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Odyssey Sport Hosts Inaugural “College Prep Night” WEDNESDAY, JULY 13TH @ 6.30PM At the Odyssey Sport Soccer Club Indoor Training Facility In an effort to provide assistance to OSSC families, the staff of Odyssey Sport Soccer Club hosted an evening of discussion and Q&A regarding the tricky process of college selection. Colgate University Senior Assistant Dean of Admission, Heather Stinson, wife of Paul Stinson, Colgate University 2nd Assistant (Men’s & Women’s), and OSSC Director of Coaching for the boy’s teams presented helpful advice and answered questions regarding the college selection process. The discussion included general advice and information on selecting the best fit for a student, as well as specific advice for athletes (focused on soccer, but applicable to most other sports as well) as they go about finding the collegiate situation that suits their interests and abilities best. The event was open to the public, and to any sport, as future editions of this event will be.. Heather has worked for St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY and for the Tuck School of Business (MBA program, graduate level admission) at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as well as her current role at Colgate. Paul has coached in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I level at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, IA; Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY (NCAA Division III) as an assistant; Colby-Sawyer College in New London, NH (NCAA Division III) as a head coach as well as his current role with Colgate (NCAA Division I). A great deal of experience and insight was available to interested families and students regarding college choice, and the various options students have. 25 people joined Heather and Paul for the discussion, and a great many insightful questions were asked. The balance of taking AP classes versus ensuring a high GPA, the effect of standardized testing (SAT & ACT), the timeline to follow, and the difference between a Liberal Arts education and a pre-professional or comprehensive education were all hot topics. On the athletics side, the importance of students contacting coaches (not so much the parent’s responsibility) and the notion that the students recruit themselves through self-promotion and expressing consistent and genuine interest in the school(s) of choice. The most important points to come out of the evening, especially regarding the younger students, are to begin visiting schools (even just local ones) immediately and to begin to get a sense of the variety of options out there. Students will choose more wisely if they have an idea of what they’d like their college experience to look like in advance. As this process goes along, and schools begin to float to the top of the list of interest, immediately contacting the coach and discussing with your OSSC coaches as to the likelihood of being able to play for such a program is the next step. Each student’s journey to selecting a college will be very different from his or her peers, but these two steps will be essentially the same starting point any Odyssey player will embark from. If anyone has questions they would like to submit following the discussion, they may be emailed to Paul Stinson at pstinson@colgate.edu and he will ensure that they are addressed. Any and all OSSC staff coaches are excellent resources, even if a player does not play directly for that coach. ○ Claire McLain - Utica College Women’s Head Coach ○ Chris McLain - Colgate University Women’s Associate Head Coach ○ Bill Boyle - Colgate University Men’s Assistant Coach (also former Division III Head Coach and former Michigan State Assistant Coach) ○ Tracey Leipold - Le Moyne College Women’s Head Coach ○ Kyle Graves - SUNY Morrisville Men’s Head Coach ○ Hanns Von Packal - SUNY Morrisville Men’s Assistant Coach ○ Paul Stinson - Colgate University Men’s and Women’s GK Coach As a for-instance, here are two suggested tours a family could invest in; spending a couple hundred dollars on hotels and travel are small potatoes compared to the stress and difficulties of transferring from a school that is a bad fit! LOCAL: Boy’s example; men’s games and game times listed for the colleges below. Three CNY college teams can be observed (Colgate, Utica, Elmira) on three different campuses: Colgate, Utica and Hamilton. Three very different schools, two entertaining games and one school that might be of interest (Elmira) depending on internet research and the team’s performance. Friday, October 14th: Drive to Hamilton College in the morning. Take in (pre-arranged, by the student if possible) the campus tour and Admission Office information session. Have lunch on campus (ask at Admission about paying or getting a voucher from their office for lunch) and wander around campus for a few minutes on own. Depart Hamilton at 1.00PM. Travel to Utica College (30 minutes). Take campus tour, attend info session and have interview with admission officer. Wander around on campus afterward and look at athletic facilities (and anything not included on the regular tour). Grab dinner on campus and head home. Saturday, October 15th: Travel to Colgate University (30-40 minutes). Arrive in time for (pre-arranged, again) 2PM information session and 3PM tour. Visit bookstore down town and walk about campus on own (athletic and fitness facilities are not on the standard tour, so that might be of interest on your own time). Attend 4PM men’s soccer game against Army at Van Doren Field. Jump in the car and head back up to Utica for a 7PM kickoff at Utica College (45 minute drive) against Elmira College (Coach Graves’ alma mater!). |
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