To stay or to go.
Senior Remi Famodu, who was redshirted last season after suffering an injury, will be deciding whether to return for her fifth season as a Bobcat under coach Stacy Strauss or to leave Ohio University with her twin sister Toye Famodu and the team’s 10 other seniors.
For Remi, the biggest factor in her decision is her sister, but she is weighing all the options.
“I haven’t quite decided. It might not be for a little while here,” she said. “It’s been on my mind, but as of right now, I probably won’t stay a fifth year. For being a dietician, the two-year program is pretty competitive, so I want to get a head start on that.
“My career is one of the main reasons if I decide to leave, but also the seniors. It would be weird if I did stay and didn’t have any of them here, especially Toye.”
Toye Famodu, who played her final season this year, wants nothing but the best for her sister and insisted she is all for whatever Remi should decide.
“I just know she really wants to pursue her career in being a nutritionist. I’m all for that, and if she would stay, I would say then do it,” Toye said. “I don’t really know what it’s like to miss an entire year. I know it was really hard for her, and so whatever she decides, I’m supporting her.”
After being injured in the 2010 season, Remi was redshirted for the season, giving her the option to play a fifth season if she decides. For both Famodus, the time not being on the field together was trying.
“It was weird not having her play out there with me. It felt like a part of me or my family was being taken away and just not there,” Toye said. “When we were traveling and she wasn’t there, I almost felt alone in some way, but I also knew that’s how it’s going to be at some point in life. It was sad not to see her play.”
Standing on the sideline was difficult for Remi at some games. She knew her sister needed her support throughout the season. The time they had together in college was something both always dreamed about, and looking back on the years, those times will be treasured.
“This Ohio program has shaped me as a person and caused me to step up and mature while I’m away from home,” Remi said. “All the great memories I’ll have with my teammates, it might not have gone our way, and life takes you places you might not want to go, but you should look back on it and know you gave it your all.”
The decision to stay is something Remi is taking her time with by speaking to professors and her family. But she is making sure to hold off on talking to Strauss until she has made her final decision.
The sisters have been able to learn a lot from each other while on the field, with each taking the other’s strengths and learning from them.
For Remi though, the decision whether to stay another year as a Bobcat or leave with her sister will not be one easily made, but like the Famodus’ years at Ohio, they will support each other.
“This is just how I always imagined it — us playing together in college and doing well, soccer and school working out for the both of us — and I’m just really happy with the past four years,” Toye said. “As a kid, I always imagined playing college soccer with her. I didn’t have a school in mind, but I just always thought with her being a defender and me being a forward, we were just kind of a package deal for a team.”
mb832409@ohiou.edu
