Farris Ahmed loves all his teammates.
The senior center defensive midfielder has been a key member of the Northeast High School team.
As a freshman, he was the captain of the Vikings junior varsity team. The past two seasons, he was a starter on the Northeast soccer team that won the championship.
This year, as a senior, he’s shared a special bond with all of the guys who were on the team last year.
He has an even more special relationship with one of the new players on the Vikings.
“I’m excited that my brother (Hosam) transferred to Northeast this year and it means I’m going to get a chance to play with him one last time,” Ahmed said. “I’m happy that he gets a chance to come here and see what we’ve built. And I love playing with him.
“I was excited that he was coming here, because I knew he was a good soccer player, and then I’ve seen him and the coaches have seen him, he’s going to help us a lot. It’s the last year so it’s my last chance to play with him. I’m really excited about it.”
Ahmed’s brother will not only help the senior be a better player, he’s spent his life helping him become a better role model.
This year, after being one of the leaders by example during his first two seasons as a starter, Ahmed comes into the season as a captain, and he’ll be counted on to lead a good group of experienced players who enjoyed plenty of success in recent seasons.
“I’ve always tried to be a good role model for my brother, he’s helped me, so I think that will make me a better captain,” Ahmed said. “I try to be a good role model for everyone. I know that as a captain, leading by example is the best way to lead. We aren’t young, we have a lot of players who have experience, and the young guys we have are mostly up top. I’ve been watching. They are really good. I’m excited to see what they can do.”
If it’s anything like last year, that’s a lot.
A season ago, Northeast once again won the Public League championship. It then went on to defeat La Salle in the District 12 championship game after the Explorers repeated as Catholic League champs.
Northeast then won a game in the state playoffs before falling in the quarterfinals to Parkland. The loss came down to penalty kicks, meaning the Vikings were a hair away from making the final four of the big schools in Pennsylvania.
The victories in November were nice, but Ahmed believes the success when it turned colder was brought to the Vikings when they put in all the hard work during the summer.
“Our team was special because we always had the right mentality,” Ahmed said. “We thought we were going to do something special. That was the key to our successes. We were the underdogs, nobody thought we’d beat a great school like La Salle, so it showed teams in Philadelphia that we could play with anyone.
“It showed the world, La Salle is no joke, they’re the best of the best. It showed how good we developed to be from the beginning to the end. We had a lot of talent, but we worked ourselves into becoming a good team. We put in the effort, we knew what we were capable of and we worked hard to make sure we could be good.”
That is what Ahmed is hoping the Vikings can do again.
Northeast returns a lot of talent from last year, especially on the defensive side of the field. That’s a spot the team excelled at last year, so the goals Northeast has coming into the season remain high.
“Honestly, throughout last year, all our success was from our mentality,” Ahmed said. “I tell the boys this year to always have a good mentality, always believe in yourself, that’s what you need to do to win a game.
“We won some preseason games, tied one and lost one. The boys are looking really good in training. I expect a good season.”
He expects success beyond high school, too. A strong student in the classroom, Ahmed takes honors classes and is in the school’s magnet program. He hopes to study engineering or business management. He also hopes to continue to make his family proud.
“I work hard in school, I like to do well because it will help me in the future, and I like to show my parents that I can do good in school and soccer,” Ahmed said. “They’ve done so much to help me. My parents, they take me to practice, they sacrifice a lot to help my soccer career. My dad was a soccer player back in the day. I appreciate all they’ve done for me. I hope to make them proud.”
