On the road

Some say student-athletes are one of two things: Uncultured people who just eat, sleep and watch television -- or are the finest of all students who nurture their mental as well as their physical skills.

My experiences as a student-athlete at the University of Oslo in Norway and at SF State say that the latter is more fitting.

SF State soccer is not like Division I football where the athlete comes before the student, where money and gifts from alumni are common. This is Division II soccer where we have to pay for our own cleats and the biggest perk is priority registration.

My recent three-day trip to Bakersfield as part of SF State's soccer team gives some clues to the life of student-athletes on and off the field.

A place in the middle of nowhere, Bakersfield's main attractions are gas stations and Burger Kings. If you've been to Bakersfield you know there isn't much to do.

Nevertheless, we went there to play soccer and to build a new team. With two games in three days, we had lots of time to kill.

So what did we actually do? Well ... we ate, slept and watched television -- the usual. So does that mean we're unsophisticated 2.0 GPA-students?

Not exactly.

These activities help us relax and switch our thoughts to something other than the game. Mix cleat polishing with a little homework and it's just what the coach ordered.

Going on the road, spending nine hours in a van, definitely forces one to learn about people. Players I first perceived as Norman Bates-types or mom's little darlings after our first practices, I learned to respect and see in a totally different light. The other 19 players on the team probably experienced the same thing.

With 14 rookies it is a natural process. We've been together for almost a month, and many of us meet off the field, but nothing brings a team together like a road trip.

We roomed up in twos at the hotel, but most of the time was spent jammed into one room, playing cards. Others escaped from the Bakersfield heat by the pool, where we discussed team tactics and the delightful surroundings. It's all part of the building the camaraderie essential to function on and off the field.

On the field -- where our perfect preparations should materialize in wins -- we didn't do much right over the weekend. We lost both games in unimpressive fashion. We probably learned more from those games than we did in all our pre-season practices. Learning by not doing, so to speak.

Naturally, it was awfully quiet in the locker room after the Sunday loss. We were all disappointed by our performance. But once we got in the van and hopped on Interstate 5, the atmosphere started to improve. The most vocal of the guys set a cheerful tone by cracking jokes, helping us forget the weekend -- no need to dwell on the bad results.

This was the first of many road trips to come. The rest of the season will be a learning process. We stick to the same routines; we do our thing; and we are affected by no one or nothing. That is our recipe for success. It didn't work this weekend, but Rome wasn't built in a day.

[ Golden Gater Online September 10, 1996 ]

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