2008 Woodie Awards
The Daily OrangeYear in Sports: For some athletes, class an afterthought
SU's grad rates lowest in at least 8 years
By Jackie Friedman
Posted: 4/20/08, 10:25 PM EST Section: Sports
He slinked off his overstuffed backpack and clunked it down in the chair next to him.
He thought he'd traded in the bookbag, at least the kind brimming with notebooks and study guides and paper outlines and grading rubrics and syllabi and pens and highlighters.
You look at him and expect to see some sign of disappointment, regret or just plain sadness. Some crack in his voice when he reminisces. Some distant look in his eyes that says he's physically in Syracuse but really dreaming of greener fields far, far away, with goals on each end and thousands of fans looking on.
Richard Asante made it. He was the highest drafted soccer player in the history of Syracuse's program, chosen 27th in the 2007 Major League Soccer SuperDraft during January of his senior year. He started every preseason game for Toronto FC. Playing for his hometown team, he was living the dream.
A dream that ended 105 days later.
The life of weekend trips across the country and stockpiling as many shoes as he possibly could from the team's equipment manager - gone.
He was maybe one good game or one impressive play away from collecting his supposedly promised salary and never returning to Syracuse. Instead, he played a month-long game of phone tag with SU coaches last spring, pleading for a route back to the classrooms.
Today, here's Asante, back in a South Campus apartment with the teammates he once left behind for a sporting career. Back in a college setting he figured to abandon, at least for a "long time." Back to planning a professional soccer career, possibly in Norway or Sweden this time around, where contracts are guaranteed.
A study published by the NCAA last fall stated that 37 percent of athletes who enrolled at Syracuse in the fall of 2000 left campus without a degree. Asante once belonged to that group - but doesn't anymore.
He's not dejected that his first stab at professional soccer didn't work. He's grateful he learned the hard way how rough and fickle sports are at the next level.
He thought he'd traded in the bookbag, at least the kind brimming with notebooks and study guides and paper outlines and grading rubrics and syllabi and pens and highlighters.
You look at him and expect to see some sign of disappointment, regret or just plain sadness. Some crack in his voice when he reminisces. Some distant look in his eyes that says he's physically in Syracuse but really dreaming of greener fields far, far away, with goals on each end and thousands of fans looking on.
Richard Asante made it. He was the highest drafted soccer player in the history of Syracuse's program, chosen 27th in the 2007 Major League Soccer SuperDraft during January of his senior year. He started every preseason game for Toronto FC. Playing for his hometown team, he was living the dream.
A dream that ended 105 days later.
The life of weekend trips across the country and stockpiling as many shoes as he possibly could from the team's equipment manager - gone.
He was maybe one good game or one impressive play away from collecting his supposedly promised salary and never returning to Syracuse. Instead, he played a month-long game of phone tag with SU coaches last spring, pleading for a route back to the classrooms.
Today, here's Asante, back in a South Campus apartment with the teammates he once left behind for a sporting career. Back in a college setting he figured to abandon, at least for a "long time." Back to planning a professional soccer career, possibly in Norway or Sweden this time around, where contracts are guaranteed.
A study published by the NCAA last fall stated that 37 percent of athletes who enrolled at Syracuse in the fall of 2000 left campus without a degree. Asante once belonged to that group - but doesn't anymore.
He's not dejected that his first stab at professional soccer didn't work. He's grateful he learned the hard way how rough and fickle sports are at the next level.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
All For Student Athletes
posted 4/22/08 @ 8:09 AM EST
Recently it appears that the athletic department is de-emphasizing academic performance. Since January, there has not been a weekly "Scholar Athlete of the Week" on the athletics page. (Continued…)
reader
posted 4/22/08 @ 11:16 PM EST
http://suathletics.com/News/Lacrosse/mLacrosse/2008/4/21/moulton_scholarathlete.asp?path=mlacrosse
http://suathletics.com/news/softball/2008/4/21/gibbs_scholarathlete. (Continued…)
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