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Friday, April 5, 2013 | Page 9
TJC recruits from all over the world for athletics By Carley Handford staff writer
It’s no secret that Tyler Junior College has a diverse student body. Students come from all over the country and the world to be an Apache. The Athletics program is no exception. It may be a long way from home for these athletes, but the opportunities that TJC offers to these athletes seems to be worth the distance. According to the Apache Athletics website, there are at least 23 athletes playing under an international title. Their homes as far north as Canada, Ireland, and England, and as far south as Australia, Colombia, and New Zealand, among many other countries athletes are from. Not all spots are guaranteed, though. According to the NCJAA website, no more than 25 percent of scholarship athletes can come from outside the United States. So, while there are more than 25 percent of players trying out from outside
Offseason
of the country, the coaches can be selective with their international spots. Mark MacPhee, a student and redshirted soccer player from Scotland. “I was offered a spot at a school in New York, but the scholarship fell through. I came to TJC to redshirt, because I can get offers by just being a part of this program. It’s that good,” MacPhee said on his move to Tyler. He isn’t promised a spot on the soccer team next season, but that gives him more motivation. “The coach said there are three options: I can start here, be benched here, or he can find me another team. He said there’s about five colleges I can go to where I’ll start as a keeper, but I want to stay here,” MacPhee said. He’s one of many athletes at TJC vying for an opportunity to play under the name of the Apache. Harry Machacha, who went to TJC in 2009 and 2010 and played soccer here, and is from South Africa, said that the
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a player can’t transition from offense to defense and the problem may be her foot speed. We’re teaching them to make that transition a lot quicker by teaching muscle memory.” The players set foot on the court at 12:30 p.m. for the first day of offseason training and Jones has stations laid out for her players. Cones on one side of the court for defensive slides, jump rope on the other side to warm up, and last but not least the hardwood as the girls ran several sprints to test their speed. Their conditioning was pushed because after all of that, they picked a partner and played one-on-one to 21 points. Usually one-on-one games are played to seven points or eleven and a game alone is tiring but to do it after a workout is exhausting. Jump shots are short, easy layups are not going in. Fatigue has set in, but just like fourth quarter of a game, the players will be tired and will need to still make shots.
Apache Pow Wow Spotlight
thing he misses most is family. “I could only talk to my parents once every two weeks or so. My family is traditional, so they don’t skype or Facebook,” Machacha said. It’s not as hard to keep in contact with family, with technology becoming increasingly common in a household. “I Facebook my mom all the time. It’s great, but it’s still hard. I miss her a lot,” MacPhee said. These athletes have a chance of a lifetime here. “It was either athletics, or school. In the United States, I can be both. That’s unheard of in Scotland,” MacPhee said. Being from another country can take its toll on some, but others look at the positives. “I love meeting new people, so that makes it easier. I don’t think about home as much when I’m around other people. I’ve had too much fun this semester to be upset about home,” MacPhee said.
“I think that offseason is going to get us a lot stronger, a lot faster. Just in this week that we have been through I can see that I’ve gotten better and my teammates have as well,” Hemmitt said. “Coach T (Trenia Jones) is awesome in doing off season workouts because I have seen improvement in my upper body strength and especially speed because we have been running a lot.” The players believe the hard work will pay off, but knows there are a few things that are needed to reach the conference title next year. “Pre season is to get better and to work hard and sweat a lot, and once we get into season we should be a lot better than what we were last year,” Freshman forward Bria Emmanuel said. “Last season we didn’t really have a leader so next year we all need to step up so we can reach our goal and win a title.”
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The coaches recognize how hard it is to come from a different country, not know any English, have to play a sport and go to school. The coaches, as well as her teammates, have helped her get through these two years. Assistant Coach Precious Ivy describes Lopez as a responsible player. She goes to practice and class and does what she needs to do. “I think if anything stands out it is the her academic side of her. Like I said, she’s very smart. She makes good grade. We don’t ever have to worry about her missing class or not passing a class, so I think she leads by example in the classroom because her grades speak for themselves,” Assistant Coach Ivy said. From the beginning of the season till now, she has improved her catching abilities, watching the ball more and having time to gather herself.
“She’s a quiet leader, she doesn’t say a whole lot but when she does say something it’s powerful,” Coach Ivy said. Lopez has no option but to be strong. It’s a lot for her to be away from her parents and deal with the death of her brother. “She has a strong will to do what she needs to do in order to get to where she needs to be,” Coach Ivy said. Lopez has committed to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma and will be playing in the Southland Conference. “She has a strong will to do what she needs to do in order to get to where she needs to be,” Coach Ivy said. Lopez has committed to Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma and will be playing in the Southland Conference.
#20 Colton Burleson
The sophomore pitcher struck out 9 batters against Arkansas Baptist on 3/16 #1 JaVante Mack
The sophomore receiver signed a letter of intent to Sam Houston University Golf Team
The TJC women’s golf team tied for 1st place and the men’s team finished as runner-up in the Hal Sutton Intercollegiate Tournament in Louisiana on 3/5/13
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