{"id":3579,"date":"2017-10-25T15:25:50","date_gmt":"2017-10-25T15:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/?p=3579"},"modified":"2017-10-25T15:31:30","modified_gmt":"2017-10-25T15:31:30","slug":"xavier-thibault-a-natural-leader-on-and-off-the-field","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/2017\/10\/25\/xavier-thibault-a-natural-leader-on-and-off-the-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Xavier Thibault: A Natural Leader On and Off the Field"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"By Sports Information Director Matt Liebowitz<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to miss Xavier Thibault. Even on the football field, where identities can blend into a huddle of helmets and pads, Xavier, at 6\u20195\u201d and 240 pounds, stands out high above the rest.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis effort is relentless and infectious to everyone on the field,\u201d said Jacob Rivers, Williston\u2019s Co-Defensive Coordinator. \u201cWhen you see a guy like that giving 100 percent on every play, you know what\u2019s expected of you and that anything less is unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from a stint in 7th<\/sup> grade when he was \u201cshort and skinny and couldn\u2019t tackle,\u201d Xavier quickly grew into a formidable force at at defensive end, a position he\u2019s played since beginning his football career in 4th<\/sup> grade in his hometown of Quebec City, Canada.<\/p>\n

Yet despite his size and power, what really distinguishes Xavier is his leadership qualities and singular ambition\u2014and not just on the field.<\/p>\n

When he\u2019s not showcasing his ferocious play, Xavier, 19, is also one of five Senior Class Representatives. Class President Anabelle Farnham ’18 and fellow reps Natalie Romain ’18, Oliver Lawrence ’18, and Ellie Scott ’18, meet once a week to plan activities for the class of 2018 and discuss any concerns students have; the group acts as both a social-planning organization and a liaison between students and administration.<\/p>\n

This is Xavier\u2019s first time on the leadership council. Joining the group seemed to be a natural fit for Xavier, who said he \u201cjust wanted to get involved in something.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLast year people were complaining that not enough was done [for the students],\u201d Xavier said. \u201cI think people thought there weren\u2019t enough activities, or what was planned wasn\u2019t all right with everyone.\u201d Acting on behalf of his fellow seniors gives Xavier \u201cmore involvement in the school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This responsibility comes in addition to the three AP classes Xavier takes: AP Calculus BC, AP Statistics, and AP French.<\/p>\n

It stands to reason Xavier would struggle balancing his rigorous academic schedule with daily practices, lifting sessions, class representative responsibilities, and growing attention from division one football programs. Xavier, however, approaches it all with characteristic stoicism and ease.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just have to work, plan ahead, and make sure it all fits together,\u201d he said. He said as long as he stays organized, \u201cI\u2019m all right.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[I] mostly sacrifice sleep, but other than that, it\u2019s pretty manageable,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Top college football programs aren\u2019t snoozing; Xavier’s already received offers from Columbia Bryant to join their football teams next year. He hasn\u2019t committed anywhere yet; he said he\u2019s looking at Brown, and Stanford, among other programs.<\/p>\n

\"\"As expected for a student-athlete with such a demanding schedule, Xavier said in his near future, football shares top billing with academics. \u201cIt\u2019s a springboard and an end goal,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to play competitive football but I also want to get into a good academic school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Xavier said he plans to study medicine or engineering wherever he ends up next year. This drive, both in the classroom, makes Xavier a natural role model for his two younger brothers, Thomas, 17 (a junior at Williston, also on the football team), and 12-year-old Loic. Xavier also has an older brother, Alex, 21.<\/p>\n

As our interview concluded, Xavier stood up to head back to class.\u00a0He mentioned he would be headed to the trainer later to address a bruised knee and the subsequent fluid buildup. He noticed\u00a0this reporter wince when he mentioned the needle required to drain the fluid, and, with the same quiet confidence, brushed off the notion of any pain it might cause. \u201cI\u2019m not worried,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Sports Information Director Matt Liebowitz It\u2019s hard to miss Xavier Thibault. Even on the football field, where identities can blend into a huddle of helmets and pads, Xavier, at 6\u20195\u201d and 240 pounds, stands out high above the rest. \u201cHis effort is relentless and infectious to everyone on the field,\u201d said Jacob Rivers, Williston\u2019s … Continue reading Xavier Thibault: A Natural Leader On and Off the Field<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[381,46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-athlete-profile","category-athletics-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3579"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3579"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3585,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3579\/revisions\/3585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willistonblogs.com\/athletics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}