building a soccer powerhouse at franklin pierce how in the world?

NicknamesEverybody on the men’s soccerteam has a nickname, James Thorpeexplains, or more than one. His are“Thorpey” and “Honey Mustard,”the latter because he loves – well,you guessed it – honey mustarddressing. Top, however, came toFranklin Pierce with his nickname.His parents, he explained, saw themovie, “Top Gun,” starring TomCruise, and he became “Top.JAMESAND “TOP”It’s very unlikely that James Thorpefrom East Long Meadow, Mass. andAdit “Top” Phataraprasit from Bangkok,Thailand, would have met ifthey hadn’t been soccer players. Yetthe two young men, both membersof the 2007 championship men’ssoccer team at Franklin Pierce, havebecome not only teammates butfast friends.In fact, Top, now a sophomore,credits James with giving him theencouragement he needed whenhe was having a hard time in hisfirst semester. “The beginning wastough,” Top says. “I wasn’t playingwell and I was down so many times.The senior captains really helped.”James was one of those three captains.“Top was nervous,” he says.“I know what it’s like. I was in hisposition once. I told him not toworry, we all make mistakes.”His advice must have worked.Though he sat on the bench for thefirst two-thirds of the season, Topended up starting in the last games,including the semi-finals and finals.“He really worked hard,” Jamessays, “and made a big improvement.He can truly say he helpedus win the championship.”The advice was coming from apretty reliable source. James wasan All-American goal keeper andonly the fourth student in FranklinPierce history to be drafted by amajor league soccer team. He wasrecruited to Franklin Pierce fromBrighton Academy in Maine, whileTop played soccer in high school inEngland before coming to FranklinPierce last year. He has anotherconnection, however.Top’s father, Pradit Phataraprasit,also played soccer at FranklinPierce and was coached by BruceKirsh, now Vice President andAthletic Director. A 1979 graduatein economics and management,Phataraprasit is now Deputy Ministerof Finance for the Government ofThailand.Top’s teammates have becomelike another family, he says. “Wemay compete for a place on theteam but, off the field, we’regood friends.”Both Top and James lived in theLakeside Townhouses by PearlyPond, as did four other teammates.They often got together for theevening, cooking and listeningto music.“We’re always eating food froma different culture or listening tomusic from another country,” Jamessays. “Even Top is starting to likeAmerican music.”15he says. “It’s easy to identify goodplayers, but the biggest challenge isto get to know the individual. I lookfor the type of individual who buysinto the kind of program we havehere – who understands the roleof the student-athlete in a campuscommunity.“I try to find out what their motivationsare outside of soccer,” he says.“I find that those who have a goodunderstanding of the importance ofacademics, that this translates to thesoccer field. Just being a talentedsoccer player is not enough. Theyhave to be motivated to do both.Most of our students won’t go on tobe professional soccer players. Mymain job is to make sure they all geta degree in four years.“We all learn as much fromour defeats as we do from oursuccesses,” Koolman adds. “Winsand losses are part of life. It’s easyto celebrate when you’re victorious.Your true character gets tested whenyou deal with obstacles. Overcomingthem becomes a victory in itself.”Koolman is convinced, he says, thatJames Thorpe, an All-American goalw w w . f r a n k l i n p i e r c e . e d u

keeper who has been drafted into major league soccer, made it in soccer because of his commitmentto academics. “James had to work very hard at academics,” Koolman says. “One of thereasons he came to Franklin Pierce was because of our excellent academic support program.”Thorpe agrees. “Coach makes it clear we have to work hard at school, not just at soccer,” hesays. “He watches us and he’ll suspend anyone if they’re late to class or whatever. That’s whatmy parents loved.“The teachers don’t treat us like ‘star’ athletes,” he adds. “They don’t do us any favors. They’rewilling to work with us but they don’t just let us off.”Bailey looks for someone who is intelligent as a player, he says. “Soccer is a random kind ofgame; there are no set plays so you have to be able to adjust.” He also looks for students whocan concentrate and manage their time well – qualities that make for good students as well,he says.Both Bailey and Koolman emphasize the importance of recruiting team players, not “stars.”“Soccer is a team sport,” Koolman says. “I stress that everybody has an important role,everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses and talents. If we all do our share,it leads to overall team success.”“You can have the greatest players in the world but when you’re on the field, you have to workas a team,” says Thorpe. “We might have all come from teams where we were maybe the bestor second best player, but here everyone is good. You have to learn how to not expect to bein the spotlight or go somewhere else.”16f r a n k l i n p i e r c e u n i v e r s i t yIntegrating with University LifeThe emphasis on team goes beyond the soccer field. The student athletes are expectedto become part of the Franklin Pierce community, Kirsh says. “There are no athletic dormsor residence halls,” he says, “and the student athletes get no special academic support.They are integrated into university life as much as possible.”And they are expected to perform in the classroom as well as on the field, he says.Both the men’s and women’s teams have done well academically.In the soccer program’s history, six players from the men’s team and eight fromthe women’s team have been named Academic All-Americans, an award basedon grade point average and athletic performance. “This is the highest individualhonor for academics that student athletes can earn,” Kirsh says.Eleven men and 21 women have received academic honors from the Northeast-10Conference and, since the NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll was started in2004, 12 men and 27 women have been named to it.“Student athletes at Franklin Pierce on the whole tend to have higher gradepoint averages and graduation rates than the general student body,” Kirshsays.Walter Peterson, the man who helped start the soccer legacy atFranklin Pierce, keeps up with the program and is proud of what hesees. “Franklin Pierce has built a diversified athletic program withinits means at the right level,” he says, “a program where characterand academics are just as important as athletics. We can take greatpride in it today.”s u m m e r 2 0 0 8