As he reached the middle of his prep career at Gretna High School, Carter Hinman did not envision himself as a future college athlete. Even by his own calculations, Hinman felt he was a pretty average soccer player. At that point, Hinman had not yet fully developed the confidence he would need to one day earn First Team All-GPAC accolades.
As Hinman blossomed late in his time as a Dragon, Head Coach Jason Weides and the Concordia Men’s Soccer program positioned themselves to take advantage of his services. Then Bulldog Matt Schultz, a first cousin of Hinman, helped spur a connection between Hinman and Concordia.
“I didn’t think I would play college soccer,” Hinman said. “I played my entire life, but I never thought I was good enough in high school. I had a good junior season up until COVID and then I had a really good senior season. I reached out to people who played college sports and asked them how they went about the recruiting process. I just started reaching out to a couple coaches. Luckily I had family here with Matt. That helped out a lot in getting in touch with Coach Weides. It took off from there.”
At the time, Hinman was simply elated to have a spot on a college roster. Perhaps it was something of a nothing-to-lose type of attitude that elevated Hinman to heights he hadn’t expected. The striker who had helped Gretna to three state playoff appearances quickly realized he belonged on this stage. He appeared in 28 games over his first two seasons before then busting loose in 2023. Hinman put away a team high 10 goals while spending all season amongst the GPAC leaders in goals. His breakout campaign played a major part in the ’23 Bulldogs posting the first undefeated regular season in program history.
While Hinman flew under the radar for much of his prep career, he isn’t a total underdog story as one considers his accomplishments as a senior when the Omaha World-Herald named him to its 2021 All-Nebraska Boys Team. Hinman believes he scored 14 goals that season as he began to raise eyebrows – but too late for all college recruiters that overlooked him the previous three years. Their loss was Concordia’s gain.
“We saw him as a player with a big upside,” Weides said. “You never quite know how a player is going to pan out. You have some ideas, but there’s a lot of hard work that goes into it when trying to reach your full capability and full potential. He was a guy that we thought was flying under the radar. We felt like he showed a lot of skills and abilities that made us think he could be a really effective college player. Fortunately for us, that happened. He had an amazing senior season of high school, but by that time he had already gone through the recruiting process and signed with us. All the other people were suddenly looking at us and thinking, ‘that’s a good pickup for Concordia.’”
In just his second season as a Bulldog, Hinman aided the program in its run to a 2022 GPAC tournament championship and a memorable title game triumph at Hastings. By 2023, it was Hinman’s turn to crack the starting 11 on a regular basis. Hinman turned heads in the spring of 2023 and then carried those performances into the fall. He began the season red hot with goals in each of the first four games and in six of the first seven outings. His two-goal output in early September pushed Concordia past Bellevue, 2-1, in a moment that spiked Hinman’s confidence levels.
“I never expected to have the junior season I had, especially after my freshman and sophomore years,” Hinman said. “I thought I’d just be a role player off the bench. Something clicked in the summer between my sophomore and junior year. My mentality towards the sport and my mentality towards everything kind of shifted. I wanted to be super impactful on the team and started to push myself a little more.”
As the Bulldogs won each of their first eight games of the 2023 season, Hinman seemingly had a hand in every goal the team scored – either finishing himself or setting up a teammate directly or indirectly. This came on the heels of Hinman posting a total of two goals over his first two seasons when he was typically tasked with providing a spark in a reserve role.
However, it’s no small feat to earn playing time for a program that has been a consistent winner under the 16-year head coach Weides. Hinman admits that there were nerves when he first trotted out onto the training field in August of 2021. In many ways, Hinman had to prove it to himself first. He had the talent and ability. It really was about finding himself and honing the mental side of what it takes to play at an elite level.
Says Hinman, “There was always that feeling there (that I could play in college). With the injuries and being how young I was, my confidence wasn’t necessarily always there. I always felt like I could be doing more. I just never got myself over the hump. I definitely got over that this past season. I was trying to learn from all the older guys. That was kind of my main priority then.”
The process that Hinman has followed can now be a lesson to those freshmen who may feel the anxiety of adjusting to life as a college student-athlete. Hinman has put himself in a position to be a leader within a tight-knit culture featuring student-athletes from around the world. The Business Administration major certainly knows what it takes to win a championship and the level of work ethic required to become a first team all-conference player.
For now, Hinman is focused on helping the program relive the type of glory it experienced in 2022 when it erased a 2-0 deficit in the GPAC Championship game at Hastings. That memory will live on forever for the Bulldogs who experienced it.
“It was crazy,” Hinman said. “I’ve never won something that big before in my career. Winning that GPAC title was a feeling that was super, super cool. I hope that as soon as we come into preseason that our mentality is about chasing that feeling again – winning the regular season, winning the tournament and making a run at nationals. That’s a goal of all of ours, chasing that feeling again.”
After battling through injury this past spring, Hinman says he’s physically ready to go as August camp beckons. Through some of the injuries of the past, Hinman has learned how to better approach periods of rehab. Mentally and physically, Hinman has grown in ways that make a coach proud.
“He’s a guy that continued to grow,” Weides said. “He played a little bit his freshman and sophomore year, but he was competing with some really good players. He put things together this past year and stayed pretty healthy. He had that breakout year. His movement has gotten so much better and so has his finishing and his understanding of pressing. He’s not necessarily going to shred people 1v1, he’s just very consistent and steady. He pops up in the right places and finishes big chances. It’s been fun to watch him grow and mature on and off the field. We were excited once he committed to us.”
Just like it does for many, the time has flown by for Hinman, who looks to capitalize on his final season wearing Bulldog Blue. The future beyond college is uncertain for Hinman, but he’ll worry about that later. Both Hinman and the Concordia Men’s Soccer team appear primed for a fine season ahead. Says Hinman, “Playing games here is unlike anything else. We have a great stadium and great fans. I couldn’t really ask for more.”