Between the Posts

June 26, 2009

The Class of 2013

Last year, our freshman class was strong both in numbers and quality. Fifteen freshmen who helped to take our soccer program to a great start and contributed to give us some well deserved recognition. More goals scored, less goals against, and an overall sense of assertiveness that can only mean great things to come.

I am happy to announce that our class of 2013 will add more quality and resolve to our soccer program. Together with our returning student/athletes, lead by our two Captains, Senior Jon Funston and Junior Mark Babcock, and seniors Dave Rosborough, Drew Kapsalis, Tim Cheek, and Christian Krenk, and Junior Mike Scheitlin, the eight recruited freshmen in the class of 2013 are going to strengthen our already promising squad.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1 - Ryan Fier - Ryan hales from Columbus North High School where he played Varsity for four years and the U17 US Academy Carmel United Soccer Club Team. Ryan is a midfielder with composure, technical skills, and vision. He is used to compete with and against the best U17/18 players in the country and his experience will help us to stabilize our midfield.

2- CJ Francoeur - CJ hales from Columbus North High School where he was a four year letterman in soccer. CJ is a defender with good foot skills and speed who can help our back line from the start a great deal.

3 - Matthew Paul - Matt comes from Bloomington North High School where he was a four year letterman and the South Central Select Nemesis Club from Center Grove. Matt is a 6' goal keeper with solid technique and leadership abilities. He is coming in to challenge and compete for a starting position.

4 - Alex Lion - Alex played soccer at Warren Central High School and with the Carmel United Soccer Club. Alex is a forward with speed, high work rate, and good scoring abilities who is expected to contribute to our front runner ability to score goals and pressure the opponents' back line.

5 - Joe Stiglitz - Joe hales from Highland High School where he played Varsity soccer for two years and the Millennium Soccer Club. Joe is a physical defender with strength and speed who can challenge for playing time.

6 - Levi Noblitt - Levi comes from Elkhart Central High School where he was a Varsity member and played with the South Bend Invaders Soccer Club. Levi is a defender with good technical skills, speed, and stamina who will give us great depth in the back.

7 - Sam Hatcher - Sam hales from Southmont High School where he played to years Varsity and the Indy Burn U18 team. Sam is a smart defender with good athletic and leadership abilities. He will give us much needed depth in our defensive back line.

8 - Kenneth Harris - Ken was a member of the Lawrence North High School and played with the Dynamo Soccer Club U23 team. Ken is a passionate, athletic and imposing 6' 1" goalkeeper who is coming in to improve and deepen our goalkeeping position.

Welcome on board lads! We are excited about your commitment to Wabash and its soccer program!

Wabash Soccer Always Fights!

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June 14, 2009

What We Have Learned: A Year In Retrospect

A few days ago I read Jim Amidon's wonderful piece about the Big Bash success and the college's need to have its faithful alumni push us forward, close the door that locks behind last year and throw away the keys.

Last year was tough, no doubt about it, perhaps the toughest the college, its faculty and staff, and students had to go through in a long, long while. On a personal note, the year had a lot of ups and downs, great moments of pure euphoria and other times of deep sorrow and regret. However, I want to look back at last year and draw out everything positive it can offer, even in moments of dismay and tough, painful decisions. Things didn't progress in a 'business-as-usual" manner, on the contrary, things moved forward with extraordinary effort by everyone involved. And because of this desire to work things out, give everything we had to give, and overcome overwhelming obstacles, we have learned a lot from last year.

We have learned that life is precious and shouldn't be taken for granted.

We have learned that actions bring consequences, good and/or bad, and the need to confront them.

We have learned that if something we are about to do feels stupid, it most likely is.

We have learned that arrogance and ignorance are a deadly combination when paired together.

We have leaned that we are surrounded by people who care, even when it doesn't feel like it.

We have learned that we can compete with anyone, and it's time now to believe we can beat anyone.

We have learned that talent alone doesn't cut it; character and integrity lead you to success.

We have learned that everything is temporary, success and defeat alike.

We have learned that everything is manageable, even pain and loss, of any kind.

We have learned that the team is more important than its individual members.

We have learned that tolerance, caring, and friendship need to replace selfishness, egotism, and indifference.

We have learned that easy is not rewarding, difficulty is.

We have learned that commitment and resolve must step up when the going gets tough.

We have learned that a man, a Wabash man, recognizes responsibility, independence, and maturity much earlier than any other college student.

We have learned that resilience is a gift we all have.

We have learned that nothing worthy comes your way without sacrifice, work ethic, persistence, and vision.

We have learned that positive thinking and a smile travel farther than negativity and graveness.

And we have learned that the sun will come up tomorrow, no matter what!

So, one and all, last year has taught us a lot, and even though we don't want to repeat the lesson, we can only look back and be grateful for our growth and the experience we matured. The real loss would be to lock the year away and have learned nothing from it. Even unwelcome times can bring you something to better yourself.

Lads, let's show ourselves and others we have learned a lot from last year and because of that, we are better students, better athletes, and better human beings.

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May 23, 2009

La Vida Loca

Family/Friends

It´s been over a week, and I´m not yet used to the keyboard! But I´m glad to say that my spanish is definiteley improving, possibly the best it has ever been. Here, Ecuadorians speak much slower and clearer than Spaniards which makes it easier to understand and converse. I want to apologize now for the run-on paragraph and all the errors, but I´m paying by the minute for my internet access and I also haven´t really been speaking much English. Pero vamos, my week...

I can even remember where I left off, this week has been so full. Each morning we have some sort of Ecuatorian cultural event. Whether that is a speaker, field trip, or both. We always break for lunch from 12-2:30 (which I love because not only is lunch the biggest meal of the day and we have a cook where I live, I normally have some time to nap afterwards.... I do love to siesta). Bueno, our afternoons are filled with language classes from 2:30 (more or less, remember things here aren´t quite a punctual as other places) until 5:30. Classes aren´t difficult but I am learning a great deal and not just language skills. This last week we would normally meet in La Mariscal, which is the bar zone and also fortunately where I live. I actually only have to walk a mere 2 blocks to get to Plaza Foch (the main plaza of the Mariscal), while others have to take a 20 min. taxi or algo asi. The nights have been fun, but during this trip I have many more responsibilities... so my main perogative is to make sure other students are getting themselves in harms way. For example, I went out with my host sister one night. It was a pretty low-key night, but she was really having fun dancing. I was not going to leave her alone, but I also was dead tired. Let me paint this picture for you, I was sitting on this comfy black couch in an upstairs room, there was an older guy passed out across the room, a group of people chatting and drinking, for some reason they had a Steven King movie playing on the flat screen, and I was half asleep waiting for my host sister. YUP! It was a great time. HAHA. But, I did not want to ruin her fun, so around 2:30 we finally got around to getting out of there and we headed home.

I know this is long but bare with me. This past weekend was actually an incredible weekend. Saturday, we met as a group at the teleferico (which is a gondala type thing that brings you halfway up a mtn. called Pinchincha). Once there you have a spectacular view of most of the city ( the city is incredible long). Once there, we hiked and hiked and hiked. We ended up hiking past 12,000 ft. And let me tell you, 12,000 ft is not joke! Towards the end, we were taking breaks about every 5 mins. The funny thing is that we never reached the summit. I think you actually have to have like real senderismo equipment to do this, or at least something more that a pair of hiking boots, water and good looks. When we finally decided to stop, the view was..... hmmm I dont have words for the view right now, but it was really really really really good. Note the use of 4 "really´s"

We make our way aaallll the way back down in a hurry because we have plans to see a professional futbol game at 4 (remember that I said 4 because this becomes important later in the story). We eat a bit, hail a taxi bus, which of course we are too big to fit in. One of the guys had to sit on another guy´s lap (questionable???? huh). We convince this guy to take us across the city to the Stadium of La Liga, the most popular team in Quito. While on our way, I begin to talk to our driver about possibly coming back to pick us up after the game so we dont have to take multiple taxi cars. I asked if he could come back around 6:30 ish. He said he would be waiting and also gave me his number. We we arrive, he starts to tell us about the best places to sit and other advices. He then asks why we wanted to be there so early, because the game doesn´t start til 6. Well, the information we were told was it started at 4. But what really get´s me is that he knew we thought the game was at 4 because we asked him to pick us up at 6:30 ish. This is a classic situation that you run into while in Ecuador. The one thing you need to know FLEXIBILITY. He says he´ll be back around 8:30 to pick us up. We say thanks and part ways. In order to kill time and go to the ATM, we head down to a nearby mall. As a group of the biggest people there, it´s always going to be an event when we are walking as a group. But we pass our time at the mall and just as we are leaving it begins to pour down rain. Don´t take this lightly, I MEAN POUR. Our group just laughed cause it was just another curveball to our already eventful day.

Undoubtly as a group of gringos we buy all the La Liga gear we can afford before we walk into the stadium. We were told to sit in the north because it was much calmer and an easier place to enjoy the game. But we all thought that we wanted to be in the mierda (the confusion). Just like on the most extreme video shows. So we buy the cheap tickets in the south! HAHA. While entering the stadium we´re hit with yet another curveball. Because we are all wearing La Liga gear, somebody asks us why we are sitting in the visitor´s section. Well... we begin to think that this is not going to be a good decision. So, I talked to one of the security guards and being we are in Ecuador he permitted us to sit on the field level section. This is the section where people have drums, everyone sings, and when a goal is scored you rush the fence and climb as high as you can until the police tell you to get down.

We get in the game, still raining, and start watching/trying to figure out the songs. The first half is pretty much uneventful soccerwise but we were confronted by patrons offering and doing some illegal things. Half-time rolls around and we see that behind us there is a group of people that have lit flares and were singing and dancing. Of course I had to go. We ended up befriending this fan who gave me a flare and lit it before I could even say thanks.

So there´s me, running around a drum, holding a flare, and soaking wet. It was an experience that I don´t think I can do justice writing. I wish I had a video. So the second half is starting and more and more flares are lit in the stands and more and more banderas are strung up around the stadium. (by the way my hands are hurting from writing soo long, im sure your eyes are too). But the second half starts, it´s still raining, I have a scarf tied around my head, im holding a flare in one hand and a beer (we´re at a sporting event I´m allowed one beer Coach) in the other hand. Suddenly the score! I drop the beer and the flare and rush the fence. Im climbing over people and there are people climbing over me. It was shear madness. Eventually we are brought under controll by the police and we return to our seats. The game continued with three more goals, three more spilt beers and three more fence climbs. The outcome La Liga won 4-0. And when we left, Roberto our driver was luckily waiting patiently. What a guy!

Once we finally made it home, it was def. time for a quick nap and another night in La Mariscal. HAHA. ¡Que Vida!

Imagine that that was just our Saturday. Sunday is another story, but for the sake of my hands and your eyes... I´ll give you the abridged version. We slept in til around 11, went to an open aire artisian market, the road a shady bus to the Mitad del Mudial, where I finally balanced an egg on the head of a nail, and ate dinner there watching the sunset behind the mountains.

Not a bad weekend. Huh? I wanted to send all of you some insight into the life here in Ecuador. The even better news is that I´m not yet sick, nor am I flushing the toilet paper!

saludos y cariño from Ecuador,

Jon Funston '09

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May 21, 2009

I love My Job

I know that I belong to a very small percentages of people who get up in the morning and can say exactly so: "I love my job!" I guess we can say I am a lucky man, but this type of luck didn't come easy. It took many years to "materialize." As a matter of fact, it took many years to realize that each one of us makes his/her own luck by the choices we make and the path we take. I know, I know, it sounds very much like a cliche', but as I said many times in the past, cliches have a lot of truth in them and, most of the times, they are right on the money!

The most stimulating part of my line of work has to do with the fact that we always start fresh, every season, every game, every week. The beauty of sports is that we always have an opportunity to do better the next day, next week, next year.

As the summer approaches and the lads are scattered everywhere doing their things, I can't help but feel a growing level of excitement about what the future will bring to our young soccer program. No matter how difficult a previous season year may have been, coaches are always looking to the future as if opening Forest Gump's classic "box of chocolate." We learned from our past, at least we try, and move on to the next season with an invigorating strength that only our bigger-than-life optimism can sustain. We need to be optimistic, otherwise sport frequent defeats or setbacks could take the wind out of our sails once too many times.

So, we start planning, organizing, envisioning, dreaming about the next season, months and months in advance, with childlike anticipation and thrill. "What will the Pandora box give us?" And although coaches everywhere like to play all their cards on the table to make sure there are not surprises, the elements of the unknown and uncertainty make for this job to be the best possible job.

I can't wait until our young team returns for pre-season with the experience and resolve we matured last year. I can' t wait until we get together and train before we leave for Argentina. I can wait until our recruit class joins in and start melting with the returning players. I can't wait until we are all together on the soccer pitch. I can't wait until these young lads show our opponents, the NCAC conference, the College, and themselves what they are made off. I can't wait until they will deliver to everyone who cares about their well-being, their grades, their health, and their passion for the most beautiful sport in the world! I can't wait until we make these young lads into a band of brothers; brothers that love, respect, tolerate, support, and motivate each other to be the best their abilities... and more. I can't wait until we prepare our season together for fourteen days. I can't wait until we take our sore bodies to the dunes for a day of fun and relaxation. I can't wait until the new lads share a canoe with an upperclassman and paddle down Sugar Creek with their buddies. I can wait until we sit all around a camp fire and we share some personal stories. I can't wait..... I just can't wait for next season to start.

And that's why I love my job!

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May 11, 2009

Don't Flush The Toilet (In Ecuador)

Friends/Family

I wanted to first let you all know that although the flights were hot and cramped, we made it safely to Quito.

We landed just after 11 pm local time and had to go through the headache of a swine flu frenzied customs department. Once we dredged through that fiasco, we were greeted by hoards of smiling host families holding signs with our names. This is my second time in Quito and I am staying with the same family, so our reunion was a little more heartfelt than others. But we made it back to their apt., drank some water, caught up on some gossip, and finally called it a night. Sleeping wasn´t hard, as most of you know I love to sleep, but being at such a high altitude was cause for some initial discomfort when I was breathing deeply and half asleep.

I woke up today to a crying baby. . Both my host brother (Mauricio) and host sister (Alexandria) have married and had their first child. Fortunately, only Mauricio´s baby girl was in casa this morning. It actually worked out for the better because waking up so early I was able to see my host father (papisote or Guillermo) off to work. I made my 6-7 block walk to the university and began my day making sure all the kids were finding themselves well with their families.

Today was the basic orintacion day: tours, safety lectures, a luncheon, etc. My Spanish is coming back very quickly, in fact in writing this email I am really having to think about my English... so that´s exciting. But all-in-all things have started well, no problems so far, and I am NOT flushing the toilet paper this time! (which is a joke for those who don´t know, in south America you´re not suppose to flush toilet paper because of the weak plumbing and last time I was here I continuously did. this resulted in a catastrophic clogging of my toilet. And it was slightly embarrassing).

I wanted to give all of you an update on my safety and time thus far in Quito.

Con Cariño para todos,

Jon '09

P.S. Grandma: my host ma absolutely loved your gift.

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May 09, 2009

Pre-departure Reflection

It’s curious feeling. I’ve just finished finals (of my “senior” year) and moved out/away from my friends and roommates. So, I have some anxiety built up solely on those facts.

I’m also anxious/excited to return to Ecuador, to see my host family from two years ago, to see friends, and to revisit some of the places that still seem familiar. Ecuador holds a special place near my heart because it was my first trip outside of the U.S. That first time will never be matched; I made new lifelong friends in fellow Wallies and Professors. Everything was a first two years ago.

With this second trip, my excitement lies not in the mass amounts of new experiences, but a chance to share, teach, and learn all combined in one. I hope to further my appreciation for the distinct cultures that make up Ecuador, and help my classmates understand these cultures/traditions for their own first time. I know that I will learn a great deal about working with marginalized people and their daily struggles. This will result in my own new/better perspective on U.S. culture and my own life. There is nothing that can substitute for first hand experience, seeing, feeling, tasting and smelling with your own senses.

I feel prepared, as I’ve been there once before. I know to expect nothing and everything. I’ve learned that the most valued characteristics in travel—especially to Ecuador—is flexibility and laughter. These two qualities can get you through anything in life let alone in Ecuador.

Our mission is to teach English to marginalized youth in the south of Quito and Mondaña (a village on the Napo River), take our own Spanish language/culture classes, and also establish intrinsic motivation within the youths to continue to pursue not only English but education. My classmates and I have met once a week for two hours each Thursday night, preparing for these tasks and I think we’ve done well. I knew that I was prepared to return to Ecuador when I signed up as the student director, but what I did not realize was how unprepared I was to lead and ESL class. I do feel, barring no major catastrophe, that we have the appropriate plans and knowledge to make a difference in the youths lives and our own.

Jon Funston '09

Captain

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April 10, 2009

Easter Egg

I grew up in Italy, a place where gigantic chocolate Easter eggs are traditionally adorning shop windows for days prior and after the Holiday.

As a child, I loved opening one of those eggs and finding a treat of some sort. Inside our soccer program Easter egg we found a ticket to Argentina!

I am happy to announce that a group of 19 travelers, composed of 15 players, two coaches, and two chaperones, will travel to Argentina and Uruguay this coming August as part of an NCAA foreign tour opportunity.

Each participant had to raise his/her own funds to afford the trip and at times it looked like the trip was going to be cancelled. Fortunately, we all pulled through and sent in 50% of the cost.

We will depart from Chicago O' Hare the evening of August 4, land in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, in the early hours of the 5th. During our stay in the land of the Gauchos, we will visit museums, and historical sites, famous locations, tourist attractions and even travel to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, located just across the quite picturesque Mar Del Plata, the large estuary of Rio del Plata, River Plate, that separates the two countries.

Additionally to sightseeing and exploring cultural and social aspects of Argentinean life, we are guaranteed to play three games against the reserve squads of professional clubs like San Lorenzo, Estudiantes, and Indipendiente and the opportunity to train in state of the art soccer complexes under the direction of professional Argentinean coaches.

The cherry on the cake will be our attendance to one Argentinean first division match played inside the world famous Bombonera stadium, home of the renown club Boca Juniors.

Our trip is organized by Futbol America, Inc. a professional travel agency specializing in soccer trips to South America. A three star hotel accommodation, modern bus, a 24/7 bilingual interpreter/guide, and three meals per day are part of an eleven day package we have been working on and putting together since last year. Our return is scheduled for the early hours of Sunday, August 16 when we will be landing at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago.

This is a wonderful opportunity for our lads to experience a foreign country so rich in tradition, culture, and history, in addition to cementing their bond as teammates while having the chance to fully immerse themselves in a soccer environment second to none.

This is the first time that the Wabash soccer program takes its student/athletes on a foreign trip and rest assured it won't be the last. As a matter of fact, we are already planning our next trip in the summer of 2012 to my birth country, Italy.

But for now though...... ¡Argentina, aquí venimos!

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