2008 Woodie Awards
Soccer club breaks language barrier
By: Scott Harres
Issue date: 3/1/07 Section: Sports
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Freshman Alvaro Coronel came to Webster from Ecuador. When he got here he noticed there wasn't much of an opportunity for international students to participate in the university's athletics. Instead, he found another way to get involved.
Socceroos, a club formed by Coronel, offers students a chance to get together and play a game that can break through language barriers.
"Socceroos is a soccer club where people from around the world come together to play soccer just for fun," Coronel said. "The cool thing about this club is that at the beginning we had kids who couldn't even speak English, but miraculously they could communicate and make friends through soccer."
Members manage to squeeze in playing time in Grant Gym, between basketball and baseball practice that use the same facility.
"I created Socceroos because many students, especially international students, can't play for the school team," Coronel said. "It's too time consuming and it's to hard to get into, not to mention the health issues and paperwork."
The NCAA Division III eligibility standards are strict for students. Marty Todt the head coach for men's soccer, said last year the NCAA announced new rules concerning eligibility.
"In the past, players who didn't quite make the final cut were allowed to continue working out with the team," Todt said. "One year we had three players go down with knee injuries, and their spots were taken by the players who hadn't initially made the team. It used to be that if you weren't sure that you wanted to play soccer, you could sort of hang around and feel it out."
Currently no international students play any sport besides tennis.
"A lot of times the problem for the soccer team is that many of the international students arrive in America too late to try out," Todt said. "Each athlete must meet the NCAA's requirements of eligibility, and they must have passed a physical exam with our trainer, Martin Fields. The deadline to pass all of these tests is Aug. 1."
Socceroos, a club formed by Coronel, offers students a chance to get together and play a game that can break through language barriers.
"Socceroos is a soccer club where people from around the world come together to play soccer just for fun," Coronel said. "The cool thing about this club is that at the beginning we had kids who couldn't even speak English, but miraculously they could communicate and make friends through soccer."
Members manage to squeeze in playing time in Grant Gym, between basketball and baseball practice that use the same facility.
"I created Socceroos because many students, especially international students, can't play for the school team," Coronel said. "It's too time consuming and it's to hard to get into, not to mention the health issues and paperwork."
The NCAA Division III eligibility standards are strict for students. Marty Todt the head coach for men's soccer, said last year the NCAA announced new rules concerning eligibility.
"In the past, players who didn't quite make the final cut were allowed to continue working out with the team," Todt said. "One year we had three players go down with knee injuries, and their spots were taken by the players who hadn't initially made the team. It used to be that if you weren't sure that you wanted to play soccer, you could sort of hang around and feel it out."
Currently no international students play any sport besides tennis.
"A lot of times the problem for the soccer team is that many of the international students arrive in America too late to try out," Todt said. "Each athlete must meet the NCAA's requirements of eligibility, and they must have passed a physical exam with our trainer, Martin Fields. The deadline to pass all of these tests is Aug. 1."
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