Guelph-Humber student athlete Isaiah Noel takes us inside the win of the Humber Men’s Soccer CCAA National Championship
Winning the CCAA National Championship with the Humber Men’s Soccer team this fall has become a core memory for fourth-year University of Guelph-Humber (U of GH) Kinesiology student-athlete Isaiah Noel.
The Humber Hawks defeated the host team, Champlain Saint-Lambert Cavaliers, 2–1 in the 2025 CCAA gold medal match in Saint-Lambert, Que. For Noel, this moment was marked with a “sense of relief” because of how close a game it was. It was also rewarding as he reflected on the challenges he had to overcome to make it this far with the team.
“I remember as soon as the whistle blew, we all ran to the fans that travelled from the GTA [Greater Toronto Area]. All our parents, girlfriends, extended family – we ran to them, and everyone was happy. There were some guys crying,” he described of that joyous moment.
Noel has been part of the Humber Hawks Men’s team since his first year of university. Students at Guelph-Humber have the opportunity to play for the Humber Hawks in the Ontario Collegiate Athletic Association (OCAA) (as Noel has played) or the Guelph Gryphons in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA). Though this year, he had a unique challenge to overcome – one that came from within.
After playing on the team for three years, at the start of the season, he was told he wouldn’t be a regular starter on the team. At first, he explained this caused him to feel mentally drained, but then he used it as fuel to push himself to improve. Noel went to the gym more often and tried even harder in training. Eventually, the coaches noticed, and he became a regular starter.
Other challenges Noel overcame that made his soccer victory feel even sweeter included learning to juggle student life with athletic life, which he has practiced over his four years as a student-athlete. He cited time management as a skill he has honed through this experience.
“You're at school all day, then you have a mandatory gym session, and then you have to drive to practice. By the time you get home, it's around 7 or 8 p.m., then you have to shower and eat…time management is really important,” he said, adding that he’s learned to squeeze in time between classes to do homework, finding moments throughout the day to focus on his studies. Effectively planning his day has helped him become a strong time manager, striking the balance between sports and class.
Moreover, as a Kinesiology student, playing soccer has brought his exercise science lessons to life, and vice versa. Applying what he’s learned through his kinesiology education has allowed him to be a better athlete, too. He said the biggest lesson he has learned and lived is to listen to your body.
“[For instance] our nutrition classes may say after training, I need protein, or I need a carbohydrate drink to refuel the liquids I’ve lost. This goes hand in hand with each other,” he said. “I’ll learn something in kinesiology that I can use in soccer, and then I learned something about myself playing soccer that I can relate back to kinesiology.”
But beyond what being a student athlete has taught him, part of Noel’s valuable experience includes the camaraderie of the team and with other student athletes. When asked what his favourite part of playing a school sport is, Noel said it’s the Hawks community.
“Everyone gels together, not just the soccer team, but the basketball, the volleyball, the rugby, baseball, whatever team it is. If we see each other in the hallways, we always say, ‘Hi,’ or we go to other sports games to support that team that's playing,” he said. Noel added that the athletics centre also has a shared study centre for student athletes, which is great for studying with fellow athlete friends and bonding over the shared experience.
“I’ve always wanted to study sports sciences,” he said. “I honestly think it's the best decision I've made.”
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