Paw Prints E-Newsletter 9/28/2017 3:00:00 PM

Paw Prints E-Newsletter: Volume 39

From the desk of the Director of Athletics…

Whenever I sit down to write the latest edition of Paw Prints, I always take a look back at what I wrote a year ago. It has become a neat practice that always highlights for me how far Daemen Athletics has progressed in just a short year. When I looked back yesterday to review the September 30, 2016 edition of Paw Prints, I was struck by two things; Daemen Athletics has progressed far in just one short year, but on the national front the controversies continue.

THAT WAS THEN … THIS IS NOW. Last year at this time we had two struggling soccer teams with no permanent home venue to call their own. We had tremendous student-athletes and coaches who were trying to compete within the uber-talented East Coast Conference with very few resources at their disposal. I left each of those games thinking about what we could do to provide the programs with the resources they needed to prepare our student-athletes for this enhanced level of competition. As always, the challenge was not knowing what to do, but how to pay for it without impacting Daemen College's overall bottom line. That is the world in which every small, private college athletics staff operates. Due to a total team effort within Daemen Athletics, Daemen Facilities and with the support of many in the community, including our fabulous partners at The Park School of Buffalo, Amherst Recreation and Williamsville Junior Football, those two teams look, practice and compete very differently this year. I know those of you who have tuned in or showed-up to watch the teams play will agree that Daemen Soccer is a fierce opponent. I am personally proud to know the student-athletes and coaches who have re-tooled themselves through a relentless pursuit of being the very best they can be. Head coaches Bobby McColl and Dan Dolan have worked tirelessly and challenged themselves repeatedly to figure out how to make the most of what Daemen can offer and they have shown their athletes that a constant pursuit of being better brings success on the field and in the classroom. If you have not had a chance to do so already, be sure to check out the two teams at Karrer Field - our new home field at The Park School or through our new live streaming system - the ECC Network.

THE LITTLE TEAMS THAT COULD. Another change from last year is the growth and success of three varsity athletics programs at Daemen that many thought would not fit in snowy Buffalo, New York. Defying the odds of weather, Daemen's tennis, golf and triathlon teams continue to surprise many of their competitors and are on a steady road of growth and success. The credit for creatively finding places to train and compete goes directly to the three head coaches, two of whom balance other full-time jobs with their Daemen work. Head Tennis Coach Stephen Beatty has been with Daemen since 2012 and has quietly gone about the business of building a tennis program that is both diverse in nationality and personality, as well as fierce on the courts. The tennis student-athletes excel in the classroom and add to the everyday life on our small campus. Jon Metz brought NCAA triathlon to Western New York and has trained Amber Custodi from Lewiston, New York to be a breakout athlete in the sport. Finally, but never last on our minds in the longstanding men's golf program at Daemen. Our new head coach Kyle Harman is a Daemen alum and has regrouped this team to be competitive and forward-looking. These teams may be small, but the athletes live our #beFIERCE attitude of "it is not what you have but how you treat it and what you do with it." They take the weather and facility limitations in stride and prove to be all the stronger in the process.

THE MORE THINGS CHANGE, THE MORE THEY STAY THE SAME. Most notably when looking back to September 2016, much has changed at Daemen but sadly little has changed in our national discourse. In last September's Paw Prints I shared my personal feelings on free speech rights which are granted under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Well, I could have republished that same article today. Somehow sports is once again entangled with politics. My feelings on an athletes' rights to express themselves have not changed. As I wrote last year, the "overlap between politics and sport seems to stir the most controversy when it is the athletes choosing to use their visibility to draw attention to a cause important to them. I have always found that curious because what we love most about athletes is that they tend to be passionate, driven and fearless individuals who are not afraid to take on challenges or the risk associated with overcoming those challenges. Why then is it so out of line for them to be passionate about issues outside of sport? College student-athletes are specifically motivated to take their passion for their sport and use it to drive their desire for learning and understanding of topics and times. In fact, a frequently peddled criticism of college student-athletes is that they are somehow less intellectual or less interested in life outside of sports. Indeed, some complain that athletes think only of sports. The current anthem movement is indicative of a thinking of life beyond sport and a desire to bring attention to societal rather than sport issues. That is why there is great irony in the negative reaction toward the anthem movement; the negativism truly shows the double-sided criticism that athletes face." As Paw Prints readers, you too have a right to voice your opinion. Some may agree with my comments, and some may disagree and as I tell my students in class "that is where the fun of a healthy debate begins." If you'd like to read my thoughts on this important topic, I invite you to check out last September's edition of Paw Prints.

The answer to the current but longstanding controversy is not to boycott events or tell athletes "to do what they are paid to do." That sells this country short of what it truly stands for. Sure let's all speak our minds. Let's not be afraid to disagree. And most importantly let's civilly debate (no name calling or personal attacks by either side). Let's try to use the protests and the backlashes as a platform to find common ground and understand what our country is going through and move forward…unified.

Speaking of unifying…sport unifies. Please check out our athletes doing their best to make you and Daemen proud. For all the latest events and results check out daemenwildcats.com. Resources are always needed to better the experiences of our student-athletes. Please don't forget to name Daemen College as your charity of choice when you use Amazon Smile or GivingAssistant.org. You shop as you usually do and Daemen benefits. Another great way to help Daemen Athletics while you shop is to log on to iWorldFundaraising by clicking here. Thank you for reading and following Daemen Athletics. I hope to see you at an upcoming Daemen event. In the meantime, #beFIERCE.

Bridget Niland
Director of Athletics

Head Men's Soccer Coach Bobby McColl sits down with Associate A.D. for Communications Mike Miranto to discuss his team's recent games and what's coming in the week ahead. Click the play button for the full video. Watch more videos from Daemen Athletics at YouTube.com/daemensportsinfo

IN THE NEWS...

SEPT. 4 - MEN'S HOOPS ALUM BEVERLY AGREES TO TERMS WITH TOP DIVISION ISRAELI CLUB
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SEPT. 8 - CUSTODI SNAGS PAIR OF ALL-REGION HONORS
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SEPT. 14 - MEN'S BASKETBALL ALUMNUS MEHMETAJ INKS PROFESSIONAL CONTRACT
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SEPT. 15 - BOYAR NAMED DIVISION II HERO OF THE WEEK
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SEPT. 22 - DAEMEN LAUNCHES NEW INITIATIVE TO PROVIDE ATHLETIC OPPORTUNITIES FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
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SEPT. 22 - McKRELL SURPASSES 2,000 CAREER ASSISTS IN WILDCAT WIN
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SEPT. 26 - WILDCATS RETURN TO REGIONAL RANKINGS AFTER ONE WEEK HIATUS
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SEPT. 27 - TAN TARA GOLF CLUB NAMED THE OFFICIAL HOME OF DAEMEN GOLF
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SEPT. 27 - SAAC MEMBERS ATTEND APPLE TRAINING INSTITUTE
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SEPT. 27 - VEITENGRUBER SETS ALL-TIME WINS MARK AS WILDCATS TAME TIGERS
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UNYTS is a proud corporate partner of Daemen College Athletics.

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