Nyack Nation keeps the crowd hyped at sporting events and updates the Nyack High School community with athletic information. The four Nyack Nation members (Noah Kronberg - Senior, Erin Bean - Senior, Amber McDonald - Junior, and Robert Royston - Senior) are superior athletes at Nyack themselves, so I interviewed them about their experiences as athletes and Nyack Nation representatives.
What made you want to be a part of Nyack Nation?
“What made me want to be a part of Nyack Nation was to bring the community together through sports and it also helped me build great relationships with other people.” - Kronberg
“I’ve managed to find a really good family within Nyack Nation through building connections through sports at Nyack. It has become really special to me and I feel that the Nyack sports community has become my second family. I wanted to just be more involved in the program. This program has done so much for me personally, so I felt that it would be right if I became a part of it in a bigger way.” - Royston
“Sports have always been a huge part of my life and I’ve grown up doing Nyack sports. I also love cheering on my friends and bringing people together and I think it is so special to lead the school in supporting our peers.” - Bean
“I have an interest in Sports Media so I get a great experience with that through Nyack Nation and I also get to support my school.” - McDonald
What was your favorite moment from any game this year?
“My favorite moment was when Karl Rodriguez scored and won the [soccer] game in overtime and he ran to the fence towards his teammates and it was just an overall great moment.” - McDonald
“Mine was when the dance team performed at halftime at one of the football games… We always love supporting them [the football team], but everyone loves the dance team. It’s what everyone gets the most excited about and they are probably the best part of every game.” - Bean
“For me, the first part of the football games are super fun and it would be difficult to pick a specific moment, especially after our COVID year since our football team did not have as many opportunities. So, getting everyone back together in that stadium and everyone having such a positive energy was a great experience.” - Royston
“Going off of what Amber said, my favorite moment was also when Karl Rodriguez scored and won the game in overtime. When he ran towards us and we all started cheering him on it was awesome. Karl and I have been best friends since we were five years old, so it was great that I got to share that experience with him.” - Kronberg
What advice would you give to any future aspiring athletes?
“Make sure you are always having fun in the sport you do. You get to a certain level where you become more focused on it for college and you try to push yourself and it's so easy to forget why you started this sport and why you love it so much." - Kronberg
“I’m going to go right off of what Noah said. Don’t let anyone ruin the sport that you love for you because it starts getting difficult when you get to an age where everyone asks you if you are serious about it and playing it in college, questions like that. So, never lose sight of why you are playing it and work hard and it will pay off.” - Bean
“Remember why you started this sport. You can also apply that when you face adversity and go through injuries… just remember your value in the sport and if it is that important to you, just be strong and keep going.” - McDonald
“If there is anything that I’ve learned over this past year with my injury, it is to take every opportunity you can and enjoy every single moment. If I could go back now, even races that I did not do so well in and I wasn’t personally happy with, I would still go back to those moments because I would learn from it. When it comes to injuries, you really don’t know how much time you have with that sport so just enjoy every moment and do not take it for granted.” - Royston
If you would like to stay updated on more athletic information and events, follow Nyack Nation on Instagram @nyacknation