{"id":50780,"date":"2017-02-01T18:55:53","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T00:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=50780"},"modified":"2017-02-01T19:07:27","modified_gmt":"2017-02-02T01:07:27","slug":"top-mather-high-school-wrestler-conflicted-with-pull-of-soccer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/top-mather-high-school-wrestler-conflicted-with-pull-of-soccer\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Mather High School wrestler conflicted with pull of soccer"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Jaaziah Bethea<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two days a week, Mather senior Butoyi Anaclet misses wrestling practices for the sport he truly loves: soccer.<\/p>\n

It is a tough choice for Anaclet considering he is one of the state\u2019s top wrestlers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love soccer so much that I will basically choose it over wrestling any day,\u201d Anaclet said. \u201cThe decision that I make will affect the coaches, my teammates and everyone else who has seen me wrestle. It\u2019s sad to leave it all behind and I know I would be a big disappointment to everybody. So, after I thought about it like that, I decided to stay and finish out the season.\u201d
\n
\nAnaclet, who is ranked top 10 per Illinoismatmen.com in Class AA, for the 106-pound weight class, has been playing soccer since a young age and said he will ultimately choose soccer over wrestling.\u00a0 He misses wrestling practice on Monday and Wednesday evenings so that he can attend indoor soccer practice during the winter months.\u00a0 His role as a\u00a0starting center midfielder for\u00a0the U18 Chicago Fire Junior City indoor club soccer team gives him hope that his soccer future is bright.<\/p>\n

Mather wrestling coach, Ryan Kuchnia has been understanding of Anaclet missing practice, although\u00a0it wasn\u2019t that way initially. But Kuchnia doesn\u2019t question Anaclet\u2019s athletic ability.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s certainly dedicated to athletics, but it\u2019s tough playing it fifty-fifty with soccer throughout the entire season and having him give up two practices out of the five a week,\u201d Kuchnia said. \u201cI feel like it has really hurt his growth this year and hurt him tournament-wise because he\u2019s not putting together enough wrestling practices to be competitive at a high level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite all the conflict involved around him participating in two sports, Anaclet finds himself sticking with wrestling at least for the end of the season, \u201cI have built a relationship with my teammates and I {couldn\u2019t let them down},\u201d Anaclet said.<\/p>\n

Anaclet developed his passion for soccer as a child in Tanzania, following in the footsteps of his father, Augustin Ndikumagenge.<\/p>\n

His father has taken a hands-off\u00a0approach on influencing\u00a0Anaclet\u2019s decision on whether he decides to stick with soccer or continue sacrificing time to hone his skill and participate in wrestling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI told him you need to choose; we are your parents we can\u2019t choose for you,\u201d Ndikumagenge said. \u201cIt depends on him. He needs to choose which one will be the best for him in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite his being a part time wrestler, Kuchnia remains optimistic about Anaclet\u2019s post season.<\/p>\n

\u201cBased on how serious he\u2019s been lately, he\u2019ll win regionals and win enough matches at sectionals to get himself down to the show (state tournament) at Champaign,\u201d Kuchnia said.<\/p>\n

Anaclet\u00a0looks to improve on his performance from last year, and his goal is to make the state tournament. Last season he made the sectionals, after placing top three in the regional tournament. He will need to place top four in the sectional tournament to qualify for the state tournament.<\/p>\n

However, Anaclet\u2019s ultimate goal is to become a professional soccer player. Before pursuing professional goals Anaclet plans to play college soccer.\u00a0 He currently has been accepted to Michigan State and DePaul and is waiting to hear how much financial aid he will receive, before\u00a0making his final decision.<\/p>\n

If soccer doesn\u2019t work out as Anaclet hopes, he does have other potential plans to fall back on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to school to study Kinesiology,\u201d Anaclet said. \u00a0“So, that can lead to a career in physical therapy or something related to sports.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Anaclet lifting 45-pound weight during wrestling practice. (Jaaziah Bethea\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jaaziah Bethea Two days a week, Mather senior Butoyi Anaclet misses wrestling practices for the sport he truly loves: soccer. It is a tough choice for Anaclet considering he is one of the state\u2019s top wrestlers. \u201cI love soccer so much that I will basically choose it over wrestling any day,\u201d Anaclet said. \u201cThe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":394,"featured_media":50808,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,3516],"tags":[1870,3672,1497,1151],"class_list":["post-50780","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","category-winter-2017","tag-chicago-fire","tag-mather","tag-soccer","tag-wrestling"],"yoast_head":"\nTop Mather High School wrestler conflicted with pull of soccer - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/top-mather-high-school-wrestler-conflicted-with-pull-of-soccer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top Mather High School wrestler conflicted with pull of soccer - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Jaaziah Bethea Two days a week, Mather senior Butoyi Anaclet misses wrestling practices for the sport he truly loves: soccer. 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