Sports Shorts

Athlete of the Week

Though the Oberlin women’s basketball team has had a difficult season, the players have continued to work hard. Some have even gone about and beyond the call of duty by playing through sickness during recent games, like sophomore Julia Daher.
Despite being ill, Daher played, not wanting to further shrink what is already a small roster.
Even though she wasn’t healthy, Daher still filled in for the Yeowomen’s starters, adding two rebounds and a steal.
This week the women fell to Kenyon College 62-57 in a close game. The game against Allegheny College was similarly close but the women were again defeated 64-52.
With the weekend off, Daher and her team look to get some rest before seeking another win against Wittenberg University.

In the Locker Room With . . .

I caught up with new men’s lacrosse assistant coach Kevin Walz in the training room, where he was icing his back, yet another sign of the dedication that he’s already shown to the rebuilding of the lacrosse program here at Oberlin College.

So how long have you been around lacrosse?

KW: Uh, well, my first exposure was when I was a sophomore in high school, and that was more club ball. Played some serious ball, but mostly played hockey through high school. I was always naturally drawn to hard-hitting sports. I guess you could say I had ‘Small Man’s Syndrome,’ and thought that I was a lot bigger than I was.

The teams you played with and coached before had quite a bit of success — tell me about it.

KW: Well, the team that I played for that had the most success was St. Mary’s University [Division III] when I was a junior. We ended up with quite a collection of guys from all over the country that were pretty good players. I was pretty much a player/coach. We beat the University of Minnesota [Division I] and a couple other pretty big schools. That was probably my most successful year as a player. No one expected us to do much, we kinda came out of the blue. As a coach, last year I coached Eagan High School in Minnesota and we finished second in the state. It was probably my most successful year of coaching. I coached defense there as well.

So how does Oberlin, a program that is in the midst of rebuilding, fit its way into your career?

KW: Last year I started a pretty intensive search to find what schools had coaching needs. I contacted Rob [Oldham, Men’s Head lacrosse coach] last year in November. It seemed like there would be an opening for an assistant. I applied to about six or seven other jobs. The other job I was considering was Pfeiffer University in North Carolina. But Pfeiffer pretty much already had an established team. I liked the idea of rebuilding from scratch. It gives me an idea of where I stand as a coach because here I can see our success as a direct result of what I do. As opposed to Pfeiffer where I wouldn’t know if it was me or what was already established there. Plus my parents only live four hours away from here and that made a big difference.

The Yeomen defeated the University of Toledo 10-1 in a pre-season scrimmage - to what do you attribute this victory?

KW: I would say really playing as a team. I looked at the video from last year and they didn’t seem to have a team philosophy. This year they just came together and played well as a team. I’d also say that players like Erik Vachon and Will Jaffee added some offensive power. When I say working as a team, I mean the big difference on defense is that they played as a cohesive defense as compared to what the video showed from last year.

There are a lot of students interested in playing lacrosse here but decide not to for fear that as a varsity sport it would be too serious and not enough fun. What would you say to them?

KW: If you wanna do something, go out and do it. If you like the game, go out and play it. If you want to be part of a team then be part of a team. There is some commitment to being part of a team. If everybody just wanted to do something but never put in the time and the effort nothing would ever get done. You gotta work for what you want.

So what do you think of Oberlin coming from Minnesota? A little different than home?

KW: It’s different, I mean, things on this campus are way more wide open. I’ve worked on three to four other campuses, and things here are much more openly discussed. The one thing I would say is I think things aren’t as different as people like to think. Every school I’ve gone to has the same groups, it’s just more up front here.

What’s with all the Grateful Dead paraphernalia in your house?

KW: [a small chuckle and a sigh] Well, uh, I am a fan of the band. The paraphernalia that you speak of my sister brought back from Vietnam and the Himalayas and has never been put to use.

What do you think the greatest hurdle for OC’s Lax program is right now?

KW: Commitment. I think there’s a lot of good players on campus who either through apathy, through attitudes about organized athletics or through laziness find excuses to not be part of a team and have issues about working for a team.

You’ve brought your dog to several practices. Is she going to be making away trips with us?

KW: No, Sil, you can’t eat my dog.

I didn’t ask if I could eat your dog this time.

KW: I suppose that’s a wait and see. I’ll see how she’s behaving herself.

You actually play quite often with the players at practice. The players feel that it’s very helpful and makes it easier to communicate with you about the game. Is this something that a lot of coaches do?

KW: I coach so much from my own experiences as a player. Because through my mistakes and my successes I can show the players better how to not make my mistakes and how to have my same successes. I’d say that a lot of coaches don’t but it really helps me to coach better.

(Noting the Notre Dame hat, screen saver, and dog leash that I’ve seen)

Why the obsession with Notre Dame?

KW: Pretty much my whole family besides me went to Notre Dame. I was kind of the runt of the litter. I had to be carried into my first [Notre Dame Football] game because I was so little and I’ve been to an average three to four home games a year.

You’re Irish right? Is it true that the Irish drink a lot?

KW: Yes.[laughs after thinking about the question again] Uh, no comment.
Sarah the Athletic Trainer: It’s all relative isn’t it?
KW: Yeah.

Any final comments you want to make to our readers? Perhaps get back at certain people for putting me up to ask you certain questions?

KW: I wanna say that I hope that our leading attack-man, Erik Vachon, can ‘rise to the occasion,’ because in the past I heard that he wasn’t able to.