by Michelle Rabinovich
When most toddlers are learning their ABCs, Xavier Arline was learning how to punt a football and cradle a lacrosse stick.
“I think there’s a couple pictures of me as a toddler with a [lacrosse] stick in my hand or a football in my hand,” Arline said. “My dad played lacrosse at Delaware in college, so as soon as I could move, he was always doing stuff with athletics with me and my sister, before I could even remember.”
Sports stayed ever-present with Arline, taking on three different ones during his middle and high school years and learning, taking something new from each discipline.
“As soon as I could play all sports, I did. I played football, basketball and lacrosse,” he explained. “[The sports] did a good job of complementing each other in a lot of different ways.”
By high school, sports became less of an afterschool activity and more of a test run of what his career could be.
“Lacrosse was kind of the craziest one, just because they recruited when I was still in high school. All of a sudden, I was at colleges, visiting schools, talking about what I wanted to do with my life,” Arline admittedsaid. “Sports kind of went from just going out there and having fun to, like, your future is on the line every time you step on the field.”
At this point in time, Arline was pushing himself to the max, receiving D1 offers for lacrosse and football, and he didn’t want to give up either sport.
“I committed to [University of North Carolina] when I was in eighth grade, and I was committed to them all the way up until my senior year of high school, [so] I had the opportunity to do both [sports] at UNC for a long time” Arline explained. “Two weeks before, I sent my [national letter of intent] because I ended up picking up a football opportunity as well to play slot receiver for UNC as a [preferred walk-on]. Then, some stuff happened with the coaching staff on the football side at UNC, and they said, ‘Your scholarship is still here lacrosse-wise, but the football thing is not going to work out.’”
For the player who loves both sports, it this felt like an impossible scenario, until the Midshipmen presented him with a golden opportunity,
“I realized I could play both [sports] [at Navy];, that was one of the big [reasons] of coming here, because they wanted me to play quarterback and run the offense,” Arline said. “It was one of those things where it was in my dream [to play both sports];, [and] I just knew it wasn’t time to give up.”
In hindsight, Arline thinks that the new rules to allow student-athletes to start committing to colleges later in their careers is healthier for athletes, potentially saving him part of the grief that he went through during his process.
“Looking back on it, it was cool to commit and get that interest, but I didn’t even know what I was doing in high school yet, and I was making these big decisions,” Arline said. “You see a lot less un-commitments and re-commitments now, because back then, if you look at the all the kids that committed in eighth grade, more than half of them de-committed and recommitted to other schools. It just goes to show you that it helps waiting in the process.”
With that in mind, being on two active D1 rosters comes with its challenges, and it’s easy to look back on past decisions and second-guess yourself when times get tough. After all, balancing even one sport on top of academics and a healthy personal life is a challenge.
“Yeah it’s actually extremely difficult [balancing everything]. There’s been times where I’m like, ‘What if I went to UNC or Duke or Notre Dame? What if I chose one of those other options?’”’ Arline said. “It’s usually when times get tough, and it’s normal, but I always think that pain is temporary;, it doesn’t last forever. So the tough times that come, you take them with a grain of salt, and you just you keep moving.”
Doing what he loves, day in and day out, makes it all the worthwhile for Arline –, no matter how sore practice leaves him.
“This is always what I’ve wanted to do, and I’m getting my opportunity to do it,” Arline said. “It’s hard, and it’s coming with a lot of ups and downs, but I’m doing it right now, and it’s working out pretty well.”
He’s not one to take all the credit, though.
“A lot of credit goes to my mom and dad;, they understood the life lessons that come out of playing sports,” Arline said. “It’s just about learning how to compete, how to overcome adversity, and how to grow up to be a good man with good character. And I’m blessed to have, you know, a lot of people around me that have been able to instill that in me and my friends at a young age because it’s paid us dividends tenfold.”
That being said, Arline explained that sports taught him how to deal with life’s toughest lessons, and not just as a coping mechanism, but as to be someone who can be a beacon of hope and help forto those around him.
“There’s been so much time, so many times, where things have gone wrong; [and] as a leader, as a quarterback, in high school and college, you have to rally everyone behind you and be able to overcome it,” he Arline said. “At the end of the day, it’s just a game, but the adversity doesn’t stop when you get older; I’ve learned to help get not just yourself but everyone else that’s with you through them.”
So what are his steps? He’s tTaking it to the next level, but staying realistic while he’s working his way up there.
“I would like to get to the next level in every sport;, I’d love to play in the NFL, and I’d love to get drafted into the [Professional Lacrosse League],” Arline said. “But at the end of the day, I know one of the biggest reason I chose this school is because no matter how far it goes, sports don’t last forever, so [it’s important] just to have a plan behind it where I can be on my feet consistently and still move forward in life.”
If nothing else, he wants to give back to his home of, Long Island.
“My dad always said this, and I didn’t understand until I started training [the youth program], but he said there’s no better feeling than seeing kids improve and the joy on their faces,” Arline said through a grin. “I love being able to help other people succeed and grow. I think it’s important to come back to your roots and do whatever I can, using my platform, to help kids back on Long Island.”
