From the countryside in Ottawa to the busy life in New York City, soccer has always followed Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau. The redshirt junior forward sat down for an interview with The Torch about his journey with soccer, his time at St. John’s and his future prospects.
Soccer has always been a focal point in Chateau’s family. He was first introduced to the sport through his older brother, whom he would watch play before eventually embarking on his own journey in the sport.
“Even now I’ve always wanted to be like him,” Chateau said. At the age of four, Chateau and his twin sister started playing soccer themselves. While his sister’s soccer career was short-lived, his love for the sport and his dream of playing professionally has always driven him to keep going.
Playing in college offers what Chateau describes as “the best of both worlds,” as he can chase his childhood dream while also earning a degree. He lists playing soccer professionally and being a firefighter as the two paths in life that have ever really interested him. Pursuing a career as a firefighter once he retires from soccer is what pushed him to enroll in the University’s criminal justice program.
Chateau caught the attention of the program’s coaches at a tournament in Florida shortly after arriving back home in Canada. He then was asked to come visit the St. John’s campus. The program had just come off of a huge season, including an NCAA tournament appearance, which was one of the things that attracted Chateau.
Another element was the possibility of experiencing life in a big city like New York. After the visit, Chateau was sold. Even with other visits lined up, he immediately committed to play for coach Dr. David Masur.
After tearing his ACL during a spring game in 2022, Chateau has made a comeback this season, scoring at least one goal in seven of ten games the team have competed in so far. Getting injured is never easy, especially for athletes with big dreams like Chateau. When talking about his recovery, he emphasized the importance of staying optimistic through it.
“I’m the kind of person with things like this, it happened, I can’t change anything,” Chateau said. “I just focused on the recovery a hundred percent and never looked back. I never thought ‘Why me, why this, why that?’ I was like alright, it happened, we move forward.”
Chateau credited the road to his recovery with the help and support from his friends and the sports medicine staff at St. John’s.
“One of the biggest lessons I have learned is patience because I’ve had to wait for my turn,” Chateau said.
Seeing limited playing time in his first years at St. John’s, Chateau learned the lessons of patience and dedication. He will take these lessons with him once he finishes his athletic and academic career.
“Do the right things and the right things will come to you,” he said when asked what his experiences at St. John’s has taught him. “Throughout those years, I’ve worked hard, done what was asked of me, learned how to do the right things. I’d say patience and just the belief that at the end of the day you will get rewarded for doing the right things.”
Chateau is currently the Johnnies’ top scorer for the 2023 season.
