Northwood School is home to some of the nation’s top athletes. With Harvard, Georgetown, Syracuse, and Stanford commits, Northwood produces elite athletes. In this week’s edition of Athlete’s Pre-game rituals, I interview Sachiel Ming, arguably Northwood’s top athletic prospect.  

The Syracuse commit is known for his abundance of talent, but even more so for his extreme dedication and hard work. I had a chance to sit down with him and ask some questions about his journey and gameday preparation and rituals.  

This is what gameday looks like for Northwood’s All-American:

“To be honest, I don’t really do too much. If we play in the afternoon or at night, I’ll wake up in the morning and play my favorite artists, Rod Wave being one of them. If I can, I try to get a good bacon, egg, and cheese, and get some protein. Right before the game, I don’t listen to music to hype me up or none of that. I just chill and vibe. So that’s what I do before every game; just chill and vibe.”  

The Bermudian Winger continued, “Firstly, got my short socks, always short socks. Then, on my pads (shinpads), there is writing, personal writing, for my family. I hold my family really close to me, so those pads really help me strive. I never wear my socks to the game; I always put ‘em on at the game. Right before the game, I just vibe, like I said. I’ll be looking at the team, assessing the team. I’ll think about my father and mother. Other than that, I don’t do much.”  

He then advised, “Ignore outside voices. A lot of hate and doubt will come in your direction. If you just do you, you’ll always strive and pursue the things you wanna achieve, That’s what I did. Hunger to get better. Whether that be the classroom or athletics.  D1 is different than pro; you need to be stronger and more locked in. So, the biggest trait a student-athlete can have is hunger to get better.”  

Ming finally added, “Every day, I try to do one extra thing. I’m either in the gym, or on days off I’m training on the pitch. I get in something extra every day. Biggest thing I’ll leave you with: believe in yourself. If you don’t believe in you, no one else will. If you’re the one that’s spearheading and chasing your dreams, you will achieve them. Even if you don’t reach your big goal, make sure you have little goals along the way so you can achieve little things. You’re not gonna get the big one in one go. If you realize maybe you wanna shift your dream that’s ok; go and do whatever makes you happy.”  

This is part of a series of articles about student-athletes’ pre-game rituals. Read them all here.