Stoppage Time: Life After Soccer for Nick Harlin

Nick Harlin (white) challenges an opponent (red) for control of the ball during a soccer match.

Listen to the full interview with Nick HarlinBy T.J. Christman

6:16

Growing up, it is very common for children to idolize the idea of becoming a high-level athlete. Children spend most of their formative years learning the fundamentals of their chosen sport, then start training at a high level during adolescence to achieve their goals.

For most, becoming a top athlete is too difficult for any number of reasons, so inevitably, these kids walk away from their sport. But for every 100 children who don’t make it big, one always does. What often isn’t talked about enough are the individuals who do succeed but have to step away for reasons outside of the sport itself. That transition is one most athletes fear, but it’s a reality for some, including our subject, Nick Harlin. Growing up in Smithville, Missouri, as the son of a state track coach, Nick always aimed to compete at a high level. While he developed an appreciation for track, much like his dad, soccer was Nick’s true calling. Throughout his childhood, Nick competed nationwide and advanced through the top levels of recreational play. As high school approached, the reality of playing college soccer began to take shape for him. During his junior year at Smithville High School, he started attracting college interest.

Nick received around seven or eight offers from various DII, DIII, and NAIA programs,

including a couple of DI walk-on opportunities, before deciding to further his soccer career at

Newman University in Wichita, Kansas, in the fall of 2022. He chose Newman for several

reasons, but summed it up simply: “They sold it (the program) pretty well. They told me they

were turning around their culture after previous struggles, and seemed to have a solid plan to do

so.” Eager to contribute to this new culture in his freshman year, Nick spent that summer

training with his dad to get in the best shape of his life, needing every minute of it because he

faced a tough start. Arriving in Wichita, Nick faced a two-week preseason with two practices

daily, every day of the week, beginning at 5:00 AM. “There were people dropping like flies

during preseason, we had guys getting hurt because they were tired,” said Harlin.

Though this intense preseason eased a bit once the regular season started, life at Newman

remained challenging for Nick. The Jets ended the season with a record of 1-14-3, and the

culture the program aimed to build didn’t materialize.

“Everything that could’ve gone wrong did go wrong. Our team was terrible, the practice facilities and conditions were poor, and the program was underfunded.”

But these issues paled compared to the tragedy on their return trip from a game against the Ouachita Baptist University Tigers in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, on October 15, 2022. One of Harlin’s teammates suffered a medical emergency on the bus and was rushed to the nearest hospital. Sadly, that teammate later passed away after his family decided to disconnect life support.

Nick’s first and only season with the Newman Jets was not only turbulent on the field but

heartbreaking off it as well. The emotional roller coaster made him reevaluate his future, leading

to the tough decision to walk away from the game he loved. “I was starting to sour on soccer a

little bit, which had always been my thing, my first love, and one of the main driving forces in

my life. I didn’t want to ruin something I’d loved my whole life over a year's worth of bad

experiences. So I thought it might be a good time to take a break.”

With this in mind, Harlin turned down other offers to continue playing at different universities, ultimately deciding to transfer to Kansas State University for the fall of 2023. For the first time, Nick was attending school as a student, not a student-athlete. This adjustment is tough for many athletes because it can feel like a loss of identity, as Harlin describes. However, the transfer proved to be the best decision he could have made, allowing him to focus on his future beyond soccer and build lifelong friendships. He also reconnected with the sport through the Kansas State Club Soccer Team, playing one season as a left back.

After graduating last spring with a marketing degree, Harlin returned to Kansas State this

fall to pursue an MBA. He’s now working as a Graduate Assistant in the Graduate Office,

helping with social media marketing. “I decided I wanted to pursue my master's degree because I

wasn’t positive on what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. So it just kind of made sense as the next logical step. I had somewhere to live already lined up, and a good group of friends that I

wasn’t ready to leave yet”, he explained.

Although unsure of the specifics of his future, Harlin knows he wants to pursue a career

in the marketing realm and hopes to get the opportunity to work in sports. He even went as far as to say that he’s thought about a career in coaching, an avenue that could potentially reunite him with his first love.