SPORTS SPOTLIGHT: Nate Chhim, Bishop Connolly, is graduating a year early

Updated with video and all the questions and answers

Name: Nate Chhim

School: Bishop Connolly

Year: Senior

Sports: Soccer, tennis

Nate Chhim’s career at Bishop Connolly High School has been far from ordinary. He entered Cougar land as an eighth grader and, as part of the school’s LEAP Program, crammed five grades of academics into four years. He will graduate this weekend. A very big part of Bishop Connolly’s boys’ soccer renaissance, Chhim is the program’s career and single-season record holder for goals scored. He is taking his brains and athleticism to UMass Dartmouth where he was recruited to play soccer. Chhim also plays tennis at Connolly. Thoughtful and well spoken, Chhim recently agreed to play our Q&A game. Read his answers in print and online and don’t miss our Nate Chhim Q&A video with the online version of Sports Spotlight. (We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Nate is the nephew of Connolly’s popular social sciences teacher and former Durfee basketball player, Michael Vieira.

HN: What is your favorite sport?

NC: My favorite sport is soccer. I have been playing since I was little and only got into the sport because I was shy. My parents signed me up to try and get me to be more social. At some point I just fell in love with the sport.

HN: What is your favorite dinner food?

NC: My favorite dinner food is Buffalo wings. Wherever I go I always order Buffalo wings.

HN: What is your favorite social medium and why?

NC: My favorite social medium is Instagram (natechhim11). I like seeing where everyone is going and different types of pictures that people take. It also helps me keep up on any sports games and highlight plays I might have missed.

HN: What is your favorite movie?

NC: My favorite movie is Rush Hour. I could watch that movie all day, whether it’s the first, second, or third movie. Every time it has me crying laughing.

HN: How often do people question the spelling of your last name, or just plain spell it wrong?

NC: People NEVER spell it correct. I’ll say my last name and they’ll repeat a few times then eventually look at me blank in the face. When they do attempt to spell it, it is something so far off of how it is even said! Put it this away, my parents have been married for 20 years, my aunt still can’t spell it correctly!

HN: In Bishop Connolly’s LEAP program, you went through grades 8-12 in four years. What inspired you to do it?

NC: I just really wanted to challenge myself. My uncle actually helped with the opportunity to attend the LEAP program at Connolly. He told my parents and I about the opportunity and thought I was ready for it. I wanted to challenge myself and show everyone else I could do it.

HN: How difficult was it?

NC: At first I struggled. I was up until 1 doing homework, it was hard trying to balance school with sports and trying to fit in as the 8th grader in High School. I struggled but found my balance and began to get better with managing my time. As time passed everything got easier for me.

HN: Any regret not having that senior year with your peers?

NC: No, I was still able to participate in everything with the seniors. This is my class and has been since I came in as an eighth grader. They all took me in and didn’t treat me any different. If I were to do a fifth year and graduate without them it would almost feel wrong.

HN: Whom do you most admire, living or dead?

NC: Pretty sure if I answer this I will be in trouble. I admire my family. They have all overcome obstacles and come out stronger from the challenges that have been thrown at them. I look up to each and every one of them because they have all taught me many different lessons and have impacted my life.

HN: What is your favorite cereal?

NC: My favorite cereal is Cookie Crisp. It combines my favorite snack, dunking Chocolate Chip cookies in milk. To make the cookies smaller with even more milk is just ingenious.

HN: What would you do with a million dollars?

NC: If I had a million dollars I would give some to my parents. The rest would most likely be spent on my brother and I gallivanting or on soccer cleats. Or maybe even food, that’s where most of money seems to end up going.

HN: Where would you most like to travel?

NC: I would like to travel to Brazil. Brazil is beautiful and to see how they go about life is amazing. I would love to play soccer on the streets and see where soccer star, Neymar JR, grew up playing.

HN: What is your favorite high school athletics memory?

NC: There’s too many to choose from. There’s two that I will never forget the feeling of. The first is being the first soccer team in school history to make it to the sectional finals. Even though he outcome isn’t what we wanted we still made history that night. We did it as a team and we all came together. That’s a memory I want to relive. The second is breaking the school record for most goals in a single season. Off a free kick my teammate had the open shot but knew I was one away from breaking the record, so he passed the ball over for me to finish. I always watch that video and every time it gets my adrenaline going.

HN: What have you most enjoyed about your years at Bishop Connolly High School?

NC: The new experiences would be my favorite. I went from this shy kid who tried nothing to trying everything. I picked up tennis in high school and was a captain this year. I also enjoyed making countless memories with all my friends who have been by my side since the start.

HN: Are you nervous about starting college, and playing soccer in college, at a young age?

NC: There’s a part of me that nervous but another side of me that reminds myself of how far I’ve come so why stop now. The competition will be bigger and better but I’m used to that. Recently I have signed with semi-pro team Lincoln CF. The competition there is amazing and has helped me to improve in just the few months I have signed with the team.

HN: What is your favorite song?

NC: Grateful by Neffex. I listen to this song before every game or practice. It talks about challenges you have to overcome and doing it on your own. It pumps me up and the lyrics stick in my head while I play, giving me that extra push or motivation.

HN: What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

NC: I don’t find myself with much spare time with playing for Lincoln, work, and tennis. But in my spare time I’m either training for soccer or golfing. If I’m not doing either of these you’ll find me hanging out with my brother. He’s 12 years old and my best friend. On the weekends I like to spend time with my girlfriend of almost two years.

HN: What is your favorite video game?

NC: Fortnite. Pretty sure you will get this answer from anyone now a days but this game is just addicting.

HN: What do you think will be your maximum weight in your lifetime?

NC: 170.

HN: What is your favorite subject?

NC: Math. I struggled with math and just kept working harder and harder when I wanted to give up and eventually I became good at it. I was determined to get an A and have achieved it.

HN: What is your favorite book?

NC: Harry Potter. In fifth grade I had a teacher who was obsessed with Harry Potter and it just seemed to rub off on me. I’ve read all the books and seen all the movies.

Email Greg Sullivan at gsullivan@heraldnews.com. Follow him @GregSullivanHN.