The hard economic times makes the approach to recruiting different. “Every year the School Board re-evaluates its budget and has to move funds from one area to another,” says Farnsworth.
Coaches have to do the recruiting themselves and in these economic times they have to use all possible resources to get the players they need. 

Using newer tools

The recruitment funds come from a few different areas, including County and State taxes which are shrinking, tuition and fees, which is where the majority of the money comes from and donations from third parties, which mostly go towards other departments on campus.

Basketball player Breen Weeks, a freshman from San Diego, CA, was given an opportunity from YC to play and he accepted. Weeks played on a traveling basketball team that helps players get noticed.

Coaches also use newer methods of gathering information through the internet and youtube.com. According to Farnsworth, some players will contact the school and have videos of their performance online so the coaches can see if they are interested before they make their way to the player’s next game.  

Often the coaches have a huge network of people who are looking to gather athletes into programs. Some of these are agencies that charge a monthly fee to the coaches and others the students pay for to get noticed.

Difficulties of Scouting

Scouting can be difficult in a few other ways, according to Farnsworth.  A coach may find an excellent player, but that player may need some work on his personality. 

Coaches at YC are looking for student athletes, not just athletes and the student comes first, he says. 

Coaches need to be “Selling the program one area to another and be selling the college,” says Farnsworth. Students tend to pick their schools based on athletics and academics. 

Pure talent isn’t enough

Just because a player is great doesn’t mean the school needs them; some positions fill up faster than others, which causes the coaches to turn down some good talent. While other times the talent is great, but the coaches don’t think the student will better the sports team and/or be able to handle the academics, according to Farnsworth. 

“Recruiting at a junior college is the most challenging,” says Farnsworth. When students only play for two years, coaches are replacing half their team every year.”

“Recruiting at a junior college is the most challenging,” says Farnsworth. When students only play for two years, coaches are replacing half their team every year. 

Why YC?

Coaches do have a great amount to offer students who might be interested in one of  YC’s programs. YC has Title winning athletic programs, as well as award winning coaches. Being a member of a YC program has gotten many athletes into some prestigious schools.

Players who go to a four-year university would most likely sit on the bench for the first two years, but at Yavapai they will get plenty of playing time to enhance their game, according to Farnsworth.

YC coaches can also show future student athletes that Yavapai College has many degree programs and certificates. According to Farnsworth, some students will have similar athletic programs to choose from but the academics will make them choose one school over another.

Coaches have one last bargaining tool, which is scholarships. Scholarships may be given in any increment, from partial tuition to full-tuition; the incentive package may also include the athlete’s books, his room and board and even the possibility of a round trip to home and back.   Although trips home are rarely given out, according to Farnsworth.

“The majority of County kids turn down scholarships,” says Farnsworth. Athletes from Yavapai County tend to go out of state for their athletics, because they have grown up here. 

Some of the County athletes who end up playing for Yavapai are here because they couldn’t get the scholarships they were looking for elsewhere, according to Farnsworth. 

Fewer than ten percent of all freshmen athletes at YC don’t play a second year, according to Farnsworth. This shows that most of the students who come here are happy with the programs both academically and athletically.

“Getting to know your teammates,” is a big part of the pre-season says Fabrice Kalala, a returning sophomore defender. Head Coach Mike Pantalione has seven returning players and the freshmen, “bring a new style and personality.” Only having students for two years, makes teammate development more important.  

According to Kalala, the team is very privileged to have so much history within the teams 20 years.  

Joel Mitchell, freshman defender, feels that the incoming freshmen need to, “fill some big shoes,” with last year’s team being undefeated.  

“The players understand the history and tradition,” says Pantalione. History is very important to the players as well as the fans.  

“…the incoming freshmen need to, ‘fill some big shoes.’”

The team really enjoys home games. “Home games are definitely better,” says Kalala, “Ken Lindley has a lot more history,” than the amphitheater.  

“First thing is first this league is very difficult,” says Pantalione.  He is thinking towards the next games rather than looking to win another national championship.  You can make it to nationals if you don’t make it past your league.  

Yavapai College has won the past 20 Arizona Conference Titles. Yavapai College’s soccer team has only been around 20 years. Pantalione is going for number 21 with the hopes of winning this year’s title, according to Pantalione.

Yavapai College has earned itself the nation’s best winning percentage at 92.7 percent, with the overall record of 443-29-13 and a home game record of 211-6-1, according to statistics prior to this season.  

The soccer team has won the National Junior College Athletic Association seven times that includes winning the past two years, according to Pantalione.

Yavapai College has been ranked in the National Poll every week since 1990, being ranked number one 75 times. 

The Roughrider soccer team has had 97 All-Region players and 44 All-American players over the past 20 years, including 4 National Players of the Year. 

Yavapai College has had 8 players and 2 coaches inducted into the NJCAA Soccer Hall of Fame, which is the most in all of the NJCAA. The two newest inductees are Kevin Jeffery and Matt Kirkpatrick and will be officially honored at the NJCAA Division One National Tournament Soccer Banquet in Trenton, New Jersey on Wednesday, Nov. 18, according to goroughriders.com.

Keeping up a record like this isn’t easy, it takes a lot of recruiting and practice to work together as a team, according to Pantalione.

On August 29 the Yavapai College Soccer team lost their first game in 33 games, with a 2-1 defeat against Chandler/Gilbert Community College. This is the second time in Yavapai College soccer history that the team has lost its opener game, according to goroughriders.com.

On Sept. 5 the Roughriders won 6-0 over Paradise Valley Community College in Paradise Valley. David Malloy, Rodolfo Godinez and Greg Gilmer each scored two goals and one assist.  Gabriel Okito, Ryan Fuertsch and Vince Martin got one assist. This win kept the teams record of never losing a back-to-back game in the 21 years of the program. 

 On Sept. 7 the Roughriders won 1-0 against Mesa Community College Thunderbirds. Rodolfo Godinez scored the only goal during the first half. This game was their Prescott Valley home opener, giving them a 20-1 in home opener games over the past 21 years. This win also continued the Roughriders undefeated streak at their Prescott Valley field, 28-0-0, according to goroughriders.com.

Photos by Frances Karl

While the players drive the action and the coaches help to guide them, the very fabric of the game would unravel without the pattern being maintained by the dedication and attentiveness of the often-forgotten and rarely respected referees.

As the presiding law and order of the world of competitive sports, referees are crucial to any sport with established rules.

There’s rules and there’s guidelines

“The referee’s job is to ensure that the game is played by the rules and that the game is played safe and [with good] sportsmanship,” says Wolfgang Dieterich, who is currently a referee for soccer games in Arizona for the American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) and at Prescott High School. He has been refereeing for eight years and played soccer in Germany for many years when he was younger.

“The center referee has absolute, unquestioned authority,” Dieterich says. “There is no other authority on the field,” he says, so the referee’s decision is what goes.

While enforcing rules is important, Dieterich says that there is a lot more to being a referee than just that. “What’s very important as far as the rules are concerned is [that] the rules are guidelines,” he explains. Referees have to make calls “in the spirit of the game,” which “takes many years of experience and practice.”

“It’s relatively easy to learn the rules of the game,” says Dieterich, “but to apply those rules in the spirit of the game is a whole other story.”

The benefits of experience

An example he gives of the benefits of experience is with the advantage clause, which according to 123exp-soccer.com is a clause “that gives a referee the discretion to not call a foul if stopping the game would give an advantage to the team that committed the foul.” Dieterich says it is not often applied, especially by newer referees, since it takes a few seconds to see whether a foul should be called. “Most inexperienced referees would just blow the whistle,” he says, which unfortunately “makes for a very choppy, often interrupted game.”

The rules themselves are often misunderstood as well, according to Dieterich, which makes refereeing more difficult. He uses the expression “a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing,” to illustrate this, explaining that some spectators and coaches think they know the rules without really understanding certain intricacies.

“Referees in all sports…[are] the lightning rods for the emotion of the spectators.”

“Not everything is as clear cut as it seems on the surface,” he says. A common misconception, which he says he hears often, is the rule regarding handling. He says people are always yelling “handball” whenever they see any contact, when the actual rule, called “handling,” is significantly more refined than just basic contact. It is only “handling” if a player deliberately touches the ball with his/her arm or hand. 

“The rule book is full of those kind of things,” Dieterich says. He says knowing and being able to implement all the rules effectively “takes many, many, many years and the rules are actually the easiest part.”

The art of staying neutral

The hardest part, according to him, includes two things. The first is that a referee always needs to stay focused and not let his attention wander. “You cannot miss a split-second,” he says.

Next, it’s essential “to stay neutral” and “to call the game as neutrally as humanly possible.” He says it’s really easy for a referee to throw a game, so they can’t be influenced by anger from players, coaches or spectators, which is “very hard if you get haggled and screamed and yelled at.”

“Referees in all sports…  [are] the lightning rods for the emotion of the spectators,” says Dieterich. While there are rules for dealing with unruly coaches or players and they can be carded or ejected, there’s nothing to stop the spectators. In the last few years Dieterich says he has actually been attacked on the field by players and once in the parking lot by a spectator.

Abusive spectators

“Unfortunately, it’s becoming a more and more dangerous endeavor,” he says, which “makes it very hard to find young players to step in and become referees…they’re not willing to deal with the abuse.”

“You gotta have thick skin,” says Ken Carlson, who has been refereeing basketball for 25 years and softball for 12 and is currently a referee for Yavapai College games in both sports. He says the key is “[not to] let ‘em get into your head.”

Soccer referees are also in charge of inspecting the field, insuring the safety of the field condition, making decisions related to the weather, dealing with coaches and spectators and various other things. “The duty of the referee is not just to enforce the immediate rules,” explains Dieterich. “That means during the game, you have to be much more expansive than just watching the ball.”

Dieterich says he is not paid for refereeing in the recreation leagues (like AYSO) and gets a small fee for the Prescott High School games. However, he says money isn’t an issue for him or any of the referees he knows, since they do it because they love the game and it’s a great way to get exercise “for a purpose.”

“It’s not about the money,” he says, “it’s about loving the game and providing a safe environment.”
 

To finish, Dieterich gives a seemingly obvious word of advice to spectators everywhere: “As much as we try to stay neutral,” he says, “it really does not help your team to scream at the referees.”

The team’s currently ranked second in the NJCAA. Head Coach Sky Smeltzer says, “I think that this team’s success has everything to do with its staff, five sophomores, that’s been the key to our success for sure.”

Standouts

Among the honors for players this season, “Pitcher Merrill Kelly, catcher Dominic Piazza and infielder Brett Sowers were named 1st Team All-ACCAC and 1st Team NJCAA All-Region I Division I,” in addition to honors for Rick Anton, Cam Schiller,  Bobby Rinard and Kirby Yates, according to goroughriders.com. 

Despite the team’s success Smeltzer says, “Frankly I think we lost five games we shouldn’t have. I think there were games when we weren’t there mentally and I think that we’ve cleared some of those early season hurtles that we’ve had.”

Team chemistry

However, Smeltzer adds, “I’m happy that our freshmen have fit in the program. I enjoy the chemistry of the team and I think that’s because of the sophomores helping the freshman feel more comfortable.”

In addition to the new players, the team also has two new assistant coaches, Brandon Bailey and Ryan Cougill. 

Bailey is impressed with the players including Merrill Kelley. “I knew he was going to be good, but he’s been dominant. He’s come along way… he brought in our pitcher’s program and comes to practice every single day with the mindset he is going to make himself better and it’s paid off.”

“You know, as the year started we set our goals to win the regional, state and national championship and all those goals are still attainable and reachable.”

Bailey adds, “You always have a guy or two who steps up once the season starts. In my mind the one guy who has improved the most is Ty Forney. He’s one of those guys who turns his game up when he puts on a uniform and steps between the white lines.”

Stepping up

Stepping up is what this team has done. “You know, as the year started we set our goals to win the regional, state and national championship and all those goals are still attainable and reachable,” says Smeltzer.

“We’re going to graduate a lot of sophomores. We have a group that’s been here for two years and they’ve had a lot of wins. We’ve got a lot of really good players that we need to replace,” says Smeltzer. They’ve currently recruited 23 players for next year.

So well, in fact, that as of March 19, the Roughriders were 39-2 for the season. 

The softball team already has built up a reputation hard to compete with.  Founded in 2008 the team earned their right to fight in the World Series with only one season under their belts.  Now back with experience the ‘Riders are looking to do it again

Heading for the playoffs

“We want to host regionals,” says Iveson “and go to the series playoffs in May.”

When looking at the Rough-riders’ March standing, that goal doesn’t seem unattainable.

“I think we have the tools to win,” says Iveson, herself having been named Coach of the Year for her role in winning multiple championships as a coach for Pima Community College as well as three as an assistant coach for the University of Arizona.

Decimating the competition

Winning is apparently what these girls do best.  They have not just been winning games, they have been decimating their competition, routinely not allowing their opponents to score at all.  In a recent game the Lady ‘Riders went 26-1 against Gateway here at home.

“I think we have the tools to win.”

Coach Iveson tries to stay modest saying, “Well, we’ve been playing against teams that aren’t as tough, but we’ve played against some good teams too… we’ve got a good balance and our offense can do some damage when it gets going.”

Although the team did well last season, if the ‘Riders can keep up the pace they’ve set for themselves this time around, it looks like they might beat their old record.  

A veteran team

“We have eight sophomore returners and that’s huge,” says Iveson. According to her, last year the team consisted of 14 freshman and one sophomore and their experience counts for a lot. “I think that kind of leadership helps turn the corner…we rely a lot on our returners,” she says.

Fortunately, returning to the field for another game is what everyone has done this season.  According to Iveson the team hasn’t sustained much physical damage this go around.

“We’re pretty injury free,” she says. “Nothing really serious, just the regular scrapes and some bruises, things like that.”

Coaching depth

Iveson is not the only one the team has to listen to.  According to Iveson the team would not be where they are if not for the help and effort put forth by the assistant coaches, two of whom played under Iveson before joining the YC staff.

“We have three coaches, one is a volunteer [JR. Barringer].  He used to do fast pitch and he throws batting practice for us which is great so we don’t have to hit off of a pitching machine,” says Iveson.
 

Although the team still has a tough block coming up Iveson says she’s not worried.  

“I’m not nervous. [I’m] excited we have our Division I competition coming up and only one Division II game left.”

As far as other goals go for the season Iveson says it’s her biggest goal to assist the sophomores in going some place.  “When they come here [athletes/students] they want to be part of something and hopefully make the championships but also they want to know they’re going somewhere…one of the eight is signed and the others all have offers, so I might be eight for eight this year.”

The Roughrider baseball team began the season practicing and playing on new turf and the spring mud. 

 As of Feb. 28, the Roughriders were 8-2 in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) and 18-4 overall. 

The Roughriders beat Eastern Arizona College twice on their own turf in Thatcher on Feb. 24.  They won both games of a doubleheader and pitched a shutout for the second.  They won the first game in a close 6-5 and they won the second 5-0.

The defense

This year their strength is their defense.

“Our pitching is sophomore dominated,” says Coach Sky Smeltzer.  “The bullpen is end loaded.” 

“I think we can do better,” says Smeltzer.  “We need to tighten up infield defense.”

Last year the Roughriders won the conference, but lost in the second round of the District playoffs to Cochise College.  They ended their season 42-17-1.

The outlook

Coach Smeltzer plans to develop his team’s offense.

Central Arizona College should provide the main competition.  They’re ranked  No.1 this year and beat the Roughriders in a round at the Junior College World Series last year.  

The other teams to beat are South Mountain Community College, Pima Community College and Cochise College.  There are four playoff spots in the Conference.

Smeltzer says that he plans to balance the speed and power of the offense.

Since the league changed to wood bats five years ago, players must have a game balanced with speed and power, according to Smeltzer.     

When they played with metal bats Smeltzer used to focus on hitting power and have his players hit home runs to take advantage of the park.

Smeltzer says he rotates the recruiting class of players (the freshman) around between middle in-field, second base and short stop.

Rick Anton

Left-handed pitcher Rick Anton was All-American last year.  He is part of the Roughrider’s sophomore dominated pitching.  

“It’s a fun game,” says Anton.       

Anton graduated from Prescott High School and carries a load of 18 credits at Yavapai College as well as daily baseball practice.  He moved here from California four years ago.

“It’s a great place,” Anton says of Yavapai College.

“They want to develop as players; they want to get more playing time and have a better chance here…”

Anton grew up playing baseball.  He played soccer for two years when he was 5 and 6 years old, “but other than that it’s been baseball,” says Anton.

Brad Johnson

Sophomore Brad Johnson plays in the outfield and catcher and carries 16 credits in school.  Baseball has been his main sport since he was a child too.  He used to race BMX bikes, but loves baseball.

“I love coming to the baseball field every day,” Johnson says.  “I’m playing the game I love.”  

Johnson will play for a team in the Northwoods League after the semester is over this year, which is part of the Summer Collegiate Baseball Association.  His brother plays for the AAA affiliate of the Seattle Mariners.

“It’s full-time if you want to be good,” Johnson says.  

Infielder Brett Sowers and pitcher Ian Campbell both transferred to Yavapai College from other schools, according to Smeltzer.  Sowers red-shirted at the University of Nebraska and Campbell was the No. 1 pitcher at Western College.  

Why players come to YC

According to Smeltzer, players come to Yavapai College for a variety of reasons, including academics and athletics.  

“They want to develop as players; they want to get more playing time and have a better chance here. They want to play pro sooner,” says Smeltzer.

Community college baseball players can sign after freshman or sophomore year rather than at a four-year university where students are not allowed to sign until after their junior year, according to Smeltzer.

“In 2006, after we were the National Champions, our players had about $870,000 worth of contracts,” says Smeltzer.

Seven players on the team this year were previously drafted.  They chose to come to the college to learn on the baseball field and off, according to Smeltzer.

“They know that they could have a $10 an hour job after they’re done,” says Smeltzer.

A new field

The Roughrider’s baseball diamond has all new grass in the outfield and the sidelines.  Landcraft Engineering and Design, Common Ground Landscape and Estancia Homebuilders contributed to the project, according to Smeltzer.

At the same time, the college put in a new irrigation system, replacing one that was 32 years old and as old as the field, according to Smeltzer.

The last home game of the season, prior to playoffs, is on April 18 against Central Arizona.

Teams, from sports to business, often use innovative methods to become winning groups. One example can be found right here at Yavapai College.

Brad Clifford, Head Coach of YC’s women’s basketball team says, “I don’t see any dissimilarities between doing it [team building] businesswise and teamwise. Especially with groups, the more you do together, the more you preach team, team, team, the better.”

Taking it to the edge

On Jan. 19, Clifford took his team literally to the edge. With the help of a search and rescue expert, the YC women’s basketball team went rappelling at Watson Lake. According to Clifford, the exercise was not so much to build strength or endurance. “This one was more team building and trusting others and trusting the team,” he says.

“When we got there I think there was a little trepidation,” Clifford says.

“We had a couple of girls who absolutely weren’t going to do it but everybody did it. I think they were proud of their accomplishment.”

Along with good teamwork a successful team requires talented players and a lot of training and practice.

“We had a couple of girls who absolutely weren’t going to do it but everybody did it.”

Isokinetic resistance vs. weight training

According to Biomechanics Specialist Gavin MacMillan of the Sport Science Lab in San Juan Capistrano, CA, the key to successful training involves the use of isokinetic resistance machines as well as exercises that focus on “balance, body awareness, coordination, rhythm and timing.”

According to MacMillan, the Sports Science Lab works with athletes from all areas. “We work with athletes from every sport you can think of, from pro football to golf to high school tennis to gymnastics,” he says.

MacMillan believes that conventional athletic training, which relies on weight-training to build strength, is not serving young athletes. “I think the real underlying story is that none of our kids are given the skills they need,” he says. “They are not taught how to use their body, they are not taught body awareness.”

“When you put a large amount of weight on somebody’s spine you are starting to compress the spine,” MacMillan says. “If you exceed the body’s capacity with weights, the only thing holding up the body is connective tissues; ligaments, tendons and the spine.”

MacMillan says, “In defense of those who use weights, they haven’t had an alternative to turn to.”

Coach Clifford’s formula

Clifford combines conventional weight training with team building and time on the court. “All in all we’re spending two and a half to three hours a day doing physical training,” he says.

According to Clifford during the pre- and post-season the women train with heavier weights using low repetitions. “We do weights twice a week during the season,” he says.

Clifford tells his team members, “I’m not trying to build you but there’s an element of strength needed.”
“Once the season starts we’re doing maintenance, low weight, high reps,” Clifford says.

In a further effort to build cohesion on his team, Clifford had his racially diverse women attend YC’s commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. immediately following their rappelling adventure. “He was one of the greatest men in the world, ever,” Clifford says.

He also arranged for the team to watch the inauguration of Barrack Obama together. “I wanted them to all watch the inauguration. All but two came into the team room to watch,” he says.

Coach Clifford might agree with Sport Science Lab’s MacMillan who says, “If you want to be successful, don’t do what everybody else is doing.”

The women

Brad Clifford, the Lady ‘Riders basketball coach, looks ahead to the long basketball season with optimism and realism.

So far the Lady Riders are 1-1 for their official season score and 3-2 overall.

“We do better in every game and practice,” says Clifford.

One of Clifford’s strategies is for the Lady Riders to give as much as they can during practice.  They keep a rigorous six day a week practice schedule.

“Each player gives it their all. I appreciate and love them for that, they get along, have good rapport,” says Clifford. 
 

The season lasts from October  until March and includes pre-season scrimmages.

“We don’t want to peak too early.  January and February will be the right time,” says Clifford.

“We don’t want to peak too early.  January and February will be the right time,” says Clifford.

“College basketball is a lot more competitive than high school, much more intense,” says freshman guard Lerrin Cook.

Freshman Kiara January from Spokane, WA is a point guard.  One thing she has learned is how much more physical college basketball is than in high school.  

“You get bumped and you go flying:  Welcome to college,” says January.

A freshman team

This year the Lady Riders’ team includes nine freshman out of 11 players. “We’re starting from scratch in a sense,” says Clifford.

Having a quick learning curve is part of being a student athlete at a junior college.  The Rough Rider men’s basketball team also starts the year heavy on the firstyears.  They have eight freshmen and six sophomores.

Freshmen have to learn how to play at a higher level of intensity and focus than they did in high school, according to Men’s Basketball Head Coach, Howard Brown.

Talented players in high school have to learn how play against ahtletes on the same level as themselves, according to Brown.

“Freshmen have to develop mentally.  They may be ready physically and talent wise, but they have to be mentally ready” for a long 40 minute, high intensity college game, says Brown.

The men

Brown’s plan for his team is similar to Coach Clifford’s.

“Play games, compete, practice,” says Brown. 

So far this year the men’s team is 0-2 in the conference. Their competition has been against teams that are in the top 25 of the country.  

“When we play them again, we’ll be ready because we’ve played them already,” says Brown.

The men’s basketball team practices four times a week.  They spend two days pre-game preparing for the upcoming game.  They spend two days after a game correcting what they didn’t do right in the game, according to Brown.

Players come to a junior college for two reasons:  to improve their game in order to transfer to a four-year college or to improve their grades to transfer, according to Brown.

The men’s basketball program works to help individual athletes improve their grades with grade monitoring, tutoring and study groups.

At the away game in Utah, they did homework on the road.

“We set up study groups.  It was to get ahead and have fun and have a bonding experience,” says Brown.

The last regular game of the season for both men and women’s teams is an away game on Feb 27 against Central Arizona.  The teams both hope to make it into post-season play and the playoffs.

“You try and hope for that; you try and aim for that goal. You never think you’re actually going to make it, actually going to put that much work to finish it,” says Sophomore Dirk Peterson, who scored the winning goal with a header in the championship final.

“We did and I think we deserve to go down in history with the best of them,” says Peterson. 
 
Peterson was one of 10 returning players from last year’s team, which also took the national title.

“The highlight of the day for me, the highlight of the season was scoring that goal,” Peterson says.  “I’ll for sure never forget that, seeing that ball come away from my head and going past the keeper into the net. That was defintely a special moment, probably a defining moment in my life.” 

That was defintely a special moment, probably a defining moment in my life.

A perfect season

Sunday’s victory capped off a perfect season for the ‘Riders, who posted a 26-0-0 season.

“Returning 10 sophomores from the 2007 National Championship Team was a key factor in our success this season.  They are not only good people with the drive and determination to succeed in life, but they are good players that bring those same traits to the field each game,” says Coach Mike Pantalione.

The Roughriders are the only team in the intercollegiate soccer program to ever win 26 games in a season. 

“To be honest, you don’t really think you’re going to go undefeated; you hope you will be, but there’s always games here and there that the team doesn’t take too seriously,” says Sophomore Attacker Justin Meram.

A team effort

Meram was named ACCAC Player of the Year and Region I Player of the Year.  Meram credits the team for his success.  

“They’re my best friends. I mean I moved from Michigan, which is pretty much the farthest place from here and I don’t know too many people…playing for this team, it’s like a family and we just play for one another and we just try not to let each other down.” 

Francis Khamis was named Most Valuable Player of the National Tournament and broke a long standing YC record for the most goals scored by a player in  the soccer program’s history, with 53 goals.  

A large portion of the team are sophomores and they are finishing their junior college careers with a 50-2 record.

Tomorrow is promised to no one.

The YC men’s soccer team was ranked number one in the nation by the NJCAA Men’s Division One Soccer Poll released Nov. 9. This is the seventy-fourth time that the ‘Riders have made the list. 

“It was our overall team unity that kept us close and that’s what added to our success this year,” says Peterson.

The team only allowed 11 goals this season.

Looking into next season Pantalione says, “Tomorrow is promised to no one.  Live each and every day to the fullest and good things will happen.”

Gallery photos by: Theo Hosey

According to ABC News’ website, abc.go.com, there are 400,000 Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries each year.           

These injuries are found in women and men, people in later years and children as young as 12 and 13.  
An added frequency in ACL and concussion injuries are especially found to occur in women.  

“Female athletes seem to be remarkably prone to debilitating ACL episodes,” says ABC. “The rate is almost double that seen in men.”  

Women prone to ACL injuries

Brittney Rhoades, a sophomore  shooting guard on the YC women’s basketball team has, again, recently torn her ACL. “It was just on a pivot,” says Rhoades.

Unfortunately for many like Rhoades, their first injury won’t be their last. Taameka Pruitt, a sophomore center on the team,  has received three injuries. Her latest was snapping her Achille’s tendon. “I’ll be out for the whole season,” Pruitt says.  

“An athlete would never lose their scholarship or their insurance… it’s honored for the year.”

The news is good regarding their scholarships. “An athlete would never lose their scholarship or their insurance… it’s honored for the year,” says Brad Clifford, head coach of the woman’s basketball team.  

“Because we’re a junior college we only sign them [players] for a year, where a university will sign their players for four,” says Clifford.  However, if a player becomes injured beyond her ability to play again, she is in danger of losing that scholarship in subsequent years.  

Returning to play

According to Clifford, the likelihood of athletes returning after an injury is increasing, while the down time an athlete has to potentially face is decreasing.  

“Now-a-days it’s much better. The possibility of a player being back by year’s end is very high… if it’s a tendon, maybe just a year long,” Clifford says.     

But even the advances in modern medical science cannot lift the crushing weight of doubt that unquestionably rests on each returning player after injury. 

According to Pruitt and Rhoades, it is not something an athlete can just learn to accept. 

The mental game

“They’re more tentative…cautious; they don’t play as hard as they usually do,” comments Clifford. “It’s pretty hard on them, especially if they have surgery. Surgery is always hard.” 
 
“The good news is that, as a whole, injury rates appear to be holding steady,” says ABC news. “There has been no significant increase or decrease over the years.” 

This is good, especially in regard to the large increase of participation in college sports.             

According to the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) web site, ncaa.org, female participation in college athletics has skyrocketed by 80 percent in recent years with a male increase of only 20 percent. 

This brings the national total of NCAA qualified players to more than 380,000.     Remarkably enough, regardless of the escalating number of participants, injury reports have not gone up and manage to hold steady. “It is a fairly level curve,” says ABC.  

Long range prognosis

However, the long-range prognosis for injured athletes is not as sunny. One possible turn south for these athletes is the increased likelihood of arthritis accompanying their injuries. 

According to ABC news, osteoarthritis takes about seven years to manifest.  It is the most common form of the 100 different types of arthritis. Osteoarthritis is a degenerative disease which slowly eats away at the cartilage, most pronounced in weight baring joints such as the hips and knees.  

“If teenage and college-athletes are getting these injuries now… they will likely begin to experience osteoarthritis as early as their 20’s,” says ABC. 

According to Clifford, this season has been especially hard, with multiple injuries and, of course, Rhoades and Pruitt out for the season. 

As a result, the Lady ‘Riders are cut short. “All of them [were] freak accidents too,” says Clifford. “Injuries seem to come in droves.” 

However, Clifford believes the NCAA is right in their belief that the flat trend in accidents seems to be holding fast. 

“This isn’t something that normally happens. It was years ago the last time that I had a bunch of injuries,” he says.