Nick Germscheid doesn’t resemble the stereotypical college athlete but his heart and passion for sports set a new standard through the Bethel community.

Godfrey Mpetey | Sports Reporter

Nick Germscheid stands in the shady area behind the stands of Royal Stadium, home of the Bethel Royals football team. Equipped with his bright green Gatorade bottle, he squirts water onto his hands and splashes the water throughout his body. He closely observes as the football team prepares to battle the University of Dubuque in their season opener. His true desire is to be right alongside the guys, dressed head-to-toe in pads. However, Germscheid isn’t your typical athlete at Bethel University.

Born in small southern part of South Korea called Pusan, Germscheid never knew that life. Both his birth parents were young when Nick was born, and in result they couldn’t afford to take care of him.

“The only thing I know about my birth parents is that they owned a music store and that’s how I became so involved with music (writing music and singing).” Germscheid said about his parents. At six months old, his adopted parents Tom and Joy brought Nick into their family. Growing up, Germscheid’s mother Joy held a CEO position of a company while his father worked as a lawyer.

In eighth grade, a messy divorce between Germscheid’s parents drove Nick into episodes of anxiety and depression. Everything he held valuable slowly drifted away. During this time, Nick lost track of his relationship with God.

“I wondered where God was. Why would He let this happen?” Nick said.

The one thing keeping Germscheid level were sports. Throughout his adolescence, Germscheid participated in wrestling, soccer, football, baseball and basketball. Sports were Germscheid’s distraction from problems at home.

While he was not the perfect model athlete, it was the benefits aside from the game itself that draw him to athletics.

“I really enjoy helping others and having a team have my back” Germscheid said.

When it came time to look at colleges, Germscheid knew where it was that his heart desired to be. “Bethel has a great atmosphere where we are all Christians and all want to pursue our faith,” Germscheid said.

Germscheid’s strong desire to attend Bethel can be credited to former Royals’ basketball forward, Kyle Von Schmidt-Pauli. While attending summer basketball clinics, Von Schmidt-Pauli and Germscheid developed a special relationship that surpassed their love for the game.

“Nick was quick to open up to me about his faith, he asked tough questions as he was constantly looking to grow,” Von Schmidt-Pauli said. “This makes Nick unique, he has a heart for forming relationships, he loves helping others, and is passionate to pursue his faith.”

Germscheid will continue to remain on the sidelines as he watches the Bethel football team take on their opponents this season. Due to health reasons, he is unequipped to play the game he loves at this point in time. While he may not get to play, he wants everyone to know that his heart remains in the game.

“I wanted to play football was to prove people wrong. People have called me too short and too fat, Germscheid said, “I just wanted to prove to them that I can still do stuff and those labels don’t mean anything to me.”