Carleton varsity players have to find the right balance between work, school, sports
and a social life ( Photo Provided )
It is the start of a new school year and for many freshmen that means moving into residence, trying to navigate the campus and getting out of bed before noon. For many athletes new to Carleton, the start of the school year also brings about the opportunity to try out for a varsity team.
Most varsity teams have either already started or will soon be starting their tryouts in an attempt to find some talented new rookies to join their teams and represent Ravens athletics.
While not every varsity team follows a generic formula for how they organize their tryouts, every team holds open tryouts in some form, said Bob Rumscheidt, Carleton manager of interuniversity programs.
Some teams will hold specific dates where anyone can come try out while other teams will have you contact the coach to organize a tryout date.
Sandy Mackie, head coach for the Carleton varsity men’s soccer team, said he does some recruiting in the fall and winter to look into players who have been recommended.
Otherwise, a student will e-mail him and if they are attending Carleton and playing soccer at a competitive level, they will be allowed to come to an open tryout.
“You have to be fair, and you never know, you always pick up a diamond,” Mackie said.
Michelle McEvoy, head coach for the Carleton varsity field hockey team said they normally do a training camp so tryouts are not just one day.
“We try to give the athletes the most opportunity to really strut their stuff and shine,” she said.
The amount of previous experience you need to make a varsity team differs with each sport. In general however, you need to have a familiarity with the sport or at least be a very talented athlete, said Rumscheidt.
The amount of previous experience required also depends on the past success of the team.
“If you look at the most successful program we have now, men’s basketball, you’re going to have to be a pretty accomplished basketball player to play at that level,” Rumscheidt said, “but not all the teams are like that.”
The time commitment for a varsity team also varies depending on the number of hours a team practices each week and the length of a sport’s season.
“With a sport like golf, their season is done by the middle of October. Sports like basketball and hockey hopefully go deep into March because that’s when the national championships are,” Rumscheidt said.
Mackie said the men’s soccer team trains every day and plays every weekend from Aug. 15 to Nov. 15. There is also an indoor program that goes from January to March.
“It’s a big commitment. You have to be able to balance school, soccer, work and a social life,” he said.
During the regular season, the field hockey team typically practices from 6:45 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. four times a week.
“It’s really hard for any student to be practicing that early in the morning, but we’re really impressed with the dedication that we get from our athletes,” said McEvoy.
Caki Simrooglu, who made the men’s soccer team last year, said he has to arrange his schedule so all his classes are in the morning since the team practices every afternoon.
He said he has been playing sports since he was young and is used to balancing it with other commitments.
Coming here from Turkey, Simrooglu said being on a varsity team gave him automatic friends and allowed him to meet a lot of people.
“We’re not even friends,” he said, “it’s a family, we’re a team.”