By Halle Nottage
Halle Watson and Sterling Alexander Penniston-John are both student-athletes at Peninsula College. Both sophomores, Watson plays for the women’s soccer program, and Penniston-John for the men’s soccer program. While very different, the two players have many things in common. They’re both from Las Vegas, Nevada, they both excel in the classroom, they both captained the soccer teams this year, and they’re both headed to NCAA Division One Colleges next fall to continue their soccer careers.
Watson will be heading to the University of San Francisco which participates in the West Coast Conference. Starting soccer at the age of 7, Watson, was recruited from a tournament in Vegas during February of her senior year at Spring Valley High School by Coach Kanyon Anderson. This year at Peninsula Watson contributed, led as a captain, and played a large role in the winning of the PC Women’s Soccer Team’s fourth NWAC championship, as well as made the second team for All-American Division 1 Junior Colleges, a very notable achievement. In addition to this, last December she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which could have been a large setback, but instead she faced it head on, “it was hard to try and figure out what I had to do before soccer games so my blood was normal, and at home the sorts of things I needed to cook. I had to figure things out on my own, which was a big obstacle”.
On Watson’s recruitment to USF, Anderson says, “she’s physically gifted, but also willing to work. She’s humble, and she doesn’t let setbacks hold her back, and stays positive,” he also added, “she’s done an awesome job in the classroom, which has helped her qualify for academic money to help make a super expensive school such as USF a lot more affordable”. On her future at USF, Watson says, “I’m looking forward to play at the type of level. We get to play USC and Stanford and some of the top schools in the nation, and I think it will be a really good challenge to try and play at the level, and I’m really excited to see that and work hard,”. She will begin playing at USF in the fall of this year.
Penniston-John will be heading to Utah Valley University which participates in the Western Athletic Conference. He has been involved in soccer on and off for approximately 11 years, and was recruited to PC during March of his senior year at Clark High School in 2017. Jake Hughes, the head coach of the men’s soccer approached him after a tournament game, and a few weeks later made him an offer. On Penniston-John’s recruitment, Hughes says, “he had lots of interest from other schools, he’s obviously an outstanding student having had a high academic background coming out of high school which helped give him a broad net to really throw out and reach to schools,” Hughes said, “not only that, but his determination and willingness to work hard on and off the field has really put him head and shoulders above other athletes, as well as his personality which is quite enjoyable as he knows when to get serious and when to have fun,”.
On his time here at PC and what helped bring him to the position he’s in, Penniston-John said, “the facilities and coaching staff, as well as the people I’ve surrounded myself with. The coaches have really helped to shape and mold the player I’ve become today, and worked with me day in and day out and just helped me improve as a player,”. He will begin playing at UVU starting in the fall of this year.
In addition to everything else these two players share in common, they also share ethnicity. Sterling is Trinidadian, and Halle is half-black, and both identify as African American. The month of February is Black History Month, a time to celebrate and acknowledge people of color and put a spotlight on their accomplishments. Both Watson and Penniston-John have seen their fair share of discrimination based off of their ethnicity, yet have not let that stand in the way of achieving their dreams. Halle, as women of color playing soccer, referred to it always being seen as a ‘rich girl sport’.
“When I started playing I was the only brown kid on the team, it was all white people,” she went on to add, “I feel like there are some standards that are out there, to come to this point I think is really cool, and in society breaking the stereotype that if you’re of color you’re just going to end up not graduating high school and not being successful, and actually coming out and showing that color doesn’t matter on how successful you are, we’re all just human beings, I could’ve been Asian and still come this far,”. Penniston-John adds, “growing up colored is just not as easy as those who aren’t, whether it is intentional or not you face a lot of discrimination,” he said, “there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but it is a different route and you face a lot more obstacles than those who aren’t colored,”
Both athletes are highly indebted to their parents, coaches, and teammates, and are excited to go on to the next level to pursue their dreams both academically and athletically, as well as make their support systems as well as their new teams proud.