Nicolai was interviewed today by the Boston Herald. He may well be the world’s first one-legged high school athlete to make a varsity soccer team. I am not entirely sure that he appreciated the attention. Nicolai has never craved the limelight unless it has been in support of a worthy cause (Free Wheelchair Mission, American Amputee Soccer Association). He is not one of the starting players and did not get any minutes in the team’s opening match which no doubt dampened his enthusiasm for the interview. Nicolai went in with realistic expectations about how much playing time he would get but I can only imagine how hard it was for him to watch from the sidelines. First and foremost, Nicolai is a fierce competitor and wants to earn recognition for his accomplishments on the pitch and not his anatomy. The team’s coach is highly motivated to take this team to the state finals and will put the players on the field needed to win every game. I am confident that will include Nicolai in some matches and will do my best to attend every game as I did for Kyle who also played varsity soccer for CCHS.

Pictured above is his player profile from the school’s website (either a very poor photographer or Nico’s attempt to look really intimidating).