Le Mars Community senior Jovany Kabongo signed his letter of intent on Tuesday to play both football and soccer at Northwestern College in Orange City next year.
Kabongo had opportunities to play sports at a very high level. He visited Iowa, and the Hawkeyes were looking to have him kick for them. Kabongo says that opportunity was cool, but he says his family is important to him hence the decision to stay close.
The schedule for Kabongo next fall will be chaotic considering both football and soccer at the collegiate level play in the fall. Kabongo says that chaos is something he is really looking forward to.
On the soccer side of the decision, Kabongo was very familiar with the program already. He says he has done some workouts with them, and he connected really well with the current players on the team.
Kabongo always knew he wanted to be a soccer player. His family originates from the Democratic Republic of the Congo where soccer is the sport to play. Kabongo says he is looking forward to continuing to play the game he loves.
As far as football goes, that is a relatively new sport for Kabongo. Obviously, the American game of football is not as popular when you leave the domestic boundaries of the country. Kabongo says he never even heard of it until he got here, but he caught on quickly thanks to encouragement from his classmates.
In the end, Kabongo is in a very fortunate spot. The amount of high school athletes that get to play college sports is slim, and the amount that can and do play two in college is even smaller. Kabongo says he is blessed with great people and a great community around him.
Kabongo will finish out his senior athletics season on the soccer pitch coming up in the spring.
