RailHawks’ Nazmi Albadawi has local roots that run deep

Nazmi Albadawi was a fan of local soccer before he became an integral part of it.

“I’ve always been a RailHawks fan because of soccer around the area,” said Albadawi, 24, a versatile midfielder for the RailHawks. “I went to State games a lot with my dad when I was younger to watch every game, and then the RailHawks came and I started going to the RailHawk games when I was 12 or 13.”

A grainy YouTube video shows a 13-year-old Albadawi celebrating a Kupono Low penalty kick against the Charleston Battery. Seven years later, Albadawi has been listed in the same starting lineup with the longest-tenured player in club history.

“It’s funny, because there’s that picture of me and Kupono celebrating together, and now I’m his teammate,” Albadawi said.

Albadawi’s path to the pros started at Athens Drive High, where he lettered in varsity for four years, went all-conference in three years and finished his preps career with 35 goals and 60 assists.

Despite the impressive statistics, Albadawi wasn’t as heavily recruited as he would have hoped. He decided to spend a year with the Wake Tech soccer team in 2009, where he excelled enough to earn a chance to walk on at N.C. State.

After Albadawi redshirted a year because of an injury, coach Kelly Findley took over as the Wolfpack’s head coach and inherited the local standout. Findley says Albadawi’s work ethic pushed him from walk-on transfer to a team captain.

“That’s what has put ‘Naz’ in the position he is now, how hard he works, how committed he is to get better every day, how driven he is as a player,” Findley said. “He’s one of those guys you never have to tell to work harder, usually you have to tell him to get off the field after training so he’s not too tired for the next day.”

Special moment

In 2013, Albadawi was selected second team all-South regional and all-ACC after tallying five goals and three assists in only 13 games. The last touch of his collegiate career was a game winner in the 92nd minute against then No. 10 North Carolina.

“Game-winning goal in overtime vs. UNC on their senior night,” he said. “Pretty special moment for me.”

While enrolled at N.C. State, Albadawi spent two of his summers on the RailHawks’ U-23 team, which now competes in the NPSL. It was then that he realized he could be more than just a fan of the team.

“I loved the coaching staff. I loved all the players, and I thought I’d like to play here if I could,” he said. “I always wanted to play professional, but I didn’t know how possible it was until I was at State. And that’s when they gave me that possibility and I realized, ‘Oh, I can do this. I can play professionally.’”

A month-and-a-half after signing with the senior squad, Albadawi scored his first professional goal, in the U.S. Open Cup. He finished his rookie year with 25 appearances and four goals.

Last season, Albadawi started 23 of his 24 matches, scoring six goals and three assists. All six goals and two of the assists came in the fall season, the latter – and longer – half of the NASL’s split season format.

Those six goals placed Albadawi eighth in the league among goal scorers in the fall season despite making fewer appearances than many of the players around him. He sustained an injury to his fifth metatarsal that knocked him out for the remainder of the season. Immediately after the injury, he ran off the sidelines to continue playing, yearning to be on the pitch despite his circumstances. Albadawi finished 2015 with quite the curtain call, notching three goals and an assist in his final 59 minutes on the pitch.

Now, a fully-healed Albadawi is one of the cornerstones of the RailHawks.

“He’s starting to become a leader, and he’s becoming a professional soccer player. He was a young kid when he first got here, had a lot of potential, was willing to learn, was willing to work – which was important – and he’s done that,” said Colin Clarke, who has been the RailHawks coach since 2011. “He’s worked hard at his game, and he’s worked hard off the field. He wants to get better because of his desire to get to the top, and he’s turned into a very, very good player that’s important to our club.”

Clarke sees Albadawi as a model of player development for local youth players.

“With ‘Naz,’ kids can see it, that they can play for their local pro team. I think that’s important. Young kid, went to college locally, played in our U-23s as it was back then, now our NPSL team, and now he’s not only playing in the first team but as a very important part of that.”

Despite receiving looks from other clubs during the offseason, Albadawi decided to stay true to his roots, signing a multiyear extension to stay with Carolina, for which his former coach at N.C. State is grateful.

“When you have quality alums like him in the area, he does little things like talk to our current guys about his experience, the road he had to take and the ups and downs of that,” Findley said. “We get to see him a lot and he invests in our current players which is what great alums do.”

It’s no chore for Albadawi, who was bleeding Wolfpack red long before enrolling at the school.

“I love State. I loved the school before and after I played there,” he said. “Any way I can help those coaches out or help those players out at all, I don’t hesitate and go as much as I can.”

Top level potential

Albadawi justified staying in Carolina – at least for the time being – because it’s the prime location to continue improving his game. The RailHawks recently announced they would be investing in analytics and adding to the coaching staff to aid player development.

“I’m still young. I’m still only 24, so I have plenty of time to try and get to higher areas and whatnot, but I learned a lot from this coaching staff, and I learned a lot from being here with them,” he said. “I know they push me; I know they try and make me better, so getting better as a player is the most important thing to me right now. This is the best place for me to do it.”

Clarke reiterated what Albadawi said about “higher areas,” likely referring to a roster spot in a higher league or overseas.

“I expect him to play at the top level someday, and he’s going about his business in the right way,” he said.

For the time being, Albadawi is focused on winning.

“I have expectations for myself, but more importantly the team. I think together, with this group we have right now, we’re heading in the right direction.”

Come to a RailHawks game – they host the Ottawa Fury Saturday at 7:30 p.m. – and you’ll likely hear a song created by members of the Triangle Soccer Fanatics and Oak City Supporters, independent team support groups:

He’s one of our own,

He’s one of our own,

Nazmi!

He’s one of our own.

This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 2:52 PM with the headline "RailHawks’ Nazmi Albadawi has local roots that run deep."