Nixon to attend MACU, play soccer for Mustangs

HERTFORD — Monday afternoon was a joyous occasion at Perquimans County High School, as senior Jacob Nixon, surrounded by many friends, family, staff and coaches, signed his letter of intent to attend Mid-Atlantic Christian University and play soccer.

Perquimans Athletic Director Justin Roberson opened up the ceremony by thanking Nixon for the way that he has handled himself both on and off the field during his four years at the high school.

“He is a model student and I appreciate you for that. You are mature beyond your years,” Roberson said before opening up the floor for others to speak.

Perquimans County High School Principal Mickey Drew told Nixon, “You are the type of student we want at our school.”

Drew said if someone needs a hand Nixon is always willing and ready to help, that he is respectful of school staff, does well in class, and leads by example.

Nixon’s father, Jonathan Nixon, thanked those in attendance at Monday’s ceremony for their impact on his son throughout his high school career at Perquimans.

“We have enjoyed watching him play soccer since he was 3 years old. While he tried other sports, he always gravitated back to soccer,” his father said.

Jonathan said Jacob has honed his skills throughout the years, both on and off the soccer field.

“From recreation soccer, to middle school soccer, to club soccer, to sand soccer, to indoor soccer, to men’s league soccer and finally high school soccer, we have enjoyed watching him grow as a player and person,” he said.

Jonathan then spoke about how special it was to watch Jacob and his teammates host the first playoff game in soccer program history and then make it to the third round of the 1A playoffs. He said it leaves a challenge for future Pirates and reminds them that hard work does pay off.

Jonathan Nixon closed by talking about how proud his family is of Jacob’s accomplishments off the field as well.

“From parents telling us how much he made their freshman athlete feel like he was part of the team, to prayer time before the game, to hearing his encouragements being yelled at across the field to other players, to reaching out to his teammates after a bad game, he reminds Leann and I how honorable a job it is to be a parent and to watch your children succeed in life,” he said.

Discussing what appealed to him about MACU, Jacob Nixon said for one thing it’s a faith-based university and that he wanted to attend a Christian university. He also talked about player camaraderie at MACU.

“The level of camaraderie that they have on campus is special, even just going there for a couple of training sessions with the team, it was a really cool experience,” Jacob said.

Nixon said the level of competition, combined with the camaraderie of teammates, is what drew him to the game of soccer.

“The level of competition moving up as you get older, the competition gets harder and going throughout different leagues has been really cool,” he said.

Nixon plans to major in business administration when he enrolls at MACU this fall.