Get to Know a Graduate Assistant: Nicolas Luque, Men’s Soccer
by Jordan McCoy
Nicolas Luque accepted the job as graduate assistant for the Concordia men’s soccer team in 2014 and has held that position ever since.
Luque is a native of Bogota, Colombia. He played soccer at Southern Wesleyan University in South Carolina where he graduated with Cum Laude honors and received a bachelor of science with a minor in coaching. Luque served as the team captain for Southern Wesleyan for three years, playing center back and holding midfielder. Southern Wesleyan was nationally ranked as high as seventh in the NAIA while Luque was on the team.
“I knew other GA positions in which GA’s only did the laundry and set up the training sessions,” Luque said. “That did not appeal to me, as I knew I was not going to learn as much as I wanted to. So when Jason said I would be doing the recruiting, leading sessions, etc., I knew this would be a good position to learn more and get a better preparation for the next step.”
Although the graduate assistant program is typically only a two-year program, Luque decided to stay another year.
Since coach Jason Weides does not have a full-time assistant, Luque fills that role. From laundry to leading sessions to recruiting, he does whatever needs doing to help make Weides’s job easier. Although Luque’s master’s degree will help him in his future positions, he primarily took the graduate assistant job so that he could coach and learn as much as he could from Weides and the team.
Luque’s favorite part about the soccer team is the connection that they have with one another. Called “Nico” by the players, Luque enjoys it when he can joke and get along with them, while still being recognized for the hard work he does for the team.
“Being able to instill a culture of excellence within the team is something that motivated me to stay an extra year, as I know we can be successful because everyone cares,” Luque said.
Once he is done at Concordia, Luque would like to continue coaching. His ideal position would be a head-coaching job in a NAIA or small Division II school, or as an assistant coach for a Division I school.
