Moving from Houston, Texas to the Bay Area was a huge shift for Rishabh Nijhawan (12). Behind his Houston house, his brother would often hold him on his shoulders so that he could watch the football games that occurred at the high school. Watching football made him love the game even more, and he wanted to play as soon as he wanted to get too high school.

“One [reason] is pride; there’s a reason why I play football,” Rishabh said. “There are many reasons why I play football. I just feel no matter what I do, I carry myself with pride. On the field, when I get hit really hard, I always get back up because I have this sort of pride when I get knocked down, I have to get back up.”

Rishabh sees football as a metaphor for life: no matter what comes at you in life, you always have to get back up and keep on going. He spends lots of time in the workout room in order to constantly be improving.

“I might be smaller, I might be short, and less athletic than most guys I’m playing against,” he said. “Football is just a reminder that when life hits you, you get back up, and you fight it.”

In conjunction with his passion for football, Rishabh is also heavily invested in his schoolwork. He feels that as a young teenager, he cannot impact the world on a global scale, but excelling in school indirectly helps him become someone that can potentially change the world.

“School is just a stepping stone to being a better person, and I feel that a better school experience [and] a better performance in academics can lead to more success in life. This success can really allow you to make a difference in the world at a much higher level,” he said. “As a high school student, you don’t have much influence mainly because you don’t have much experience or much education under your belt, but if you do well in school, you have much more power and authority to make that impact.”

Rishabh’s teammates and friends view him as a brother and as a comrade. Norman Garcia (12), Rishabh’s close friend and teammate, recalls what he is like on versus off the field.

“Off the field, Rishabh is a very well-mannered, respectful friend. That’s why people are always with him. He is a very sociable, outgoing person,” Norman said. “On the field, Rishabh is a hard worker. He motivates us with his hard work. He takes the time to help out the younger players when they are lost and need assistance. He’s always prepared and knows what he’s doing.”

Rishabh’s experiences in football have translated over to his daily life.

“I feel like pride is an aspect that drives me in football. Football is just a reminder that when life hits you you get back up and you fight it,” he said. “I’m pretty resilient as a football player and that ties back to pride because no matter what hits me, I’m going to get back up.”