If you’ve ever read Mac Confessions, you’d know that sometimes students can have a tough time balancing their full-time load, but when you add a couple of hours of practice per day, things can get particularly spicy. Not only do student athletes deal with the typical difficulties of being in university, but they also devote large amounts of time and effort to their teams in order to continue performing at high levels.
However, playing sports at a university level isn’t all work and no play; it has its benefits. Being able to access high-level physical training, connect with teammates and develop a social network early on in university are just some of the perks that come with the lifestyle. Being a part of a university sports team can also develop many life skills, such as understanding commitment, organization, time management and teamwork.
However, playing sports at a university level isn’t all work and no play; it has its benefits. Being able to access high-level physical training, connect with teammates and develop a social network early on in university are just some of the perks that come with the lifestyle. Being a part of a university sports team can also develop many life skills, such as understanding commitment, organization, time management and teamwork.
With that being said, no one can understand the student athlete experience more than, well, the athletes themselves. For that reason, we sat down with Holly Connor, a first year student on the women’s water polo team; Andrew Davies, a second year student on the men’s cross country/track team and Brandon Chong, a fourth year student on the men’s baseball team. They shared how their lives are different from regular students, how they deal with their struggles and what they’ve learned from their experiences.
As a first year student, Holly Connor just went through a major transition from high school to university-level sports.
“At the very beginning of the year when everything was so new, it was difficult, but once you get into the groove of it, it worked out better,” said Connor.
Despite the time management struggles, Connor does not regret her decision to play university-level water polo, as it has its upsides.
“Playing the sport itself helped me in so many different ways. I made so many friends through it, some of my best friends. [Waterpolo] helped me in my health because I was initially very concerned about eating habits and my exercise I’d be able to get while transitioning into university, and it really helped me stay on top of it. It was also really nice to have that outlet to go and relax and not have to think about school all the time,” said Connor.
Athletes like Connor love the opportunity to play their sport and work on their craft. They take on the mentality of getting to go to practice, rather than having to go to practice. Practices and games are a release for athletes like her. Not only do they act as breaks, but they help maintain physical health while in the company of teammates and friends. Chong has had a similar experience as Conner.
“You take your mind off school, you get to hang out with your teammates and play baseball. They always like to have fun, so it gave me a place to take my mind off school. A release for me,” said Chong.
One of the most important parts of a team is of course, its teammates. The bond between the players on the roster is so much deeper than just being on the team together. Relationships that stem from these teams can be extremely helpful for new students coming in.
“A lot of my teammates are in the same program that I’m in, and all took the same classes, so it was really nice to be able to get together and do some work together,” said Connor. “It worked really well having that unit, who I not only spent all my time in the pool, but also spent a lot of time outside, getting to know them.”
“A lot of my teammates are in the same program that I’m in, and all took the same classes, so it was really nice to be able to get together and do some work together,” said Connor. “It worked really well having that unit, who I not only spent all my time in the pool, but also spent a lot of time outside, getting to know them.”
Davies also touched on the academic benefits of having teammates, saying, “There’s definitely some people on that team that are good for advice, who have done it before and are really good role models to follow in school and an athletic sense.”
Being a second year student, Davies has picked the brains of upper year students, which made his transition much easier. Despite not being in the same program as his teammates, Davies still experienced significant benefits from the mentorship provided by his teammates. They helped him transition into university sports, assisting him with the ins and outs of time management.
Time management is critical for student athletes.
“We practice three days a week, then weekends are just double headers each day (during the season), so probably about 24 hours a week maybe. Sometimes you just fall behind because it’s a lot of hours. It’s very hard to balance, but it’s doable,” Chong said.
The support system of coaches and fellow teammates helps ease the struggle of time management.
“I would say to know your schedule and your workload and everything,” said Chong. “If you need help, talk to someone, a teammate, talk to a coach, say that you’re stressed out about something. Let him know, he’ll understand. Just make sure you have a good scheduling system for yourself.”
Chong mentioned that being a part of the team significantly improved his leadership and time management, which are critical life-long skills.
The busiest time of the year for these athletes, of course, is the regular season. Currently, all three athletes are in the midst of their off-season, but that doesn’t mean they have it easy. The off-season grind can be as strenuous as the regular season.
“Practices are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday,” said Connor. “We have to keep up with our diets, and make sure we are eating enough. The off-season is from mid-December to June, and it is the same practice schedule. However, we are less focused on skills that would apply right away, rather long-term techniques. It’s still the same amount of practicing, so it still affects me in similar ways that it did previously, but now I have better abilities to cope with that. In the summer, we have workout programs that we are supposed to do on our own, where we focus on strength and cardio training.”
According to Davis, when it comes to the off-season for cross country and track, things get a little different. Davies has to deal with longer seasons, competing during the majority of the school year, so training intensity stays up there fall and winter terms, meaning he does not get to slow down and take a break from his heavy schedule.
“We have both cross country, and track seasons, we are competing almost the whole school year. We train right from the start of the semester, up until near the last few weeks. We have competitions going throughout the year,” Davies said.
All three athletes feel that although student athlete life can be challenging, the positives outweigh the negatives. Being able to make friends through their team, receive advice from upper years and develop life skills are why they would recommend sports to future students.
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By Andrew Fayed, Contributor
Nikolas Motruk knew that the McMaster Marauders’ men’s baseball team would come out strong in their four-game opening weekend, but even the fourth-year veteran admits that the team outperformed even their own high expectations for themselves. With an absolutely incredible 58 runs in four games, it’s safe to say that the rest of the league has been put on notice, that this year, the Marauders have come to play.
“When I started in my first year, we had a total of four wins, and it really didn’t look promising. We had five wins the next year before we finally had a winning record at 10-8 last year which was the first time we had a winning record in five years. So, this year we definitely expected to come out stronger than ever, but maybe not quite as strong as we did,” says Motruk with a laugh.
The four games played this past weekend came against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, the Ryerson Rams, the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and the Carleton University Ravens.
“We’ve had a bit of a rivalry with them [UofT] over the past few years, last year they actually walked us off in an elimination game in the Ontario University Athletics championship, so we were definitely hungry for them. We knew we had to come out strong and set the tone for the weekend, and we scored five in the first inning,” Motruk said.
Motruk’s performance this past weekend jumped off the stat sheet going 9-15 from the plate, with five extra base hits, and 10 runs batted in. Motruk was not only a strong player on the men’s baseball team, but it was enough for him to capture the prestigious Pita Pit Male Athlete of the Week award. Motruk credits his ability to stay calm under pressure and his confidence in his batting abilities as the keys to his monumental success.
“You can never let baseball get to your head. You always have to keep the same approach and stay confident at the plate. I went into every at bat knowing what the pitcher was going to throw at me and knowing that I had a job to do. When your team is playing well, there are always runners on base so those RBI’s are more of a team stat,” said Motruk.
When questioned on being Male Athlete of the Week, Motruk was quick to build up his team and his sport instead of focusing on himself.
“It’s not so much of a me thing, I just feel so good for the team that now we’re finally getting this recognition. It’s really a huge step forward for the team in general and for baseball as a university sport. Some students don’t even know that we have a baseball team, so this kind of recognition is really cool,” Motruk noted.
As a four-year veteran, Motruk has been through it all with the marauders’ baseball team. But back in his first year, Motruk was initially worried about the difference in workload from high school to university as a mechanical engineering student and was very hesitant about playing baseball for the Marauders at all.
“I didn’t really want to play baseball at first, I thought that students were all set up to fail and the schedules were so hectic, I thought that there was no way I could do this. I have to give credit to my parents who really motivated me to give it a shot, and I joined the team. I played three innings in my first year, and that was definitely an eye-opening experience. That really motivated me, even more, to get better. I pushed myself hard over the next couple of years, and here we are today,” Motruk added.
You can see Motruk and the Marauders next on Sept. 28 as they face the Queens University Gaels and York University Lions doubleheader in Kitchener.
Nikolas Motruk - Baseball
Nikolas Motruk (8) OF
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The McMaster men’s baseball team season has been off to a fairly good start. Sitting in fourth place in the Ontario University Athletics standings, the Marauders have a 7-3 record without even playing at home yet.
The Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks delivered the Marauders’ first loss of the campaign, while the team’s other losses came in back-to-back games against the Brock University Badgers. Yet, the next weekend, they bounced back to kick off a 4-0 winning streak. This is not easy to do as home field advantage can often weigh in on the outcome of a match; despite this, the Marauders talent has shone through.
“With this being our first game at home, it's kind of an anomaly, because usually we play an 18-game season and our home and away games are split between. But this year, it just so happened that we played all our away games in the beginning,” said former player Kenny Noguchi, who now works as the team’s social media manager.
[spacer height="20px"]With only home games remaining for the rest of the team’s season, this puts the Marauders in a good position to get the support they need to finish off strong. Also, a new stadium closer to school helps too.
“We used to play at Bernie Arbour Stadium which was up the mountain,” said Noguchi. “But now it's at Volunteer Park in Dundas, so it's a lot more accessible for students which is awesome.”
Although the team is not a U Sports team, Noguchi believes it is still just as important for McMaster students to support them like they do others.
“All sports here on campus are equally important from everything to squash to baseball to badminton,” said Noguchi. “All athletes are working very hard to represent our school in the best way we can, so to get some more support from the fans would be awesome.”
This weekend’s matches against the University of Guelph Gryphons and the University of Western Ontario Mustangs are the first games at home for the Marauders.
Catch them this Saturday and Sunday at Volunteer Park.
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By: John Bauer
Halfway into coach Adam Strongman’s second year at the helm of the McMaster Men’s Baseball team, it appears that his team is still at least a year away from contending with the OUA’s best.
The good news for the team is that junior outfielders Michael Campagnolo and Michael Westlake have been the offensive leaders for the team through 10 games, with major contributions from freshman Andy Falcon-Gonzalez and senior Travis Flint.
On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore pitcher Kenny Noguchi has put in two decent starts and freshman Carson Braun has had three solid relief appearances. Unfortunately for a group focusing on the future, the team’s two aces, Chris Novachis and Tomas Rincon, are in their senior year. Both have been very good, each with earned run averages below 3.5, but the Marauders will need to develop some young pitching to take the next step in the coming seasons.
The campaign began with a pair of close losses to the Queen’s Golden Gaels. The first game was a 7-4 decision. The second game of the doubleheader was a 3-2 heartbreaker, with Campagnolo driving in a run with a double and scoring himself in the first, only to see Queen’s tie the game in the 3rd on account of a balk by Novachis and win in the 7th on an error.
The next week brought the Guelph Gryphons to town. The Marauders dropped the first game of the set 12-2, and then erased an eight-run deficit in the second game before coming up just short in a 15-11 decision. The game was a sloppy affair and errors abounded, with McMaster actually scoring seven earned runs to Guelph’s six. Jake Chiaravalle homered in the loss, with Campagnolo, Keith Woodcock, Philip Hache, and Brett Herlehy each contributing a double.
The team suffered its most frustrating loss at the hands of the York Lions. Pitcher Kyle Angelow went the distance for the team, but watched a three-run lead evaporate in the 7th when an error scored two runs and then passed balls thrown to consecutive batters scored two more in a 7-5 defeat. The Marauders hammered the Lions 11-1 in the late game however, buoyed by Falcon-Gonzalez’s five-RBI afternoon. Third baseman Aaron Giroux drove in three runs of his own, and Rincon held the Lions to a paltry four hits.
A trip to Waterloo the next weekend to face the Warriors dropped the Maroon and Grey’s record to 1-7 after 8-5 and 14-5 defeats.
The Marauders then split a home doubleheader with the Toronto Varsity Blues, taking the first game 12-11 and dropping the second 12-6.
Next up for McMaster is a home set against the 4-4-1 Western Mustangs on Oct. 3, before a quick trip down the QEW to face the second-place Brock Badgers.
John Bauer
Silhouette Staff
Entering the 2013 OUA men's baseball season, the McMaster Marauders were expecting some growing pains on the mound, having lost two key pitchers in the offseason. Coupled with their unexpected difficulties hitting the ball, the team has started the campaign agonizingly slow out of the gate, going 1-5 in the last week of play. However, with the last game of that stretch being a solid win against a team that drubbed them hours earlier in the first game of a doubleheader, things may be starting to look up for the squad.
McMaster started the six-game block on Sept. 8 with a doubleheader. The first game of the set was a seesaw affair against the Guelph Gryphons that required extra innings to declare a winner. When the dust had settled, the Gryphons prevailed 10-8 due to some shoddy fielding in the extra frame leading to two unearned runs. Designated hitter Jake Chiaravalle looked more like the prolific hitter he was last season with a triple. Second baseman Eric Telford also hit a three-bagger, while first baseman Rob Birtles was solid with thirteen put outs.
Emotionally drained by the unfortunate loss just hours earlier, the second game of the doubleheader was a forgettable one for Mac, as they were mercied 10-0 in a 5 inning, no-hit gem by the league leading Brock Badgers and pitcher Daniel Veres.
McMaster's scoring slump carried over to the following Saturday, when they faced the Waterloo Warriors in a two game home stand. In the first game, Mac just could not get the bounces they needed, recording eight hits but not a single run in a 12-0 loss. Rookie third baseman Joe Asztalos, who has been in and out of the lineup so far this season, made a strong case for more playing time with a 3 for 3 day.
The second outing was a much better effort for the Maroon and Grey, but, as is quickly becoming a trend this season, the inability to buckle down in the last inning of the game led to a 7-4 loss against the same Warriors club. Travis Flint led the offense, going 2 for 4 with a stolen base in the losing cause.
Sunday brought the Queen's Gaels to town for a two game showdown. The first game was a catastrophe, a 17-4 mercy, fueled by 14 walks. The lone bright spot for Mac were the Travises: Travis Gibson who went 2 for 2 and Travis Flint who had himself a 2 for 3 afternoon with a double.
After the game, head coach Wayne Gowan must have said something that lit a fire under the team, because they came back and beat the same Gaels squad that seemed untouchable only hours before. The 6-4 final does not do the game justice, as McMaster outhit Queen's 14-5, but committed 5 costly errors. Travis Flint, now thoroughly entrenched in a hot streak, went 2 for 4, while Travis Gibson and Eric Telford hit doubles. Veteran starting pitcher Jake Roberts put in six solid innings to finish with a three-hit, two-run effort.
The weekend ahead for McMaster provides a chance to move up in the standings with a double header against the middling Western Mustangs
