Wake Forest Athletics
5 Questions With Stef Hamilton
9/1/2020 12:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer, Les Johns
A Wake Forest soccer scholarship transformed the life of 1985 graduate Stef Hamilton, who now seeks to impact the lives of local youth through the Triad Elite Soccer Club.
Hamilton joined the fledgling program as part of coach George Kennedy's second recruiting class. He scored 15 goals, dished seven assists and had 37 points during his Demon Deacon career. Hamilton is owner and agent of a State Farm Insurance agency in Winston-Salem.
Hamilton recently joined Deacon Sports Xtra for a Five Questions Feature.
How do you reflect on your experience at Wake Forest?
Hamilton: "It changes your life. We came from low-to-no means. My mother told me that we didn't have money for college, so I'd better do something. I had to figure it out and use my talent. We started training and working harder. Luckily, George Kennedy was good enough to come down and visit to see us play. Obviously I got to Wake Forest and it was a comfortable fit. We were the pioneers. I was in the second recruiting class. We really started putting together a cool program. We started getting stronger and the players started coming in. My four years were fantastic. We had bad seasons and good seasons, but we had a great time."
Do you believe the Wake Forest squads during those early years rose up against higher-ranked competition, but struggled at times against lesser foes?
Hamilton: "That's fair. The ACC was daunting enough back then, with Duke, Clemson and North Carolina. We had to grow up in a hurry. We had to get beat up, knocked around, and then get back up and go. There were several opportunities where we had fantastic results against some of the best in the country. We battled. Then we'd play a lesser squad, and it became the mentality of playing down. You think it's going to be a walk in the park, then that other team rises up. We had some ups and downs, and some inconsistencies. We were good, but needed more consistency."
How did Winston-Salem become home for you?
Hamilton: "It involved a lot of things that I attribute to Wake Forest. A lot of opportunities opened up for me along the way. Once I left Wake, I went back home to Orlando for a bit. It was a Godsend. I had people championing my cause that I didn't even know about. I just kept going wherever people told me to go. I attribute that to my degree. While working for State Farm in Bloomington, Illinois, I was offered an agency here. I ended up here and the rest is history. I've been with State Farm for 30 years, and got back to Winston-Salem in 1999."
How have you stayed involved in the soccer community?
Hamilton: "I've been coaching for the last 30 years. Then in 2010, I decided to form a club. I formed a youth club, from age 7 to 19. My theory was that I wanted to pay back for what I got as a kid with no money, getting an opportunity to run around and play with low expense. Back in the day, all you needed was a ball and a park. It was easy for us, with no means, because you didn't have to have much to play this game. I got the opportunity to start this club, which services the underprivileged and the underdogs. I'd say roughly 80 percent of Triad Elite Soccer Club is underprivileged, and that's 250-300 players. We want to help all the kids get off the street and play. I still coach and I'm the president of the club as well."
Have you stayed attached to the Wake Forest soccer program?
Hamilton: "I am so thankful for George Kennedy, Wake Forest University, Jay Vidovich and Bobby Muuss. These guys have kept the program in the forefront, and that's the key for me. Whatever Wake Forest needs is what Wake Forest is going to get, because Wake Forest put me on the map and helped me do some things that I never would have been able to do. Without Wake Forest, it never would have been possible. I bled Gold & Black, and I still do."
