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From the pitch to the gridiron: Jarvis has made a smooth transition to football from soccer

NEW ULM — A couple of years ago, Martin Luther College wide receiver Micah Jarvis decided to make an interesting change in his athletic career.

Jarvis, then a defender on the MLC men’s soccer team, decided that football was something that he wanted to try. It was interesting, because he was born in England and he never played a down of competitive football in his life.

“So my sophomore year was my very first year of football in my entire life,” the 6-foot-3 inch senior said. “I’m from Antigua and Barbuda, it’s a very small Caribbean Island, so I played soccer my entire life. When I moved to America, I played soccer in high school and when I came here [MLC], I played soccer. I decided that my body stature was changing significantly, [he grew from 6-feet tall to 6-3, 215 pounds] so I figured I’d be more useful to the football team.”

MLC football coach Mark Stein learned of Jarvis’ intention to switch from the pitch to the gridiron from MLC men’s soccer coach Paul Koelpin.

“Actually Paul came up to me and said that Micah was going to play football and asked me if I was ok with that,” MLC coach Mark Stein said. “I said absolutely. He didn’t play much his sophomore and junior year, and this year he’s a starter. It’s just the hard work he’s put in from learning how to play football, it’s just a neat story.”

Just looking at the numbers, Jarvis’ stats don’t necessarily jump out at you at first glance. He has three catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. Stein said that his speed has kept him on the field and also his ability to block downfield.

“He takes great pride in his blocking, and that’s not something receivers takes a lot of pride in,” Stein said. “He wants to catch the ball all of the time, don’t get me wrong, but we don’t throw the ball enough to keep receivers happy.”

While living in Antigua, he watched college and pro football on television. But he had to learn a new sport and new terminology on the fly at a Division III school and he picked it up fast enough.

“The general terms, I did understand because I basically taught myself the game, just watching college football and the NFL,” Jarvis said. “When I first started watching football, that yellow line [the line shown on TV broadcasts showing where the first down marker is], I thought that was on the field. I didn’t know the technical terms of certain routs or certain formations. I would just teach myself over the summer so I got the general knowledge.”

He was about 17-years old when he became interested in football. As a former soccer player, speed has always been a big part of his game.

“I would say I have sneaky speed,” he said. “So no one would look at a guy this big and say ‘oh, he’s not that fast.’ Also, my endurance, I could just keep going and going.”

He was born in England and moved to Antigua at the age of 1. He then moved to the United States in 2015 and went to Luther Prep High School in Watertown, Wisconsin.

Now Jarvis is a starter on the MLC football team that is making its second straight trip to the NCAA tournament. The Knights will travel to Wheaton College (10-0, No. 3 in the country) to play the Thunder on Saturday.

He said his parents don’t understand the game of football but will be watching from online at home.

“My parents watch every single game,” he said. “No matter where we play. It’s still like foreign to them because we don’t play football back home. Whenever something happens, they ask me a question and I can explain it for them.”

And playing for both Koelpin and Stein has been a memorable experience for him.

“They’re both like father-figures to me,” Jarvis said. “Just because I’m here by myself, I cannot drive home to see my family. It’s like a 7-hour flight back home. I would say that if I need to talk to them, I have a lot of confidence that I can talk to them.”

For Jarvis, the MLC experience has been a great one that he’ll never forget.

“It did mean a lot to me,” he said. “I know how much hard work our team put into it, even before I started playing football, I used to go to the games and watch. And after I started playing it, I see that everybody is really dedicated to it and it did mean a lot to me. We did take a lot of pride in.

“I honestly didn’t expect it [the journey at MLC],” he said. “It just goes to show you, you never know where God is going to lead you or take you.”

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