Over 6,000 miles away from home, senior Yousef Ismail has found a home at Asbury and a family within his two teams.
Born in Cairo, Egypt, Ismail began to play sports at just five years old. At home, football (what we refer to as soccer) is incredibly popular. People of all ages and backgrounds are know to play from the bustling streets of Cairo to the more remote villages. Ismail grew up with the boys he played with and continued to let it fuel his passion.
At the same time, Ismail also played tennis, another sport popular in the country. He found a rhythm and passion with both, despite the sports being quite different. After ten years playing tennis, Ismail had to step back.
“I stopped because I wanted to continue playing soccer, at one point I had to drop one sport and focus focus on the other,” Ismail said.
For the next few years, Ismail dedicated himself to improving at soccer and his education. When it came time to make a decision on a university, Ismail had a lot to consider.
“I decided to pursue my take my degree here in the US because you can find a balance of playing the sport that you like, and at the same time also studying because back home, it’s hard,” Ismail said. “We don’t have college sports. It’s more like clubs and like clubs is separated from the college.”
Having the combination of academics and athletics in the same relative space allows for better communication and rhythm, which Ismail has enjoyed.
While the shift from a big city to small town life can be a big adjustment at first, Ismail has found comfort in it and he is still able to go home regularly over breaks.
“It’s definitely like a big change from a city going to a small town. But to be honest, I actually like it, Ismail said. “One of the things I realized coming here is that I like also called places and less disturbing focusing on just academics and and sports. And I think that’s what I wanted through my college career.”
While being away at school has had its advantages, being far from friends, family and familiar settings can be hard, luckily for Ismail his teammates and coaches have helped him.
“Playing back home, you’ve played with the friends that you grew up with and you know, you have a relationship ready, but I didn’t I felt like since I came here,” Ismail said. “I felt that the team did a really good job of, you know, putting me into the circle and like being part of the family so I don’t feel like it took time. I did definitely feel like a little bit of homesickness, especially in my first semester since it’s the first time being here in the US.”
After playing soccer as one of the eagle’s midfielders, Ismail joined the tennis team last fall to reignite his love for the sport. Since the off-seasons align, it has just taken a bit fo sceheudling work and Ismail has already seen the benefits.
“Tennis is an individual sport soccer is a team sport. So there’s different aspects for sure that goes into with each sport of them but the one common thing is you still compete as a team, and it’s still carry the same characteristics outside,” Ismail said.
Ismail has bonded with his teammates from both sports, and the connections he has made has continued to make Asbury feel more like home and helped him become a better athlete.
“[In soccer] there’s people who can pick you up and you know, there’s constant communication between you and other players and the coaches also,” Ismail said. “ I think tennis is tennis is a little bit different though. It’s just all you mentally focused all by yourself in a court. So I think tennis helps soccer.”
Ismail is looking to extend his time at Asbury and use his extra year of availability to stretch out his classes and get more time with both his teams.