Tackling hobbies and being buried in books is a good look for second-quarter student Sterling Hancock. When he isn’t studying, he can be found on a futsal court. He recently was part of Team USA at the International Futsal Alliance World Cup in China where the team took home the bronze medal, winning third place.
For those who are unfamiliar with futsal, it’s indoor soccer on a smaller scale, with smaller goals, and a smaller/heavier ball resulting in a very “fast-paced and higher-scoring game than traditional soccer.”
During Sterling’s visit to China, he experienced another culture, but there’s one thing that stood out to him the most. “The most beautiful thing for me was that the language of soccer (and futsal) is universal. There were teams from all over the world and we couldn’t speak the same language, but on the court, playing the beautiful game, we could understand each other. We couldn’t communicate with all the Chinese kids, but we could pass the ball and play with them and feel a connection. The sport truly brings people of all cultures together.”
When Sterling returned back to San Jose, he had a lot of catching up to do with his Palmer studies. “I had to take four tests in one day when I got back from China which put me under pressure going into finals.”
Growing up as an athlete, Sterling had musculoskeletal injuries and as a teen, he had a back injury. During his recovery phase, he says “I did the mainstream route where I went to a doctor, who referred me to a physical therapist and I did that for a number of months. After not really responding favorably, I was referred to a chiropractor who was able to help me and sparked my interest in the field. My obsession with optimizing performance as an athlete and understanding injuries and how to fix them as a chiropractor go hand in hand. This led me to Palmer West, which I felt had a strong background with sports injuries and also being more up to date with research and evidence-based practice.”
Now, almost finishing up his second quarter, Sterling has some advice for new students. “Make friends and study in groups – don’t be scared to ask your peers to help you with something you don’t understand. Study every day and stay on top of it – there is simply too much material to cram.”
