Talk to Ross Nishio@@directory@@ for just a moment, on or off the field, and the leadership skills he possesses will become obvious. Just ask University club men’s soccer player-coach Gerald Buxton@@directory@@, who was extremely impressed by Nishio when they met for the first time in spring of 2010.
“When I first joined the team, Ross was one of the first guys I met and he made me feel really welcomed,” Buxton said. “He’s easygoing and he has a good sense of humor; he’s really a natural leader out there. He’s just a genuinely good person and a likable guy.”@@“he’s” “he’s” “he’s”@@
Nishio, a center-backfield defender, is one of just three seniors on the roster, so the leadership role has been practically thrust upon him.
Center-backfield defender for the University’s men’s club soccer team Ross Nishio, 22, has played soccer his entire life and most of his college career. Although he doesn’t see many opportunities to score, Nishio always plays his hardest to keep the ball away from the goal. (Michael Ciaglo/Oregon Daily Emerald)
“Sophomore year, playing time was scarce,” Nishio said. “We had a lot of seniors and I wanted to make sure to fill in that spot when they graduated. Now there’s only three seniors, and I feel like I’ve become a leader and I’m filling in their shoes.”
In a season during which the Ducks have started slowly (they’re 2-3), his leadership is needed now more than ever.
The perfect fit
Having spent his whole life living in Sacramento, Calif., Nishio wasn’t exactly set on the University in the beginning. He began his soccer career by following in his two brothers’ footsteps — avid soccer player themselves — at the age of five. By the time he was 12, he began playing the sport competitively for the San Juan club team. After a couple of years with the club team, Nishio moved on to high school, where he played soccer for powerhouse Jesuit High School, a private Catholic school near his hometown. His talents earned him a scholarship offer from San Francisco State University, which he declined.
“I decided not to take the offer from San Francisco State because I didn’t want to make my whole college life just soccer,” Nishio said. “I wanted to go somewhere where I could play on a club team because it’s a good mix between soccer and maintaining a social life. It’s not too serious, but it’s still competitive — which I like.”
Then came the University, a school some of his friends were attending. It also boasted a quality journalism department, which grabbed his attention.
“I have wanted to go into public relations since high school,” Nishio said. “But I also wanted to go to a school that had a club team I could play on.”
Oregon fit both those requirements, so Nishio decided to visit the campus during October of his senior year of high school. The rest is history.
“I liked the big school feel,” Nishio said. “I wanted to get the full college experience and I felt like this was a good place to come. I heard that it was a great place and when I visited the campus, it really got me. The campus was really, really beautiful and the school had exactly what I wanted, so I made the decision that I wanted to go here.”
After not playing on the club team his freshman year, Nishio made the roster his sophomore year. While he didn’t play much that year, he remembers a match in which he took great strides as a player and as a person.
“I played in some great matches during my time here,” Nishio said. “But I think the most memorable game to me was when we played Weber State@@https://www.weber.edu/@@ at the regional tournament my sophomore year. Weber State is always one of the best teams we play, so it was a highly competitive game. We lost, but I’ll never forget how competitive and entertaining the game was. It was a learning experience and it was a really fun match to be a part of.”
Nishio has great appreciation for the sport of soccer and knows that he has been fortunate to create lasting memories over the years. However, he also understands that it won’t last forever and that times will inevitably change.
Life after soccer
Aside from soccer, Nishio is also very active in the classroom, on campus and in the community. He is a member of the Sigma Phi Epsilon@@http://greeklife.uoregon.edu/chapters/sigma_phi_epsilon@@ fraternity, where he has helped organize and participate in many charity events. Additionally, he plays an active role in the Public Relations Student Society of America, where he has also organized fundraising events while helping students find internships during school and full-time jobs after school.
After he graduates from the University this spring, Nishio hopes to find a job back in California. His career desire is to work at a public relations agency. After a few years of work, he plans to attend graduate school to earn his master’s degree.
