 "Photo: Courtesy of Sports Information")
Coming off an underwhelming 3-13-3 season, Delaware's men's soccer team was in need of some positive news heading into the offseason. Lucky for them, junior defenseman/midfielder Kyle Davis was named to the ESPN the Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America District 2 All-Academic First Team.
Davis, who made the All-Academic Second Team last season, is a biochemistry major with a 3.87 GPA. For the team, Davis' award is a more positive culmination to the season than their season-ending loss, a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Georgia State Nov. 7. For Davis, it is recognition of his hard work on the field and in the classroom.
"It's pretty exciting to get some individual recognition," Davis said. "Since it's a team game, there's not as much individual recognition out there."
Assistant coach Bryan Vitagliano praised Davis' award.
"It puts a good light on individuals who can both play a sport at a high level and achieve in the classroom at a high level," he said.
Head coach Ian Hennessy also spoke highly of Davis' achievement, pointing out the importance of academics for student athletes. Hennessy realizes his players likely will not be playing soccer for a living, so he encourages his students to do as well as possible in class.
"At the end of the day, they're here to get their degrees," Hennessy said. "For all student-athletes, it's the piece of paper you walk away with and the experience in the class that's important. They're students first, athletes second."
Hennessy is a firm believer in the importance of a good education and he believes Davis' All-Academic award is something with which the entire team can identify. His stressing of academics as well as education has made a great impression on Davis.
"He definitely encourages a well-rounded, multi-faceted kind of student-athlete," Davis said. "He doesn't encourage just the minimum, whether its soccer or academics."
While Davis believes he has improved as an athlete and a student under Hennessy's leadership, he was unable to show his on-field improvement for much of the season. Davis was only healthy for the team's first eight games, missing the last 11 due to a stress fracture in his right femur. Knowing he would be able to make a full recovery for next season did little to comfort Davis while he watched his team struggle to a 2-8-1 record in games he missed.
"It was frustrating to sit there and watch and know I couldn't do anything about it," Davis said. "I just tried to support the team as best as I could."
Despite the injury, Davis still attended every practice, tried to get his team motivated to play and offered some constructive criticism to his teammates. These types of actions are expected from a team leader, something Davis strives to be, through actions and words.
Another of Davis' leadership qualities is his passion to win. His main goal for next season is to play in the CAA playoffs, something he is sure his team is capable of. And while he would love to play in every minute of every game, he is willing to take on any role that would increase the team's chances of winning the game.
While Hennessy and Vitagliano didn't go quite so far as to say the team should be in the playoffs, both agreed that the main goal for next season is simple: to win. Hennessy was frustrated by the disappointing 2008 campaign, but he believes the team has a very good core of players for next season.
He also sees a bright long-term future for the soccer program. He wants to put Delaware's men's soccer team on the national stage, a goal he considers to be reasonable due to the good location and quality of education Delaware has to offer to prospective athletes. However, he knows the team cannot reach national prestige without improving on this past season's results. The team will have to start winning against credible competition in order to make a name for itself.
With a talented, young core for next season, along with a smart leader in Davis and a head coach with a passion for winning, the 2009 season offers a chance for the Blue Hens soccer team to continue in the direction in which Davis' All-Academic achievement has pushed them.
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