While many players have taken differing routes to reach last weekend’s NASL Combine one stands out because he already works in professional sports.

Tamba Samba had a successful college soccer career at Notre Dame, and, like every participant at the 2013 NASL Combine, he hopes to make it as a professional soccer player. But unlike most other participants, he already works in professional sports, as the Web Coordinator for the Indiana Pacers (NBA) and the Indiana Fever (WNBA) basketball teams.

“I do the upkeep of Pacers.com,”said Samba about his day job. “We do things like postgame interviews with players, we go out to things like [NBA] All-star Weekend and we just track our players and get as much comprehensive coverage of them as possible.”

Samba, 25, from Indianapolis, Indiana enjoys what he does in basketball, but he’s a soccer guy.

“It’s been a great experience working with them, and I’m back out here now chasing the dream.”

The 5-11 forward lead from the front as the Blue Team finished the combine with an unbeaten 1-2-0 record. Although he didn’t score, he created several opportunities including a well-driven shot that the goalkeeper spilled right into the path of Andres Vargas for a tap-in.

“The combine’s been great,” said Samba. “There are a lot of really good players out here. We’ve had a great time, and it’s been really competitive.”

His hometown of Indianapolis was the latest city to be awarded an NASL franchise, an announcement he is very excited about.  Samba shares much in common with the NASL Communications staff and we can appreciate and relate to his dedication and hard work on a daily basis!