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INFLUENCE
study and play a sport at a good level,” he said.
“Here, everything is organized for you to be able
to study in the morning and in the afternoon
practice with your team.”
Alessio got connected with Northwestern
through a recruiting agency. He said Swier impressed
him, especially because of his honesty
about the program and area.
“I say, ‘OK, you’re not coming to Miami,”
Swier said. “You’re not coming to New York,
you’re not coming to L.A. You’re coming to a
tiny community in the middle of the country
that’s going to be cold in the winter. It’s an hour
and a half from the nearest airport. How do you
feel about that?’ And nine out of 10 guys say,
‘I don’t care. Really, I just want to come, and I
want to study, and I want to play soccer.’”
That was almost Alessio’s exact response,
and not long after he was on a plane and heading
toward Orange City. When he arrived, he
joined a team that was almost as diverse as the
game of soccer itself; made up of not one, or
two, but players from nine countries, with students
from Spain, the Netherlands, Germany,
Ireland, Great Britain, Colombia, Chile and, of
course, the United States, as well as him being
from Italy. Alessio called this diversity a “treasure,”
something valuable that makes the team
stronger on and off the field.
“Many players from different countries have
different ideas of soccer and the way of playing,”
Alessio said. “It’s not that one wants to say he’s
right and the other ones are wrong; we just add
our point of view, our ideas to this bucket, that
it becomes more and more full of knowledge
and insight and perspectives.”
Different countries and cultures bring a
unique flair to the game of soccer, from America’s
fast-paced, straightforward play to Brazil’s
emphasis on flair and complexity. Swier said
learning to combine those styles into one can be
challenging, but with healthy communication
between the coaching staff and players they can
create a cohesive way of play without quelling
how a player expresses himself on the field.
Yet the team is not all international. Swier
is intentional about staying as close to a 40-
60 ratio of international students to American
students as possible.
“We’ve always said that students from other
countries have something to offer us here. But
then we also have something to offer to them.
We want them to come here and experience our
culture,” Swier said.
This camaraderie established intercultural
connection and friendships that have impacted
other parts of Northwestern student life.
Martha Draayer, director of intercultural
development at Northwestern, said the soccer
team is just one way the college is seeing an uptick
in their international population. She credits
Northwestern’s mission and vision, positive
alumni testimony, and sports recruitment as
three ways the campus is growing in diversity.
SPRING 2024 | OC MAGAZINE 37