NEUNKIRCH, Switzerland-For four years,
Romina Bell '16 patrolled the Yellow Jackets' back line as one of the best defenders in the Northeast-10 Conference. Now, she has taken her talents to Switzerland and FC Neunkirch.
FC Neunkirch plays in the Nationalliga A, the top women's league in Switzerland. There are ten teams and each team plays the nine others twice, once at home and once on the road; so far, Bell's squad is 3-0-0 on the young campaign.
For the former Yellow Jackets captain and four-time NE-10 All-Conference selection, the biggest on-field adjustment was the speed of the game. "Everything is faster and everybody is almost at the same level," she said of the pace of play.
More than that, however, was adapting to the life of a professional athlete. "It might seem easy to practice twice a day and relax in between, but it is a tough businessthe daily pressure of performing at a high level is often challenging mentally and physically" she said, adding that "professional athletes have to forgo so many things other people do." However, these sacrifices are worth it for her and her fellow players: "They only live for soccer, and I am happy I can consider myself one of them," she noted.
Bell's time at AIC was crucial in preparing her for this step of her playing career, and she spoke of her alma mater and the players, coaches, and staff here in glowing terms, saying that "I truly miss AIC...I miss the people and the environment a lot."
"AIC helped me to become more independent and to learn to live by myself. Also, I learned to stay confident on the field and to never give up," she said. "The fighting spirit and hard-working attitude that grew even more at AIC definitely prepared me for my professional career," she added.
In particular, the off-field training she took up in Springfield is now helping her in Switzerland. "The biggest improvement I made at AIC was definitely in the field of fitness. Weight lifting has become my daily routine and has enabled me to get to know how my body functions in order to become a better athlete," she said.
Head Coach Kevon Isa is pleased at Bell's success, but not surprised, saying "I am so proud of Romina making it to play professionally in Switzerland. This is a true testament to how hard Romi works and how dedicated she is to our sport."
"We couldn't be more excited that one of our former Yellow Jackets is representing us on such a worldwide stage," he concluded.
Bell's professional season continues Sunday, August 28 at 7:30 a.m. in a match at FC Wittenback.
