The Children Behind the Athletes

Growing up, many children experienced the feeling of sitting down in front of the television with shining eyes, staring into the depths of the screen to watch the sport they loved. Every kid remembers watching their favorite competitors play in front of them or thousands of miles away, equally as joyous or heartbroken as the players themselves, through championships and losses. Many of us as children may have even had dreams of becoming professionals just like our idols, chasing titles, championships, and, over anything else, the absolute love for the game. As we got older, some of us realized that perhaps that dream was not meant for us, that although we love this sport, we may not want to take it to the next level. Many people are talented, but not everybody has dedication - an obsession with the sport that brings people farther than pure athleticism ever could. Most move on to other talents or hobbies, or participate recreationally in their sport, which is no problem, but is equally incomparable to the enamored child that was originally so consumed by it. Those that stayed, the athletes whose grip only tightened on their trophies and imagined their futures as clearly as if it were predestined, continued to succeed, with many ending up here at Cornell. They never forgot that little kid inside them. They used that childhood dream to lead to years of hard work, never forgetting the person inside, and for many, their success led them to Cornell in a way that was almost preordained. Athletics at Division I institutions and at the professional level rely heavily on international players. Oftentimes, these international individuals bring out the best in these teams, and with Cornell’s reputation as such an academically exemplary school, it is interesting to hear the stories of the people behind the athletics here, especially those with international ties. Many have traveled far distances to do what they love and get an excellent education, while others want to represent their family and heritage. 

The typical Cornell student tends to forget that athletes are not machines, but people too. Beyond that, every friend of ours, every family member, every athlete, was once a child with an open heart, an imaginative mind, and the belief that anything was possible. As a kid, these sentiments can take someone a long way, not only across the country, but potentially across the world, in pursuit of only the best. Who is the person behind the athlete, and what are they like? What is the child with that innate drive like? We are all human and were all once children. Who are the children these people once were, now driving them forward into the future? I sought to understand not only what athletes were like outside of training, but what brought them here, at this moment in time. 

One person’s story who fascinated me was that of Kayla Ristianto, a junior on the Women’s Soccer team who is also studying information science. She was born and raised in the United States with Indonesian parents, and played for the Indonesian National team in 2024. It was her father who first got her into soccer, urging her sister and her to get into sports to be active and have fun. Growing up, she also did gymnastics and dance before committing to soccer full-time, and ran track during the school year. She grew up playing recreational soccer before joining club teams. Ristianto played for FC Dallas, an Elite Club National League (ECNL) team, before getting recruited to play for Cornell. She looked for the fun, collaborative atmosphere she so deeply enjoyed within the sport. 

Kayla’s deep bond with her family, especially her father, is evident as soon as she discusses her childhood. Her father, her first coach and the one who introduced her to her Premier League team Manchester City, is also her soccer idol. Ristianto says of him, “He's always been my biggest supporter. And then he also … just works so hard, and he was always out on the field with me, practicing with me.” Part of her love and admiration for her family is what drove Ristianto to pursue Division I soccer and the Indonesian National team. Even before getting recruited, Ristianto knew she wanted to play DI soccer while still pursuing exceptional higher education. Beyond that, though, she wanted to make her parents proud. When asked about her purpose in playing DI, Ristianto mused, 

“My parents, because they both immigrated here from Indonesia when they were … 25. So they weren't born here, but I was, and so I know how many sacrifices they've given up for me and my siblings to have a better life, [a] better education. Just being able to complete this goal for them meant a lot for me.” It was this mindset and love for her sport that allowed her to be called up to the Indonesian National team, knowing how much it would mean to her and her family. 

To Ristianto, “I always knew that the National team was something that I wanted to achieve, just because it meant so much to my parents and my family back home, and it is a big deal … Even though I wasn't born there, I felt like my heart was always in Indonesia. I'm obviously very proud to be Indonesian … this is a goal that I wanted to achieve.” 

Kayla had been called up on a trip while visiting family in Jakarta, but was actually in Singapore at the time. She flew back to Indonesia to train, then was selected to go to Hong Kong for a pair of international friendlies. It was a quick turnaround, but well worth it for the opportunity to represent a soccer-obsessed nation, filling up international stadiums to watch the games. The support from fans was unmatched, and something Ristianto had never felt before- a truly unforgettable experience. 

Joining the Indonesian National Team and playing for Cornell in Division I soccer are both dreams come true for Kayla, and dreams she has accomplished after so many years of dedication. Beyond these accomplishments and hard work stands an individual who was once a girl who loved soccer, playing for the Penguins (her first soccer team), and found a family beyond her own at Cornell. The tight-knit community and people that make up the team are what convinced her to come here; the people behind the sport she loves so dearly. Kayla Ristianto has been able to make her family proud and celebrate her heritage, all while realizing her childhood ambitions. 

A young Kayla Ristianto, courtesy of Kayla Ristianto

Every athlete has a different story of how far they've come, unique to themselves and separate from even other athletes that go to the same university as them. For Eric Verdes, the plan was to always go pro. For the Romanian Junior Men’s tennis player, college tennis was not in question until he met his now-coach, a fellow Romanian working at Cornell. 

Verdes first started playing tennis at three, but by six was no longer interested. It wasn’t until he watched the U.S. Open at ten that he truly fell in love with the sport. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga played Andy Murray in the fourth round, with Murray coming out on top in three straight sets after tough battles in each. Verdes became compelled by “achieving perfection in tennis” and was “drawn to tennis because it was an individual sport and I didn’t really want to… depend on others to achieve success”. After going to the Open, Verdes became obsessed with tennis, asking his parents to allow him to play tournaments nationally. At eleven, he began training with the former coach of Marius Copil, the Romanian tennis professional, and started more intensive training between his and his coach’s cities. By the time Eric was sixteen, he was playing European and International Tennis Federation (ITF) Juniors tournaments, a regular on the circuit.

When he was younger, Verdes’ favorite player was Novak Djokovic, but as he got older, he felt himself more drawn to Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev. Djokovic was initially his favorite because of the greatness he achieved in the sport, and Federer for his flawlessness, but Verdes’ game most closely resembled that of Zverev’s. Eric wanted to follow someone he could emulate, but even now, the idea of a particular favorite evades him. Certain aspects of players’ games are appealing, but to Verdes, each is their own player with their own capabilities and flaws. 

As time trudged on and Verdes came closer and closer to reaching recruitment age, schools began to reach out to him. However, playing Division I was not really his dream, as growing up in his community, he was always encouraged to go pro. Schools would reach out, but Verdes never took them seriously until 2022, after moving to Bucharest. He asked for advice from a mentor, a coach he was particularly close with, about his path beyond high school tennis. The idea of going pro versus going to college, the idea that maybe he should change his thinking. Verdes’ coach told him that when he was younger, he was recruited to Stanford and turned down the offer to go pro. The coach had regretted turning down the offer so fast, and if given the opportunity again, would have thought twice about his decision. 

Hearing this advice and after talking to the Cornell coach, the only coach Verdes was seriously considering, thanks to his background and philosophy, he ultimately decided to commit to Cornell. In this instance, it wasn’t a childhood dream or predetermined path that Verdes would follow to Cornell, but years of dedication to a sport he loves, along with advice from a longtime coach, and the philosophy of his now-coach, Silviu Tanasoiu. In describing what convinced him, Verdes stated, “My coach from back home, and the second big thing was the head coach Silviu. He was also Romanian, and he was really interested in recruiting me … I liked him as a coach, and I thought he was … even today I think he's one of the most passionate people I know about tennis, and he just wants people on the team to succeed … he's trying to help all of us become better.” 

Thanks to Tanasoiu and his coach from home, Eric’s idea of what he wanted evolved not only from going pro but garnering new experiences in college as well: being part of a team. His dreams not only expanded, but his perceptions of his own sport did as well. Before Cornell, Verdes emphasized the importance of tennis being an individual sport and having no one else to rely on. Now, he reflects that he still loves to depend solely on himself, but that being a part of a college team has its benefits. Verdes saw Cornell as an opportunity he could not pass up, while not giving up on his childhood goals. 

He has been able to continue fulfilling the dreams of his ten-year-old self watching a U.S. Open match one hot August day, exemplifying how, through an openness of mind, Eric was able to carve a path for himself that did not compromise his own dreams.

A younger Eric Verdes, courtesy of Eric Verdes

Iasonas Exarchou’s journey to Cornell has shades of similarity to that of Kayla and Eric’s, both in his love of independence within the sport, as well as the family that introduced and allowed him to fall in love with it. Exarchou’s father introduced him to his love of rowing, and he has been obsessed ever since. Growing up in Greece, the sophomore has been rowing for almost a decade, competing on the Greek National Team and now for Cornell Men’s Heavyweight Rowing. Iasonas fell in love with rowing not the first, but the second time he sat in the boat, when he tried the single scull and promptly fell in the water. The single scull is especially what Exarchou loves, with the knowledge that it is solely an individual pushing themselves beyond their limits, only the individual and their ego. To him, “scull is what makes a good rower; if you know how to move your own body first, then you can move on to other boats.”

            For as long as he has been rowing, Iasonas has looked up to New Zealand and its rowers for inspiration. He was particularly enraptured by Robbie Manson, a single sculler who holds the world record for single scull at 6 minutes and 30.74 seconds. Although rowing conditions can also help or hurt an individual, this world record has yet to be beaten. To Exarchou, New Zealand rowers “are from another planet, … [it’s] something in their blood”. As a teenager, he wanted to be just like them, excel at the highest levels, and participate not only for himself, but for his country as well.

In Greece, options to be a rower are limited. Either you row for the national team, or go to university and get a job. Most young people in Greece who row quit by twenty, the age at which you “start to get good”, because you can’t go to university and row. Rowing is an addiction, and Iasonas wanted to come to Cornell to be able to do both: continue his deep love of rowing as well as get a degree. After rowing for the national team in 2021, he began to question what he wanted his next steps to be, and decided that university was his best option. Cornell stood out to him not only because of its academic and athletic prowess, but also because of the people who recruited him. He looked for someone polite, trustworthy, and who would build a strong relationship with the athletes, which Exarchou found.

When he met the Cornell coach, Todd Kennett, Kennett smiled, looked him in the eyes, was polite, and wanted big things for the team. “When the coach and the athlete, they both want the same, you're halfway there. After that, you only obey, do your best every day, and.. [go beyond what you think is your best].” When he first spoke to coach Todd Kennett, that was the moment he knew it was Cornell. Kennett told Iasonas the truth, that Cornell wasn’t as good as they wanted to be, but that something great could be built. To Iasonas, that promise has certainly rung true. Cornell has gotten better, but so has the rest of the league, with more international student athletes and Olympians making their way to the Ivy League, increasing competition.

Before Cornell, Exarchou’s journey brought his talents to the Greek National Team. He first tried for the team in 2018 for the 2019 Tokyo Junior World Championships but fell short. Second time’s the charm, however, and Iasonas participated in the Balkan Championship in 2019, coming in third in single scull and first in quadruple. For the Greek athlete, it was amazing to have parents, friends, and even other countries rooting for him. It was also the most winning Balkan Championship ever for Greece. In 2020, due to COVID, Exarchou could only participate in the European Championships, and spent his final year with the national team in 2021.  He sculled in the World and European Junior Championships, with his last race in the Under-23 European Championships. He completed his season in double sculls, medaling in 2nd with the team.

A younger Iasonas Exarchou rowing, courtesy of Iasonas Exarchou

Although these are only three of many international student-athletes here at Cornell and around the country, they provide great insight into the lives of our classmates. Student athletes are not just names or statistics on a sheet, but people with the same dreams as all of us, just little kids who grew up to do the things they loved. They never gave up on what they truly believed in and held tight to what they knew to create a better future. As international athletes, many people’s dreams came true by transcending boundaries and crossing oceans, far away from their families in pursuit of their passions. This kind of love for one’s sport and oneself is in its purest form because it is born out of the naivety of youth. For many of us who may have thought these dreams were too unrealistic or unstable and moved on to more “practical” ideas as we got older, watching international student athletes live their dreams is something that the entire Cornell community can get behind. Deep down, we are all just bright-eyed children going about the world with our dreams in tow.