Nigel Long considers himself a leader. More importantly, he's humble.

So when people talk about Long as a person, it's easy to understand what everyone loves about the Freedom senior.

It's part of the reason he was chosen as male athlete of the year for Freedom, as well as for the Bethlehem Press.

The three-year varsity member of the soccer team and two-year varsity starter on the basketball team, was an engine for both sports during his tenure. Having a persistent motor for Freedom is something that all Patriots should be used to, as the comparisons to cross-town rival Liberty, are always prevalent, but among the list of accolades that Long has collected over the years, having Freedom win "The Bell," which is an accumulation of wins and losses for all sports between the two schools, for the first time in 23 years, may have been the cherry on top for any departing Freedom senior athlete.

"I think being athlete of the year helps me leave a legacy at Freedom," said Long. "I definitely don't take that for granted. I take pride in the awards, but winning the bell is a big thing for all of us at Freedom. It shows everyone that we can compete with Liberty in anything."

And competing is what Long is all about. Outside of his leadership in the locker room, his work-ethic and persistence, Long knows all about the trials and tribulations that come from his 5-foot-8 frame, which helped him land First-team Lehigh Valley Conference honors in basketball as a point guard, where he averaged 15 points and five assists a game, as well being a captain in basketball and soccer, where he scored nine goals and tallied five assists to help Freedom reach the district playoffs this past fall.

Long was part of the helping hand in winning "The Bell" back for Freedom, as both schools split their regular season encounters in basketball and soccer.

"One of the greatest memories I'll have from this year was scoring the game-winning goal against Liberty on senior night," said Long, about a 2-1 overtime victory over the Hurricanes. "We already qualified for districts heading into the game, but we always want to beat Liberty. Scoring that goal in double overtime was a great experience."

The boys basketball team didn't have the success that Long had hoped for, as they fell short of reaching the postseason, but that came after a junior season where the Patriots reached the district finals, only to fall to Parkland by a 65-50 affair to teach him a valuable lesson.

"You got to cherish those moments and capitalize on them," he said, "because you never know when you're going to get back there."

Which is prophetic in part, because Long will never be back at Freedom either as a player, as he moves onto college this fall at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., where he'll play Division-III basketball.

With Freedom in the rear view, Long certainly made the most of his opportunity donning the black and gold.

"I look back at my years at Freedom and I don't have any regrets," said Long. "I'm just happy I got a chance to play and did the best I could with every opportunity given to me."