College commitments are nothing new within the Westfield community. Each year, many athletes across all sports Westfield has to offer take their talents to the next level. This past year was no different, with 34 Blue Devil athletes now competing across the country in sports such as soccer, baseball and basketball, along with many others. In this series, we’ll dive into graduated WHS student-athletes and take a look at where they are now. This edition features Niko Pierce, a freshman soccer player at William Patterson University.
Pierce was a part of the varsity soccer team at Westfield beginning his sophomore year. Racking up a few assists in his rookie campaign, Pierce took more of a jump in his junior and senior seasons, as he managed to record five goals and four assists, helping to pace the team as a captain his senior year. All of this success landed him a spot on the WP soccer team.
As for the transition between high school and college, Pierce noticed little change. He said, “The transition has been easy. Being part of the soccer team gave me a built-in friend group and allowed me to adjust to the environment quickly and smoothly.”
In addition, Pierce realized a shift of identity between aspirations and expectations at the collegiate level. “Everyone in college is very bought in, and nobody complains about the running or conditioning. Everyone understands that the purpose of conditioning is to get better,” he said.
Though Pierce loves the team, he understands that playing a collegiate sport is not for the weak. He said, “I learned that college is about having time-management skills. It’s about understanding how to balance the work out.”
There was never a worry that Pierce would struggle in such a category. Aside from the classroom, he has seen plenty of positive changes in himself. He said, “I’ve seen myself get stronger, faster and have more stamina physically. Doing the amount of running and lifting we do has helped with my physical transformation exponentially.”
Although his eyes are set on the future, he does miss the teams he used to play with at the high school level. He said, “High school was a less stressful environment and was honestly more fun. Off the field, everyone used to hang out together. Compared to college, we do not as much.”
However, as for the perks of being a college athlete, he has loved it. Pierce said, “The coolest thing [about college] is that we get priority registration, so we get to choose our classes before anyone else in the university.”
This year, Pierce is living up to his expectations. With three assists and ties over ranked programs such as Stevens Institute of Technology and Rowan University, along with wins over Ramapo College and Rutgers-Newark, his mark is being felt just as he had planned.
Pierce is dedicated to serving his team with success and himself in his closing time for his freshman campaign in Wayne. “My goals are to finish the season with five assists and help the team make the conference tournament. Off the field, I hope to maintain a perfect GPA,” said Pierce.
