After three years on Amador Valley’s varsity football team, Nehemia Fungula (‘26) committed to Northern Arizona University. There, he will continue his football career, playing for a Division I team.
“I feel like if you don’t have discipline, you can’t be successful at anything in life. Whether that’s school, football, basketball, or just anything. If you want to do anything, you want to achieve anything, you got to have discipline,” said Fungula.
Early days on the field
Fungula’s commitment is something he’s been working toward for years. In fact, he’s been playing football for over a decade.
“I’ve been playing football since I was six years old. I actually started playing tackle as a six-year-old,” said Fungula.
Since his early days playing, Fungula has become a defender for Amador’s varsity team. Despite taking on a leadership role in the team, he still finds time to focus on his school work and personal life.
“If you want to be great at something, you have to be great at every aspect of your life. So if you want to be good in football, you have to be great at being a son. You have to be great at your schoolwork, you have to be great at taking care of your body, you have to be great at doing your work,” said Fungula.
Fungula’s future in football
This fall, Fungula committed to play Division I football at Northern Arizona University. Notable alumni include Shawn Collins and Travis Brown, two players who went on to compete in the National Football League.
“Just putting in extra work when nobody’s looking, nobody’s watching. I feel like that really helped me take my games to the next level,” said Fungula.
As Fungula prepares for the transition from high school to college-level playing, he will take the lessons he’s learned. In Arizona, he will apply these lessons to his new team and continue his hard work.
“I feel like we get caught up in our own heads sometimes, especially after we don’t perform the way we want to. We get caught in our head, but just have fun with it and to not overthink it. Take a deep breath sometimes. You put in all the work in the offseason, so by the time you get to the game, you just have fun, you just don’t overthink it,” said Fungula.
