Balancing Act
Win-win situations are hard to come by, but the soccer team at Colby has found one. It wins in the classroom, too.
For the eighth year in a row, the men’s soccer team was honored with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award. The team has the longest winning streak for the academic honor in the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and was one of just two NESCAC colleges to receive the 2008 award, which requires a 3.0 team grade point average or better during that academic year.
The soccer team’s achievement is indicative of a college-wide philosophy about athletics. Here, sports are seen as part of the academic experience, says Marcella Zalot, Colby’s athletics director.
Just as the academic program prepares students for life beyond Colby, so does the athletic program, says Zalot. In this case, balancing academics and athletics in college is like balancing a profession and a family in life after college—preparing students “for what the world is going to be like out there,” she said.
For some students, including Ben Desmond ’11 of Ann Arbor, Mich., this approach to varsity sports is an attraction. “I really like the coaching staff a lot,” he said. “They really promote success both on and off the field.”
Coach Mark Serdjenian ’73 has a unique perspective when it comes to the balance between athletics and academics. Not only did he play soccer as a student at Colby, but he also worked for many years as associate dean of students for academics. Serdjenian, who has coached soccer at Colby for 33 years, says he makes sure that his players take academics seriously. “The team has it right in the understanding that someday your soccer ends,” he said. “They get to put on the uniform for four more years and play at a good level, but they are also ready for whatever they are going to do in life.”
Many students on the soccer team are double majors—some with several labs on the same day as practices. How do students manage the tough classes and high demands of a varsity sport? Goalie Doug Sibor ’10 says it’s a challenge. “It’s no easy task to be able to do as well as we have academically and be able to focus on soccer,” he said.
The overall academic culture at Colby helps Sibor, who transferred to Colby in his sophomore year. “It motivates me to work harder because I know everyone is doing it too and I am not the only one,” he said. In fact, spending a lot of time training, he says, helps him focus on academics as well.
Psychology major Duy Lyford ’10 also attributes his academic success to soccer. “I really do think that my athletics and what I do with soccer helps me in school,” he said. “I feel that with a healthy body you have a healthy mind.”
The soccer season lasts about two months, beginning in late summer and finishing at the end of October. According to co-captain Tom Milaschewski ’09, the players maintain their physical discipline and team spirit in the off season. “A couple days we all lift as a team and so we all have a workout plan,” he said. The team also plays two nights of indoor soccer a week as well as occasional friendly matches with other college teams such as Bowdoin, Bates, and the University of Southern Maine. “When the weather is nice in the spring we play with anyone who wants to play,” Milaschewski said. “It’s a lot of fun and we are always together as a team.”
Balancing soccer and studies also means not letting the sport get in the way of academic experiences. Although soccer is a serious commitment, many juniors on the team still manage to go abroad for a semester or a year. Said Michael Baldwin ’10, “Soccer doesn’t keep them from doing that.”
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