NEWBERRY — Senior Gabriel Ward and freshman Christian Thomas and Till Neumann give us insight on their life prior to Newberry.
Senior Gabriel Ward is preparing for his last season with the Wolves, while freshmen Christian Thomas and Till Neumann are just getting started. The three student-athletes participated in a fun Q&A.
Christian Thomas, a native of Charlotte, N.C., enters his first season with the Wolves. His major is business and his favorite food is cheese quesadillas.
Prior to Newberry, Thomas attended East Mecklenburg High School. He was named a two-year All-Conference player in the Southwestern 4A region, and one year All-Region player in North Carolina. Thomas tallied 23 goals and 30 assists.
In club soccer, Christian played for the Carolina Rapids 99 Burgundy team and also leads the team in goals. Back in 2015, he was a member of the One7 club team that won a US Club Soccer National Championship. Thomas was also the place kicker on the varsity football at East Mecklenburg for four years.
Thomas decided to attend Newberry because he wanted to continue his passion of playing soccer, and Head Coach Bryce Cooper made him feel like he was a key to the success of the program.
Thomas strived to be successful on and off the field in order to continue his soccer career.
“My parents taught me to work hard in school and in sports. I had to get good grades and be well behaved at home to be allowed to play soccer. This made me want to do well in school, as well as on the field. My parents always showed faith in me when I played soccer. My mom would record every game, while my dad would take me to practice after he got home from work, even if he was tired,” said Thomas.
In training Thomas tries to be the hardest working player on the field and learn from his mistakes. His greatest athletic moment was while on the football team, he kicked a 45-yard game winning goal in hurricane-like weather. Thomas was spread all over local news outlets because they were facing a nationally ranked team. In terms of soccer, his greatest achievement is winning the US Club national championships in 2015.
Hailing from Kassel, Germany, Till Neumann enters his freshman season with the Wolves. He is undecided on his major. His favorite food is rice and chicken.
The midfielder comes to Newberry currently playing for SC Paderborn 07. In the 2015-2016 season, Neumann tallied an impressive nine goals in 16 matches, and earned the most assists in the entire youth league. With Paderborn, he won the youth league twice. He has also competed for the clubs VfL Kassel – Hessenliga and Osc Vellmar – Hessenliga.
He grew up with his parents and two older sisters and they took care of him and supported him in every situation. Along with his family, his friends are also important. Neumann and his friends are still close, even after 10 years.
Along with teammate Thomas, Neumann based his school decision on his impression of Coach Cooper.
“Coach was one of the biggest reasons I decided to come to Newberry. He gave me a really good feeling from day one. Another reason is obviously the change of climate here in Newberry. In Germany you don’t get much sun in the summer”, he stated.
This season for the Wolves, Neumann has already made his mark. He scored his first goal in the contest against USC Aiken last night. He ran up the middle and launched a goal 10 yards out to make the contest an even slate. In every training session, Neumann knows he can improve his skills and work harder. He makes sure he is focused and only thinking about the game.
“My greatest athletic moment was playing against a professional player in Paderborn at the age of 17. I got the chance to show my skills against a professional while being a youth player on the U19 team,” said Neumann.
Off the field, he likes to partake in beach volleyball with his friends. His pregame ritual before each game is praying. His favorite sports team is Borussia Dortmund, a team based out of Germany. His favorite athlete is Cristiano Ronaldo and his celebrity crush is Olympic gold medalist Alex Morgan. When he was younger he wanted to be a pilot. Neumann enjoys listening to trap music in his free time and fancies Beyonce over Rihanna.
Spartanburg native Gabriel Ward is entering his last and final season with the Wolves. His major is biology with a chemistry minor. His favorite food? Anything Italian.
Ward was awarded an athletic scholarship, and he idolized how the team was with him every minute while on his recruiting trip.
Before Newberry he played for Josh Eskew at Dorman High School. He was named 2-AAAA region player of the year. During his career he was also awarded the Herald Journal Player of the Year, and was named to the all-state team.
Growing up Ward was taught to be courteous and respectful.
“My dad and mom always taught me to treat others with respect and that you should treat others how you want to be treated. I always use my manners and call adults with Mr. and Mrs.,” he said.
While training he works hard in everything he does and understands that relaxing is the best cure for not stressing over situations.
“My greatest athletic achievement has to be from high school throughout my whole senior season. I helped guide my team as a captain to a region title and the upper state championship game,” said Ward.
In his free time he enjoys swimming.
“I am good at swimming and I pick up activities really quickly. I also like to constantly be moving if not I tend to fall asleep,” he said.
His favorite TV show is How I Met Your Mother, while his favorite movie is The Lion King. Former goalkeeper Edwin Van der sar is his favorite athlete. As a child he wanted to pursue a career as an engineer. He lives by the quote “Speak softly and carry a big stick” by Theodore Roosevelt.