HBS Exceptional Athlete Awards: Q&A with Francesco Balestra

Earlier this month, Delia Zanoschi and Tum Preugpaibul (RCs) announced the winners of the inaugural HBS exceptional athlete awards, an initiative they started this year to recognize the best athletes at HBS. This week, Delia and Tum interviewed HBS Class of 2016 exceptional athlete winner Francesco Balestra.

FRANCESCO BALESTRA: SOCCER

SECTION F, NEW YORK, NY, USA How did you train? My father was an inspiration, and I owe my development to him as he trained me throughout my career. Without his dedication, devotion, and time, I wouldn’t have been able to play for my premier team in NY. This team was ranked in the top 64 teams in the country, and we competed against the US youth national team. What is one of the greatest lessons that life taught you? Something that I think is true in both life and soccer, is that there is always an element of luck. The thing is, you never know when that luck – that opportunity - is going to strike. However, when it does come, you have to be ready to execute. You have to have put in those hours to train and develop your skills so that you’re ready when that window arrives. Who is your idol? Alessandro Del Piero – he was the captain and one of the best players of my favorite soccer team, Juventus, while I was growing up. He was a great player and a great leader. He had a great attitude, was humble, and was very smart – I wanted to be just like him.