Nils Lofgren – A New Level of Dedication
Brittany Eads
(310) 804-7245
britteads@gmail.com
Nils Lofgren
Provo, Utah (April 25, 2009) — Midgame at a soccer tournament in San Diego last November, incoming BYU freshman Nils Lofgren felt a sharp pain in his leg after an opponent rolled into it.
Lofgren, however, refused to exit the field and kept playing on what x-rays later revealed to be a break in the weight-bearing bone of his leg.
“Thankfully, it wasn’t all that bad,” Lofgren laughs. “And I had all winter to recover.”
Dedication is a concept with which Lofgren, a senior at Salt Lake City Skyline High, is quite familiar. A soccer player since age six, he played for 11 straight years on the Impact Black 91 club team based in Salt Lake City, before being recruited by BYU. After sampling baseball and basketball in his youth, Lofgren eventually decided his future lay with soccer.
“Pretty early on, soccer took over,” Lofgren recalls. “I got really into it and liked the fact that it was a challenge–something different that other kids didn’t play much.”
According to Lofgren, being new to the BYU men’s soccer team–and college ball in general–requires a level of commitment not found in club or high school sports. However, he feels confident in his ability to step up to the challenge.
“The level of play on college teams is higher. Every player out there was the star of his club team,” Lofgren notes. “But this level is what you dream about.”
The current high school senior says that drive and work ethic are keys to making it in college sports, especially true for BYU men’s soccer players given the team’s membership in a semi-professional league.
“I always try to work better personally,” Lofgren adds. “I go to every practice and game, and play at home if no one else is around. I look for any chance to make myself a better player.”
