Day 1: My Experience On the Road With the Soccer Academy

During the 2014-2015 school year, several faculty members -- myself included -- embarked on a shadowing project designed to give us, as educators, a glimpse into the lives our our students. It was a meaningful exercise that connected us to the student experience in a whole new way.

To build on this work, I will be completing a different kind of shadowing project over the course of the next four days as I spend time traveling with our Soccer Academy and shadowing several of our ninth-grade residential student-athletes.  

Today started like every other day. They woke up, went to Coach Class, meet with their advisors and then they were off to their first four periods of the school day. The topic of conversation was Mr. Schmidt's Honors World History test. At the end of their fourth class of the day, they made their way to the dining hall, ate a quick lunch and then headed to the Huffman Athletic Center to get on the bus as we started our journey to Greenville, S.C.  

For four hours, they listened to music; surfed the internet; talked with friends about classes, girls and the Student Council election (which two members of the Soccer Academy are in the run off election for); napped; and did some school work.  

At 4:30 p.m., we arrived at Furman University, where we were met by Darlington alum and former Soccer Academy player Noah Teplitzky ('15) at the Admission Office. After hugs and high fives, our Soccer Academy had the privilege of hearing from Furman's head coach, Doug Allison, and Noah.  

Coach Allison emphasized several key ingredients to being a successful student-athlete and shared advice about how to choose the right college. First, he talked about character. He said, "Coaches want players they can trust." In order to be recruited to play at a Division 1 school like Furman, you need to be a "great person" in the classroom and on and off the field, he said.  

Second, Coach Allison emphasized that you need to find a school that is right for you regardless of athletics. "Find a school that fits your make up. Do what's important for you," he told our Academy players. Schools like Furman will prepare you for life after athletics, he added, also stressing the importance of college majors and internships.

Coach Allison then asked Noah to talk with the team about his first three months as a college student-athlete. "It is more work than I imagined, on the field and in the classroom," said Noah. "I spend at least three hours a night in a study hall doing homework." He then looked everyone in the eye and told them to learn how to use Darlington's study halls wisely and not to procrastinate like he did in high school. Noah also talked with the team about the feel of campus. "We're a family; my teammates are my brothers. Everyone, including my professors, wants me to succeed," he said. Sounds a lot like Darlington! 

The team then got a tour of Furman's campus and enjoyed a pre-game meal in the student center. Chick-fil-A and Moe's were among the highlights of the tour. Then, it was back on the bus for a 45-minute ride to our "friendly" against a club program from Greenville.  

For 60 minutes, the players worked and played hard. Then, we boarded the bus for our three-and-a-half hour drive to Charleston, where we will check into our rooms at 2 a.m. and get a good night's sleep before our visit to the College of Charleston in the morning and the start of the 2015 Charleston Select Shootout.  
I'm exhausted and I didn't even have to play today!

In case you are interested, I've linked a few of last year's shadowing blogs below:

The 40-Year-Old Fourth-Grader by IT Director Stefan Eady

Throwback Thursday: My Day as a Student by English Department Chair Beth Wilson

A Day in Her Uggs: My Experience Shadowing a Junior by World Languages Department Chair Yensen Lambert

Thursdays at Thatcher: My Experience Shadowing a First-Grader by Director of Communications Tannika Wester

My Throwback Thursday: Shadowing a Sophomore by Content Manger Luke Chaffin