Before the Francis Marion University spring soccer season begins, first year player Jeran Nanthakumar talked about his life growing up as well as his experiences playing soccer.
On the FMU website, Nanthakumar is quoted as being a very technical player who performs on both sides of the ball.
Nanthakumar was born and lived in Columbia, Md. until he was four years old, when he and his parents moved to San Diego, Calif.
Nanthakumar’s first experiences with soccer happened after he moved to California. At that time, his parents decided that soccer would be a good sport for Nanthakumar to play.
“My parents just put me in soccer,” Nanthakumar said. “And it just stuck.”
He went on to explain that in California the soccer is divided up into two main divisions: competitive and recreational.
“When I first tried out, I tried to get into the youngest competitive team that they offered,” Nanthakumar said.
Up until he moved to Florence to attend FMU, Nanthakumar had always played for the competitive league.
During the league’s off-season, he and his fiends played for their high schools. Nanthakumar played under coaches Jeff Riccitelli and Glenn Malone for Carlsbad High School.
During this time of his life, Nanthakumar finished his senior year of high school with one goal and five assists for his team that made it to the CIF Quarterfinals in 2010. He was voted the 1st team All-Conference team MVP.
After high school, Nanthankumar chose to attend FMU because of his desire to play college soccer.
“I came out here to visit and play in tournaments,” Nanthakumar said. “When I was out here I would meet with the coach. It just seemed like a good fit.”
Nanthankumar plays midfield for the men’s FMU soccer team.
“When I play, I try to keep an eye on the ball and always provide an outlet for the rest of my team,” Nanthakumar said. “When I get the ball a try to keep it moving and help the ball move from one side to the other side of the field.”
Nanthakumar feels that it is very important for players to go into a game with the right mindset.
“A lot of people go into games with the mindset that they are going to get beat because the other team is better,” Nanthakumar said. “I think that if you go out with the right attitude, then the team will do better.”
As of now, Nanthakumar says that his major is business. Last semester he said that his major was music. When asked if he had any plans for his business degree, he said that he wasn’t sure and that he would probably be changing it.
Nanthakumar knows that he wants to find a career in the music industry.
“If I were to do something with music, I think that I would like to do something working with a recording studio,” Nanthakumar said.
Since he moved to Florence and began attending FMU, he said that the main thing that sticks out compared to San Diego is that Florence is small.