Why Soccer Is Good For Nursing

Brittany Mayer and Katie Stinson are members of Concordia’s championship soccer team while pursuing nursing degrees.

It might seem that those are two very different and difficult paths to take. But maybe not.

“Nursing and soccer are similar dynamically,” says Mayer of Bismarck, N.D. “They both require teamwork, hard work and passion.”

Stinson, from Alexandria, Minn., says both pursuits are a worthwhile challenge.

“We’ve definitely learned to manage our time wisely,” she says. “We do a lot of our homework on a bus and have had to juggle practices with our nursing clinicals.”

Mayer says her professors make the difference.

“The nursing faculty are very flexible and supportive,” she says. “They help us make it work.”

Stinson and Mayer chose Concordia because of its nationally ranked soccer program and the excellent reputation of the nursing department.

Both feel their college careers have given them something special.

“I would recommend other students engage in an extracurricular activity in college,” says Stinson. “You learn so much. It’s a great opportunity if you are willing to work hard and be responsible for your own success.”

Playing sports and nursing are similar, they say, because they teach a person how to handle stress, set and achieve goals, work together as members of a team, and learn to put the team above themselves.

“When you think about it, that’s what nurses do in hospital settings with patients and fellow staff members,” says Stinson. “So it turns out that soccer is pretty good preparation for a nursing career.”

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