Left: Samiah Raquel Webb. Center: Angelo Webb, senior recreation major. Right: Raquel White, senior biology major. KELLEN JENKINS/THE BULLETIN

Raising a family in the current economic recession can be difficult, but imagine doing it while you are going to school – imagine doing it while playing a college sport. The stresses of academics and the fatigue induced by athletics, combined with the efforts needed to raise a child might seem unbearable to some, but not for current ESU student-athletes Angelo Webb, senior recreation major and football player, and Raquel White, senior biology major and soccer player.

For Webb, there is something far more difficult.

“I cried when I dropped Samiah off for day care the day we had to leave (for South Dakota),” Webb said. “That’s the first time she’s ever had to be without both of us. I always tell Raquel that it’s fine when she leaves because I’m here. I think that was first time I felt the way Raquel feels when she leaves her.”

Webb and White have a soon-to-be two year old daughter, Samiah Raquel Webb. The decision to raise a child, stay in school and compete in university athletics is not one that is made often. It’s a decision that can lead to hardships and struggles, as White understands, on and off the field.

“It wasn’t hard when I found out I was pregnant. I think it helped having Angelo there and him not being upset or freaking out,” White said. “It helped that the both of us were ready to take it in stride. Actually, coach (Schneiderhahn) was the first person I talked to after Angelo, and he was really supportive, which made it a lot easier.”

Some student-athletes might think about quitting, not only their sport, but possibly school altogether.

Not these two.

“If I quit, how could I tell my daughter to give it everything she has? How could I tell her to never give up if I quit?” Webb said. “It’s hard, and I have to make some sacrifices, but as hard as it gets I’m not going to quit – I’m going to keep going.”

After their decision to have Samiah, the two faced even more difficult decisions – one of the scariest was when they had to tell their parents.

“The first thing that went through my head was ‘What’s my mom going to think?’ I didn’t panic and I wasn’t disappointed. I was just worried that my mom would be mad at me. She was surprised, but she wasn’t mad,” Webb said. “I think that took the weight of the world off my shoulders when I realized she wasn’t mad or disappointed.”

White and Webb give credit to the coaching staff and the help from their teammates that have given them the tools they have used to succeed thus far.

“The two coaching staffs of football and soccer have been very supportive,” White said. “They understand that there are times that we just can’t find a babysitter. If we need to, we can bring her to practice and bring her to a game.”

White and Webb also influential players on the field. Webb enjoys the brotherhood of football and his favorite thing is to talk with his teammates when they travel.

Mike LoPorto, Webb’s defensive line coach, speaks very highly of Webb.

“Angelo is surprisingly athletic and very powerful,” LoPorto said. “He’s a player that gives me a hundred percent every time and I know what I’m going to get from him every play. Mentally, he’s smart and he’s consistent.”

White, who has played soccer for 12 years, enjoys the sport for the freeness-aspect. She enjoys the fact that soccer isn’t as structured as basketball or softball, for example. Jim Schneiderhahn, head coach of the soccer team, realized White’s love for freeness, making the decision to move her to center-midfielder last season.

“Raquel is very dynamic as an athlete,” Schneiderhahn said. “She is physical and fast. She has the unbelievable knack of the ball finding her. The ball bounces off of her in the strangest ways and things are created by that.”

Students and fans alike can see White and the Hornet Soccer Team in action at 4 p.m., Sept. 24 against Southwest Baptist. Webb and the Hornet Football Team will face Central Missouri for ESU’s Family Day at 1 p.m., Sept. 12 at Welch Stadium.

Austin Wagoner/The Bulletin

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