Sam Belanger is pretty stoked for his fifth and final season on the Kingsley varsity soccer team.
Yep, you read that right: Sam’s been with the Stags for almost five years!
The rising senior has spent his entire high school career, and then some, with the soccer squad.
“When I was in 8th grade, I was the team manager. I got to travel with them and keep the stats during games and help out, which was really cool,” said Sam. “I felt like I was one of them. They took me in and accepted me.”
As a middle schooler, Sam got to work, learn, and practice alongside the varsity team when he wasn’t competing in his own travel leagues. By the time he got to 9th grade, he played in “every single game, start to finish.”
He says soccer is his passion.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was 5 years old. It’s been a part of me since I was little,” said Sam.
It’s no surprise that he says soccer is his favorite sport, out of the three he plays.
In the winter, he trades his cleats for a snowboard, and rides the hills at Crystal Mountain with the Kingsley High School Ski and Snowboard club. In the spring, he dusts off his clubs and plays for the Kingsley golf team.
First up for the busy senior is the fall soccer season.
“We’re going to have a full team this year which will be nice,” said Sam. “One of my goals this year is to score multiple goals and win multiples games and we didn’t really do that last year.”
Sam Fast Facts:
Sports
Soccer ⚽
Snowboarding 🏂
Golf 🏌️♂️
Favorite athlete: Lionel Messi 🇦🇷
Favorite Olympic sport: Track and Field 👟
Favorite food: Spaghetti🍝
Best school subject: History 🌎
Dream travel destination: Manchester, UK 🇬🇧
Favorite college team: Michigan State Spartans 💚
Favorite high school sports memory:
“When I scored my first goal sophomore year against Kalkaska.”
What he loves about Kingsley Schools:
“I love the fact that it's a very close-knit community. Everybody knows each other in the school which is really nice so you can have a conversation with pretty much anybody."
Photos of Sam through the years, provided by Sam's mother, Kari: