Category: Sports

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Football Spotlight: Kyle Beyer

Kyle Beyer

Class of 2018

Elementary Education/ PreK-4 Major

Position: Safety

What has been your favorite football memory?

Definitely the night game against St. Vincent. We went into the game with a long losing streak. It was a game we knew we could get, and we had a huge crowd. When we won the game, the crowd stormed the field and it was a huge moment.

What is unique about Grove City’s football team?

The coaching staff and camaraderie on the team from the top-down: from the president to athletic director to the coaches and teammates, we have the same vision of brick by brick and we want to make that vision a reality. Brick by brick is when coach DiDonato came with the vision of winning, he knew we can’t do it in one game, but by starting with one practice, one game, and one season at a time.

What should a perspective football player know?

When you come to Grove City, you are coming into a great institution with a great coaching staff that will be there for you along the way and they will help you out with whatever you need.

How was the program different from what you thought it would be coming in as a prospective student?

The time you have to put in. College football is different than high school football. It takes time you to put in work with film study and with lifting. The mentality stuff that go into it: the playbook is thicker, but its cooler to dive into the football and get into the game in depth and become a real student of the game.

What was your football experience like over the past four years and how did football affect your collegiate experience?

I’ve had a great experience with football over the past four years. It has affected my life because I’ve built lasting relationships with my teammates and coaches. Football teaches a lot of about life and the real world, because you have to face adversity and overcome circumstance, setting goals and reaching those goals every day.

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Football Spotlight: Deion Minor

Deion Minor

Class of 2018

Business Management Major

Position: Linebacker

 

What is your favorite Grove City football memory?

The Thiel game. I was able to finish my career by winning the Mercer County Cup, and after what we went through for the past few years, it was nice to end with such a high note.

What is unique about Grove City’s football team?

The life lessons that Coach DiDonato teaches everyday at practice. He always talks about four second phrases, focus on your vision and not your circumstance, be where your feet are.

What is something a perspective football player should know?

Be willing to learn and be ready to have your life change by Coach D who is a fantastic coach. He just taught me that not matter the circumstance, how to pursue it and learn from the good and the bad and take it as a life lesson.

How was the program different from what you thought it would be coming in as a prospective athlete?

Everybody is good and everybody is fast, everybody was the best at their high school so you have to be better everyday.

What has your football experience been like over the past four years and how did football affect your collegiate experience?

My best friends are football football players, these players will be the ones at my wedding. It has enhanced my GPA here by all the resources that Coach D and the academic resources office brings here.

What would you say to a prospective football player that is on the edge of playing at Grove City?

Definitely give it a try, football here at this school can change your life, opportunities like this wouldn’t be around without this organization. Work hard, train hard over the summer and be ready to come in in August and get the ball rolling.

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Football Spotlight: Randall LaBrie

Randall LaBrie

Class of 2020

Finance Major

Position: Quarterback

 

What has been your favorite football memory?

I got an opportunity to become the quarterback and help the team, which was an amazing opportunity to step up.

What is unique about Grove City’s football team?

I think that it’s a group of guys that really care about each other, at other schools many kids are about themselves. Here, there’s a family connection between the guys and I think that is very special.

What should a perspective football player know?

It [the program] is in a positive direction. The team has a bright future in front of them because of the culture and the way things are developed there. There is such a strong connection of family and the Grove City College community backs us up so well. You have all the support in the world, all the way down from the president of the college to the players on the team.

How was the program different from what you thought it would be coming in as a prospective athlete?

In high school, you were kinda “the guy” when you are on the team, when you come to college you are having to find your role on the team all over again. That’s the big thing.

What has your football experience been like over the past four years and how did football affect your collegiate experience?

I’d say a lot of ups and downs, Through coming in and not being a starter and not playing and then now I am playing and starting and winning games. I remember where I was and can see where I am going. Being on the team has helped me stay focused and the guys on the team help a lot with academics. If you are in a class, the older guys can help you out. We had study huddles that the freshman go to to get help.

What would you say to a player that is on the edge of playing football at Grove City?

Play 100%. No matter what your role is on the team, its a family, being on the team you’ll find that, and it’ll open up so many doors for a young freshman’s life. Just by being on the team and a part of something.

The coaching staff is some of the most important people in my life, Coach DiDonato is one of those most inspirational people I’ve ever met. The coaching staff does everything. Coach D doesn’t just coach football: he teaches life. It’s not just football, football, football; we learn a lot of life lessons, and there is stuff you can take away from what he teaches and preaches. It has shaped my life differently from meeting him and playing for him.

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Football Spotlight: Daniel Sedjo

Daniel Sedjo

Mechanical Engineering Major

Class of 2018

Position: Right Guard

What has been your favorite football memory?

The Geneva game. That was always a frustrating game to lose in the past. I tore my ACL during the game sophomore year. It was really satisfying to beat them this year. It was finding our identity as a team, especially as an offense. The beginning of this year last season, we didn’t really know who we were.

What is unique about Grove City’s football team?

I think we have a great leader with Coach DiDonato. We have great expectations and there’s a great vision he puts in front of us. He can articulate it and present it so well and that is something real special.

What should a perspective football player know?

The visual that Coach D has set for the team is a bold one. The goal is to become PAC champions and that will happen in the next couple years. It’s where the team is currently going under coach D and we got to see that growth this season.

How was the program different from what you thought it would be coming in as a prospective athlete?

I came here and wasn’t sure I would play football in college. When I came here, I watched a game I wasn’t too impressed. What surprised me was the camaraderie and the brotherhood on the team. The first couple years had some aspects that weren’t great but what surprised me was the camaraderie.

What was your football experience like over the past four years and how did football affect your collegiate experience?

In season it takes up a lot of time so it is a commitment. I think that it has affected me socially. The friends I have on the football team are friends I’ll have for the rest of my life. The experience of going the first three years of not winning and the adversity, and then finally breaking through this year. Coach D says focus on the visual and not your circumstance and it sounds cliché, but over the past year that’s become a real meaningful statement. It was tough with the time, but the upside to it was that with other engineers on the football and with the support they gave was encouraging, it makes you manage your time well. It helped me a lot with my time management.

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Men’s Swimming: Brett Gwynn

Brett Gwynn

Accounting Major

Class of 2018

Butterfly and Sprint Free

What has been your favorite swim team memory?

The Moraine Park picnic, where we all go and introduce ourselves to the freshmen and we have a good time in the water.  We do a watermelon game where we cover a watermelon in gelatin, we gather up in teams and see who can get the watermelon to their goalie. It’s a good team bonding exercise where we see who can get the watermelon to their person with a new group of swimmers and divers.

What is unique about Grove City’s swim team?

It’s a very close team, we are close knit like a family. If anyone has any issues or problems with homework or a personal life issue, we always have someone who is there to respond and help them with the issue. We also do meals together and study in STEM (the Science Technology Engineering Math building) together. We have weekly bible studies.

What should a perspective swimmer know?

One thing that I believe is that it’s not the times on the board you’re going to remember after we graduate, it’s going to be the times that we had as teammates with your friends. So, spending times with them is a lot of fun; they are a great family and a great team. It is times where we have movie nights or Moraine picnic are the the times you will remember, you may have a good race sometime and you’ll remember them, but the times spent with the team are the ones that will bring a smile to your face.

How was the program different from what you thought it would be coming in as a prospective athlete?

So, in my high school, we focused more on just getting yardage in on a fast interval. Our coach works on technique, it’s not quite about garbage yardage and time, it is about how well you can swim the stroke and how efficient.

What has your swimming experience been like over the past four years and how did swimming affect your collegiate experience?

I like to think that swimming has helped me to schedule my time a lot better, it takes up a chunk of time so you have to do you have to do your homework in the time slots it lets you have. It has definitely helped me to organize my time schedule better and I problem have better grades when I’m swimming than when I’m not, because its helping me to prioritize things like homework and studying.

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Women’s Golf: Ashley Winters and Molly Arendt

Ashley Winters 

Class of 2018

Biology Major

Molly Arendt

Class of 2019

Marketing Management Major

What has been your favorite golf team memory?

Ashley: We pranked one kid on the team, we went out to winter the night of PACs (Presidential Athletics Conference), we sang happy birthday to him and he didn’t know that we knew his real name was Nicholas. Surprise!

Molly: Last PAC’s we went to see the guys and all the girls just sat on the hill facing down watching the guys and hung out.

What is unique about GCC golf?

Molly: The girls team is really close, very fun and energetic!

Ash: It’s like a family thing, we get dinner together and we kinda are like each others sisters, we want each other to do well.

What should a perspective golfer know?

Molly: They should really meet with the team and have dinner with us. It’s a lot of fun, its probably the most fun sport on campus.

Ashley: You think it is going to be so much more intense, and its really not that bad, you don’t have a set practice and you get to go out when it works with your schedule, very flexible.

How was the program different from what you thought it would be coming in as a prospective athlete?

Molly: I didn’t know we had a golf team. I thought it was going to be more intense.

Ashley: I thought it was going to be super intense and competitive, yes it is competitive and but it is very laid back and a ton of fun.

What was your golfing experience like over the past years and how did golfing affect your collegiate experience?

Ashley: The people you wouldn’t have met many people on the team, and now they are my friends forever. You get a bonding experience with people you’d never have a relationship with.

Molly: If I wasn’t here I’d be studying all the time, it is stress relief.

What would you say to an athlete on the fence about golfing at Grove City?

Ashley: If you are on the fence at least meet us and try it. Give it one or two practices and it’s just a fun time.

Molly: It is basically like a free country club membership and that’s an experience I would never have.

 

 

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Reel Life at Grove City College: Sportsmanship

Grove City College excels in sportsmanship. Even though I do not play sports myself, when I was a high-schooler looking at different colleges, the sportsmanship I saw and heard about at Grove City amazed me. I knew I wanted to spend my college years at a place with respect, faith-mindedness, determination, and talent. To my delight, when I went to my first Grove City College sports game, I saw all of those qualities shine out in the players on the field. It was wonderful to know that the College’s values came out even in a sports game. Looking back on it now though, it makes a lot of sense. How people behave on the field is a huge indicator of how they behave off of it.

I wanted to show you the wonder of a Grove City College sports match in a real, tangible way. So, when I was at an Ultimate Frisbee game the other night, I started filming. My friend on the team was nice enough to let me stand right next to the front lines the entire game so I could get some good shots. Like always, it was a wonderful experience. As I was watching, I considered, “What is it that I really love about being at a GCC sporting event?” I narrowed the phenomenon down to my top five favorite things I see at matches.

  1. Talent
  2. Excitement
  3. (Awesome) People
  4. Sportsmanship (or, Respect)
  5. Faith-mindedness

So, in this video, I have focused on showing you those five things.

I hope you enjoy this episode of Reel Life. Most of all though, I hope from watching it, you get a better idea of how uniquely special sports at Grove City College are.

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Cheerleading at Grove City College

The 2017-2018 GCC Cheer Squad
The 2017-2018 GCC Cheer Squad

As you walk down the hallways of the Physical Learning Center on a Tuesday evening you hear the echoing of girls chanting: “F-I-G-H-T, Fight Wolverines Fight!” So, what is it like to be a cheerleader at Grove City? Were there grueling tryouts where few could pass the test? Well, I am here to tell you a bit about my experience and what I have learned through cheering at the college level.

I have cheered since middle school and through most of high school. While I do have a lot of experience under my belt, I have never cheered competitively. So, going into college and deciding to cheer was a bit intimidating for me, even though it was a non-competitive team. I had never seen the cheerleaders perform before going to cheer camp the summer of 2016.

Cheer camp was intense, but doable. There were about a dozen girls who decided to try out. Mornings consisted of conditioning, jumps, cheers, chants, and learning a dance for basketball season. Evenings involved stunting. It was nice to be able to stunt, since our coach was certified in stunt training from the NCAA. Everyone made the team, and the tryouts themselves were low stress.  There were some girls there who had never cheered before, but they caught on fast.  So anyone can try out!

I also worried about how much of a time commitment cheer would be. We meet twice a week and practice a total of 4-5 hours. We also only cheer at home games. That year we had five home football games and about a dozen basketball games. Cheer ended up being a fun after-school outlet for me and was not a huge time commitment. Coach encouraged us to use the time as a way to not think about all of the things we needed to accomplish for school, and just to have fun.

This year, we also got new uniforms! It is exciting because the style is much more comfortable and the turtlenecks are gone! The uniforms are made of spandex now, and are very stretchy and breathable. The school colors changed from crimson to red, so the uniforms really stand out.

My favorite part of being on the cheer squad would be the sense of community. Being on a team and working together really brought all us closer. There is also a sense of trust that is built between those on my stunt team. We rely on each other for the safety of the flyer. Trust has to be there for us to accomplish some really cool stunts.

As senior year continues and will soon come to a close, I can say that I feel blessed to be able to cheer on my team. It has been a great experience that I will look back at with nothing but positive thoughts. I would encourage students who are thinking about being on the cheer team to try out! It is a great way to bond with other girls and encourage the sports teams. Go Wolverines!

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A Long-Awaited Celebration

24-14 Grove City College Football

Our football team recently won its first game in over three seasons. To say that my fellow students and I are excited is to say the least. What is truly remarkable about Saturday night’s game is not the long awaited celebration of a win, but rather the passion and excitement that continued before, throughout, and after the game.

The Experience

A student section had formed (naturally) and as the players took the field, before the game even began, the section began to jump up and down waving the Grove City College rally towels. Chanting proudly, “I believe that we will win!” The anticipation was palpable, but throughout an intense and close game the crowd was passionate and supportive. Two or three students took an unofficial leadership position and called out cheers and pumped up the section. Several times, when the game was paused for a timeout or end of quarter, College president Paul McNulty would lead the student section in cheering, too.

When the cheering died down in an intense moment, but the team needed that extra push, players or coaches on our sideline would turn around and wave up their arms, calling us to cheer, and the crowd would roar in response. The night before the game, an email was sent to the student body saying, “a loud crowd and great atmosphere is an extra player that the opponents cannot account for.” And this certainly proved to be true.

Two minutes before the end of the game Grove City was up, 24-14, and our student body began to go forward, waiting on the track outside of the field ready to celebrate with our team. With 10 seconds left, quarterback Randall LaBrie took a knee and the crowd went wild. As the clock hit 00:00, we ran onto the field in a celebration unlike any other that I have experienced. We sang the alma mater, and then fireworks erupted from the creek behind the field.  It was a perfect celebration of a long-awaited win.

Cultural Significance

This night was indicative of Grove City College culture in two ways:

First, the sportsmanship of our team. The next day I found an aerial view of the post-game cheering on the field and saw that our team put a pause on their celebration in order to promptly shake the hands of our opponents. They did not put this on hold, nor did they forget about this show of respect in the midst of great excitement. In this moment, each of our players showed the nature of their characters.

Second, the celebration of students was unified joy. There was no destruction of personal or school property, there were no hospital trips due to binge drinking or over-excitement of any kind. My friends and I went to a local restaurant for milkshakes to celebrate, as did several other groups of our peers who we saw there. We did not have to sacrifice safety or smart decisions in order to celebrate and have fun.

This win was one for the books, and an excellent example of the Grove City College culture and community overall.

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Fellowship of Christian Athletes

“You and I were created by God to be so much more than normal. Following the crowd is not a winning approach to life. In the end it’s a loser’s game, because we never become who God created us by trying to be like everybody else.” – Tim Tebow

As Christian athletes, Grove City College student athletes recognize they are called to a higher standard. As a follower of Christ, these athletes have much more than their ability to play a sport on display. Just as Tim Tebow challenged his audience, GCC athletes are reminded that they were created to stand out in a way that will not reflect the world or promote themselves, but rather will bring honor and glory to the Lord. Members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) echo the same challenge to their audiences on campus.12190858_971879189550372_4713183581879984777_n

FCA members seek to connect with students across campus, as well as athletes who participate in intramural sports, or just love sports for the purpose of glorifying the Lord. Their main mission is to glorify God through sports, so everything that they do revolves around that one specific goal. The group has grown steadily through the years since it was implemented and continues to grow. No matter the size, the athletes joining the group find an environment which allows deep relationships to form.

The advisor for the organization is Zach Jew and he is accompanied by the president, Ryan Buchalter. There is a leadership team that takes responsibility for organizing the meetings that are held every Sunday evening at 8 p.m. The team is comprised of Julia Buggey, Hope Cooksey, Sydney Dunn, Lindsay Hutton, Ben Koerber, Luke Richie, and John Turnbull. Lastly, their treasurer is Jordyn White. A unique characteristic about the members is that they are all involved in different sports teams on campus, but all strive to reach the same goal.

12009666_942871392451152_3260625437138673525_nAthletes that might be on the fence about attending the next FCA meeting should consider that this group provides a rare opportunity for athletes on campus to establish and strengthen relationships with others who are experiencing similar challenges and demands, but on different courts or playing fields. “It is a fun, relaxed atmosphere and it drives home the ultimate purpose of playing for an Audience of One and what that truly looks like whether on the athletic field or in daily life,” shares treasurer White.

Each meeting provides time to interact with other athletes through activities like “plane crash” or “ninja” in an effort to keep the competitive spirit visible. Then, after opening in prayer, a member will introduce their guest speaker. Each week provides a new speaker, with some past speakers including GCC coaches, Ben Rothelisberger’s mother, alumni, athletes, Christian organization leaders, and even the college’s very own President McNulty, If there is enough time at the end of the meeting there will be some student led discussion to allow the students to share their personal thoughts. FCA is a terrific opportunity to nurture and encourage fellow athletes to live life as a Christian athlete as God intended.