks ended their season 7-12 for the 2017 year.