Freshmen athletes have begun settling into Asbury. Competitions are underway, and they are beginning to get the full range of what it means to be a student/athlete on the collegiate level.
From what they’ve experienced so far, freshmen Phillip Fetter and Alyssar Lowell are happy with the transition and especially their teams. Fetter is a member of the men’s golf team and Lowell is on the women’s soccer team.
“I really like the people on my team,” said Fetter. “I feel like everyone is pretty unified and we have some good senior leaders.”
Lowell agreed and said it has also been a lot of fun. “It’s a very good environment and, honestly, this is the best soccer environment I’ve had in my whole life,” said Lowell. She went on to share that she didn’t “really click” with anyone on campus at first, but having a team definitely changed her perspective. “They all call out ‘Aly!’every single time I see them,” said Lowell. “I’ve never had that before.”
Freshman athletes also have to learn to balance their schedules, especially when their seasons officially begin. Both Lowell and Fetter commented there are holes in their schedules to make sure they stay on top of assignments, exams and other work.
“So far, I go to my classes in the morning and then practice in the middle of the day and then normally it ends around 7:30 so I have all that time after that to get my work done,” said Fetter.
“It’s actually not that bad [to balance] because I usually finish classes at like 12:45 or 12:30 and then I just have a couple of hours to get ready for practice and it’s like 4 to 6 so that’s not too bad,” Lowell said.
Making the transition from high school to collegiate athletics does have certain notable differences. For Lowell, the change took place more off the field than on. “It’s definitely more serious about appearance and how you act outside of soccer,” Lowell said, “because it is a representation of the team.”
Fetter saw a big change in the way he practiced. “All of our practices were individual but at Asbury, we are having team practices and getting better as a group rather than just working on our own,” Fetter said. “I feel like the practices [now] are very focused and I see myself getting better every single day.”
As the year has only begun the freshmen have a lot they are looking forward to, aside from their respective sports.
“I’m excited for the tournaments,” Fetter said. “I’m also excited to meet some more students that I can become friends with and pretty much just getting used to college life and having fun while doing it.”