2/23/2023 9:30:00 AM | Men's Soccer, Peak Performance
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Ndlovu has had an extensive journey in soccer, currently serving as head coach at Trinity College
By: Justin Lafleur
Soccer is more than just a sport to 1997 Dartmouth alum and four-time All-Ivy League player Methembe Ndlovu.
"Soccer is a really great forum for learning about life, learning about yourself and facing challenges," he said. "I find I get a big rush in trying to solve problems, and soccer gives you an opportunity to work with others, to collaborate with others and to solve problems together. Sometimes you don't succeed, and you have an opportunity the following game to try again and do things differently."
When thinking back to Ndlovu's journey, there is not much he would do differently, if anything.
Born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Ndlovu was drawn to the United States where he could play soccer in college, while also earning his degree.
"I wanted to be a professional soccer player and my parents basically said I could play as long as I kept good grades, which was quite unusual where I came from," he said. "Where I grew up, and most of the rest of the world, if you want to be a professional soccer player, then you just play soccer.
"My parents said no way."
Ndlovu's parents stressed the importance of a college degree. As the process of finding a school progressed, in many ways, Dartmouth found Ndlovu.
The seed was planted when Ndlovu was a junior in high school and two players, one of whom played at Dartmouth, came to speak to the team.
"They said there are opportunities where you can go to school in the U.S. and play at a very, very high level," said Ndlovu. "I had never been exposed to college soccer at all. That was my introduction."
That speaker was Ndlovu's first connection to Dartmouth, and led to Big Green head coach Bobby Clark reaching out to start a conversation.
It was a conversation that eventually led to Ndlovu taking a leap of faith.
"I had never been to the U.S. before," he said. "I talk to kids now and they visit a bunch of schools, but back in our day, at least for me in Africa, you got brochures and went through it that way. I never even considered visiting; that wasn't an option.
"But I absolutely loved Dartmouth," Ndlovu continued. "It was a good fit."
What made Dartmouth a good fit?
"Dartmouth was a special community," he said. "I felt like I was very well-received there. It was a big cultural change, but I absolutely loved Hanover three quarters of the year. The winters were brutal for me, but I adjusted.
"It helped being part of a sports team," Ndlovu continued. "You had a group that you felt comfortable with, where you could ask questions and feel like you had a support network right away."
1993 Dartmouth Big Green (Ndlovu's freshman year)
Pretty quickly, Coach Clark made an impact on Ndlovu. It was an impact that helped grow Ndlovu's love for teaching and coaching.
"He ran this community program called Lightning where he would go into the community and work with younger players," said Ndlovu. "Sometimes, he would bring college players to do demos and I used to just watch him teach and break down things that I thought were quite sophisticated in a simple, easy to grasp and easy to follow way.
"This is a coach who had been a top-class player himself, but was really able to explain the game."
Ndlovu grew an appreciation for the impact of teaching, coaching and mentoring.
"Both my parents were teachers, as was my uncle, so I thought coaching was my calling," he said. "I enjoy working with young people and I started to realize you can marry the two. Coaching is another word for teaching.
"Off to the races I went."
After Ndlovu's decorated career in Hanover ended, his soccer career was just beginning.
"One thing that was very important to me was to get my degree and to graduate on time," he said. "I did that, but immediately went back to playing."
Ndlovu went on to play professionally, spending a year in New Mexico with the Albuquerque Geckos, before returning to his home country of Zimbabwe to play the 1998-99 season with a club called the Highlanders.
"There's a local team called the Highlanders from my hometown," he said. "When I was younger, I thought if I could play for them and be a schoolteacher, I would be super thrilled with that."
Ndlovu was fulfilling that dream, and more. Around the same time, Ndlovu also played for the Zimbabwe National Team.
"To even get the opportunity to get to represent your country was an absolute honor," he said. "I feel very proud to have been able to wear the national jersey and represent my country."
After the Highlanders, Ndlovu's path took him back to the United States.
"I played in Boston for another wonderful coach, John Kerr, who is at Duke now," he said. "I really enjoyed playing there and started getting my coaching badges once I was playing in Boston."
One of Ndlovu's first coaching positions reunited him with his first college coach, Bobby Clark, at Notre Dame. Ndlovu served as volunteer assistant coach under Clark, who had been named head coach for the Fighting Irish in 2001. He also played and coached for the Indiana Invaders of the USL Premier Development League.
A few years later, life brought Ndlovu back to Zimbabwe.
"I worked for a youth health organization, using soccer as a tool for social change, called Grassroot Soccer," he said. "I spent about 10 years working in Zimbabwe for Grassroot Soccer and also coached on the side."
In 2010, Ndlovu won the Dartmouth College Martin Luther King Social Justice Award, recognizing members of the Dartmouth community who have significantly contributed to social justice, peace, civil rights, education, public health or environmental justice. Specifically, he won the Emerging Leadership Award, in recognition of his vision, enthusiasm and persistence in the fight against HIV and AIDS in Zimbabwe.
"It was very humbling to have won that award," he said. "One can go through life and not really have the opportunity to affect another person's life, so I consider myself very fortunate to have been in that position where I could be part of a program that was making a real difference in young people's lives."
After a decade affecting others' lives through Grassroot Soccer, Ndlovu returned to the United States to continue impacting lives as a college coach. He re-entered college coach in 2020 as an assistant for the Penn State men, then headed to California to serve as associate head coach for the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women in 2021.
That preceded Ndlovu's current role as head men's soccer coach at Trinity.
"I've come into a very good program here," he said. "What a fantastic program, fantastic community. I have been well-received by the community and team, and I'm really enjoying working with the group."
Working with others is what keeps Ndlovu going. He is energized by not only wins and losses in the standings, but also and more importantly, the impact the sport of soccer can have on young peoples' lives.
"I say to my players that people who succeed in life aren't people who avoid challenges," he said. "Successful people are people who know how to deal with challenges. Soccer does that for you. It presents a different challenge every time. It's similar, but never exactly the same.
"For me, I enjoy that process of figuring out, trying and even if we don't succeed, we get to try again… and we are always working."
In soccer, you're also working with other people.
"It's not one of these sports where it's just about you," said Ndlovu. "You have to work within a group."
That group usually includes people from all over the world. It's yet another way soccer is a microcosm of life.
"It's sometimes called the world game," said Ndlovu. "If you travel anywhere and don't know anyone, but have a soccer ball and you went to a park, it's an easy way to meet people and everybody can identify with it. It also exposes you to a really diverse group. You can interact with people from all sorts of backgrounds.
"Globally speaking, it attracts people from all walks of life."
Ndlovu's life has seen him surrounded by good people who have made a difference in his growth and development.
"My parents played a big role in keeping me focused on important things, such as hard work, resilience and working well with others," he said. "When I got to college, my coaches had a big role in shaping my development. My professors played a big role, as well as my advisors and teammates. Whatever goes on, a lot of it is about the support you have around you."
For Ndlovu, that includes his time at Dartmouth.
"I grew up at Dartmouth because it took me out of my comfort zone, and it challenged me in different ways," he said. "I was exposed to people from different backgrounds with different values, and I learned a lot about myself. There were some values I came in feeling like this is who I am, but was exposed to other ways of thinking."
Ndlovu is grateful for everyone he has been surrounded by who have been part of his story.
"I have been fortunate everywhere I've gone that I've been surrounded by good people and have benefited immensely from that," he said.
That support is something Ndlovu has passed on to so many throughout the course of his career.
And it wouldn't be possible without the game of soccer.
