The Lancer Way: Tiana Hill
10/13/2020
The Lancer Way is a platform provided by California Baptist University's Athletic Department that allows student-athletes to share their stories. All of the words are their own.
Written By: Tiana Hill, Women's Soccer, So., Tauranga, New Zealand
Never ever give up. We all have or have had our ULTIMATE dreams, but for some reason, we settle for the stuff that comes in between.
KiaOra, welcome, I’m T, and you matter : )
From a pretty young age, every time goal-setting came around, for me, it was easy. I wanted to be a professional soccer player ‘when I grew up.’ Then we were introduced to ‘SMART’ goals. The ‘R’ in the acronym, for realistic, would always make me think a bit harder, so the goal changed to being in the U17’s National team. It turns out that one was out of my reach at the time, so then the goal became “be a part of the U20’s National team.” Very creative, I know, but this time I agreed to be ALL in.
I wanted to prove that anything is possible despite the stuff that’s out there trying to keep you in place. If I truly wanted it, the hard work would start from that moment. And so it did, I changed how I approached soccer in many ways. Fast forward a gutsy and sacrificial (and it looked a lot harder than these two words on paper) year and a half, and there I was in France, about to sub into a FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup match with the New Zealand fern embroidered on my chest and last name arched over my back.
This moment, even just writing this, fills me with overwhelming pride.
Think what you like, I logged seven minutes of game time. Often the response is “Hey, seven minutes more than most…” and I agree!
Man, trust me. The opportunity to be on the traveling squad, let alone play, was an utterly humbling experience. Representing something so much bigger than who you are - your country, your community, and the sport you love, is an absolute honour, to say the least. With that being said, from the memories I have of looking down at my shirt to see the New Zealand emblem on it, I have been brought to know exactly what I am chasing after in my soccer journey. And so the show goes on!
By now, you should know what hard work looks like. Day in and out, both you and I try to avoid it; it’s the stuff that’s either straight up gritty, or easy to do but easier not to. In the face of it, the line that runs through my head is this: work hard now, so tomorrow will be a little easier.
One perspective to this is seeing the chance to work hard as a never-ending pattern, which leads to the question: why start? The other perspective is that you become better trained, more experienced, and closer to what you are working toward each day you are choosing to work hard. The choice of perspective is yours.
I chose the second perspective, and I can proudly say that through it, I have won leadership skills, experience, loyalty, friends, and friends who are family. Hard work (or Mahi for my fellow Kiwi’s) did too open up the opportunity to earn awards, captaincy, a spot on the NZ U20 National Team, be recruited for CBU, and achieve more awards. But recently, a quote which has had me curious is that “many times what got you to this level may not get you to the next level” (Joshua Medcalf said this in Burn Your Goals – highly recommend the read).
COVID-19 aside, I am currently coming out of a year of some significant lows (like many of us, I am sure). Finding God in this season didn’t necessarily make things easier, but it has allowed me to greater understand that “there is a season for everything and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
All matters, whether ‘good’ or ‘bad’ will happen in due time, and such times are defined by how we choose to respond. CBU has granted me the opportunity to navigate what the ‘next level’ is all about. I am out here learning and growing from my moments both on and off the field. Believing in grit has got me this far, but I have come to know that believing in something greater will carry me through to what is next.
?? The 2020 Squad ??
— CBU Women's Soccer (@CBUwsoccer) May 21, 2020
Sophomore midfielder Tiana Hill from Tauranga, New Zealand, is next up on our #tbt series!#LanceUp?? pic.twitter.com/Me755vKV0G
Pursuing soccer has equipped me with the ability to serve God, myself, the Earth, and the life of others, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Right now, my dream is to be a part of the New Zealand Football (Soccer) Ferns, live out a purpose-driven life, and create a legacy.
I am ready, willing, and available. This is where goodness happens.
