What is your name and grade? Angelo Fernando, Freshman.

How long have you been playing soccer and why did you start? I have been playing soccer since I was 6 or 7 years old. I started playing because a lot of my friends in elementary school also played soccer.

How do you compare playing for Nile’s North and a travel club? I played on the Niles North freshman team and currently play on FC Lakeshore. School soccer has always been more enjoyable because you’re with a ton of your school friends and there’s less pressure. Club soccer is much more intense and you learn and experience way more, it definitely helps you grow as a player.

Where do you see soccer taking you in the future? I hope to continue soccer for the rest of high school. I’m not sure what I’ll do with soccer after high school, but I know I’ll keep watching and following it.

How do you balance the athletic schedule with your AP honors level workload? My athletic schedule and academic workload are decently manageable. I play soccer for 2 hours a day, 4-5 days out of the week, so it’s not too much. Out of 4 honors and 2 APs, only AP World and Spanish 2 Honors require substantial time. However, AP World has a ton of note-taking and studying involved, so some nights I need to sacrifice a ton of sleep to keep the straight A’s.

What is your favorite movie? Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

What is your favorite song at the moment? Rock with You by Michael Jackson.

Now that your freshman year is closing, what would you tell your eighth-grade self? Please work on time management.