Joey Hinkle is a 2005 NSU Hall of Fame induction and had his No. 26 soccer jersey retired. He graduated from NSU in 1996 and still holds most men's soccer records. He ranks first with the most goals in a season (5), most goals in a four-year career (62), most points in a career (142). Hinkle also ranks second with 11 assists and 43 points in a season.
In the sixth installment of "catching up with the Northeastern State family" we highlight a conversation with Joey Hinkle.
Can you walk us through your journey to NSU?
The late Coach Elliot had recruited me and was a high school coach in the Oklahoma City area. His son [Josh Elliot] is now [at Northeastern] playing. Coach just kept in touch with me. I was the first one out of my family to go to college. I never even stepped foot on campus and the year before I got there I think they had won like one game. I knew a guy from high school whose sister was a cheerleader at Northeastern so they told me a bit about it. I loaded up my car and drove to Tahlequah for the first time back in 1992.
What does soccer mean to you now being an NSU Hall of Famer?
Soccer has been everything to me, growing up my mom was a single mom and I was the youngest. We all played soccer and we were a one sport family so she could manage it all. I had tons of coaches that helped me along the way. That was my thing as a kid; some people love video games but I just loved soccer. For me, you used to kind of play for your home team, but when it started getting into the pay-to-play I had an opportunity and thankfully we had a local coach, Rick Suffield. He was my introduction to what they call "classic" team play.
What stands out to you as your highlights at NSU?
My freshman year, the year before I got there, NSU, I believe won one game. We didn't win tons of games that year but we made it to the District 9 Tournament as the #4 seed and I think there were only five teams. We ended up playing the one seed and we upset them to make it to the finals. Then we won the finals which was unheard of. We came together and started peaking at the right time.
In your opinion, what's the most important thing you took away from your college experience?
I interview people now for jobs and I ask that question a lot of times. For me, the answer is, it's beyond just the school work, and soccer was fun, it's the growing up and the good days and sometimes the days aren't as good. You start to meet different people from different backgrounds. Also, I think learning how to make mistakes was beneficial.
Do you have any advice for current student-athletes?
Enjoy the years in college and don't get in a hurry. I think it's important to have a vision and see life after college instead of just living in the moment. It's probably some of the better years in your life so probably enjoy the process and have a good focus. I wish I had more direction for what I wanted to do rather than just getting through and getting the piece of paper.
What did you end up studying?
I got a degree in psychology and I did well in school like I always did. It was industrial-organizational psychology so I thought I was going to work for a corporation somewhere in human resources.
You are in sales now, correct?
Yes, I'm a senior sales manager for AbVee Pharmaceuticals so I've been doing that for 20 years. We started as a smaller company and we've been bought out a few times. I have 11 sales reps in Oklahoma and my current territory is most of Oklahoma.
Did you explore human resources before getting to AbVee?
It never materialized. One of the guys I played soccer with was a year ahead of me and he was adding on to a building with his dad. I moved in with him and he and I worked for his dad doing some construction work, mowed grass, and coached youth soccer. We bounced around in the Broken Arrow area. After about a year we got our first "real" jobs, and I worked at a company called First Data Corporation. How I got into the job I'm in now, is I used to work out every morning. I showed up at 5 o'clock, and that's a good life lesson; to show up early. I met this guy and he was like "man, you'd be great at this job in Oklahoma City."
Where are you living now?
I've moved around a lot and now I live in Broken Arrow. My wife told me we aren't moving again.
Is it just you and your wife? Do you still coach?
I have a 15-year-old daughter who does dance and I enjoy watching. I have a 12-year-old daughter who plays soccer and I coach her team. I'm still involved in soccer. I am on the soccer board here in Broken Arrow and am very involved in trying to further the sport.
