04.01.2019
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Czerkawski always leads by example Adam Czerkawski has been a member of the varsity men’s soccer team since his first year at UTM SARAH-MAY OLDFIELD ASSOCIATE S&H EDITOR Adam Czerkawski never thought he was much of a math or science guy. History was his best subject in school. Now in his second year at UTM, he majors in History with a minor in Linguistics and Anthropology. He also plays centre back for both UTM varsity men’s soccer team and Ontario League 1. Czerkawski is a Mississauga native, born to Polish immigrant parents. He speaks Polish at home since it was his first language. Despite being born in Canada, and being raised here, Adam couldn’t speak English entering the Canadian school system. Czerkawski considers his parent to be fairly traditional. Nowadays they occasionally speak in English, but his parents still like to keep Polish tradition. “Whenever there’s a holiday, thev pretty much do what they did in Poland. They don’t brush that aside. A big one that people in Poland or the Ukraine do is when it’s Easter time, they go with eggs and a basket full of food, and then you go to church and they bless the food. They don’t really do that in Canada.” Czerkawski is the first member of his family to play soccer, and the first
to play at a highly competitive level. His father grew up around a soccer club in Poland, but he only ever played for fun. Czerkawski is the first in his family to ever play for a team. But his family does their best to support him. “My dad likes watching me play. My mom stays away because she doesn’t like watching me get hurt,” he says. Sports, let alone soccer, isn’t a big deal in Czerkawski’s family. They don’t watch sports, but soccer has been his life for as long he can remember. Czerkawski was 7-years-old when he joined his first soccer team, a rep team called the “Serbian White Eagles.” “One day my neighbour came up to me, he had a child around my age, he told me I was really good and that I should play for his son’s team.” Czerkawski played for the White Eagles for a year moving on to several more teams, each one a higher level than the last, bringing a new challenge. Wherever the opportunity “I played for Etobicoke, Erin Mills, Mississauga United.” He played in the Ontario Youth Soccer League (OYSL), the highest you can play as a young soccer athlete, at 14 years old. Czerkawski now plays for not only UTM, but for a team in Scarborough in the League 1 division, the highest
UTM ATHLETICS/FACEBOOK
Adam Czerkawski is the first member of his family to play soccer. men’s league you can reach in Canada just under the CPL and MLS. Czerkawski, like most students, came to UTM for the education. Former coach of the varsity men’s soccer team, Rick Titus, actually gave Czerkawski a call. “A week before the first game, he gave me a call and said he didn’t see me at tryouts, and asked what was up. He [Rick] encouraged me to play.” And he’s never regretted the decision. Czerkawski feels like he’s adjusted
well to life and pressure as a studentathlete. Despite being the youngest on the team, Czerkawski was a starter in his first year in League 1. It takes a lot to be both a League 1 athlete and a UTM varsity athlete. “I have three practices with League 1 a week, all in a row, from 9-11. I get home at 12, and I have to wake up for either a 9 am class and then workout with Darren. You learn to get used to it. I grew up playing soccer, so my body’s naturally fit. I feel like I can take more
than the average person.” Despite being moved around to different positions, Czerkawski plays and enjoys centre back. It’s where he feels the most comfortable, and it’s the position he’s played the longest. He credits the team’s mandatory workouts with varsity athletic trainer, Darren Turner, to the advantages he has over other players on the soccer pitch. “I find it easier going up against strikers that aren’t as strong as me.” Czerkawski is a defender and there are a number of players that come to mind in terms of who he looks up to, or wants to play like. One name that stands out is Zbigniew Boniek. Playing in the Serbian league when he was younger, Boniek was a name he heard a lot. And since Boniek plays his position, Czerkawski made sure to pay attention. “I always liked watching him. He’s very strong and physical. I like to say I kind of play like him, emulate my game like him. He was known was for going into tackles strong, for putting his head where people wouldn’t put their feet.” Czerkawski tries to carry that same fearlessness towards his body onto the pitch when he plays which has unfortunately resulted in a number of injuries. Soccer continued on page 12
A successful school year for UTM athletics A look over the past year for UTM athletics from varsity sports to tri-campus development leagues AMRISH WAGLE ASSOCIATE S&H EDITOR Summer is just around the corner, with bright sunshine and warm weather to break us out of the cold and into four sweet months of summer vacation. As the year inevitably draws to a close, here’s a look back at UTM’s year in athletics. UTM’s basketball teams had a rocky year with the men’s varsity team achieving 4 wins and 16 losses, whereas the women’s varsity team managed to do a bit better at 5 wins and 15 losses. As for the Tri-Campus Developmental Leagues, the women’s basketball team unfortunately couldn’t get any wins for the whole year and sustained 9 losses against St. George and Scarborough. Compared to last year, the men’s varsity team actually doubled their wins, whereas the women’s teams for both varsity and developmental have remained at about the same level of performance. The Eagles definitely could use more practice on their basketball skills, but with another year looming close, they’ve no place to go but up. UTM hosted this year’s 2019 Badminton Championships on behalf of the OCAA and among the top badminton athletes from across Ontario, UTM’s own badminton team had also crushed the regionals to have 7 of their more talented players qual-
YASMEEN ALKOKA/THE MEDIUM
As the semester comes to a close, The Medium looks back to a year of UTM athletics. ify for provincial play. Second year all-star, Rachel Wong, won OCAA Women’s Badminton Player of the Year, OCAA All-Star and won the silver medal at the Women’s Single Provincial Tournament. Wong went on to finish fourth overall at Nationals held at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Cross Country team had quite an interesting year as well. At the 2018 OCAA XC Championships on October 27, UTM’s prized runner, Sophie Glanz finished sixth overall, clocking in at 24 minutes and 13.7 seconds. Moreover, we also had four
other runners in the women’s race with Talyn Tait coming in at 26th place and the rest obtaining the 62nd, 64th and 65th spots, out of an overall 82 runners. As for the men’s 8k run, Kale Heino landed the 17th spot at 28 minutes and 26.4 seconds, while Haseeb Malik managed to come in at a close 23rd place with 29 minutes and 5.4 seconds. At the OCAA nationals, Sophie Glanz attained the 14th place and Kale Heino and Haseed Malik received the 30th and 88th place respectively. This was quite a year for
the team and they definitely left a mark with all their sheer talent. The women’s varsity soccer team had an interesting season with 1 win, 6 losses and 3 ties. They’ve definitely improved vastly from their previous year when they only had 1 win out of 10 games. At this rate, they’re looking to be even better next year. The men’s team achieved better results with 6 losses, 3 wins and 2 ties. This team did however qualify for the OCAA Provincials at George Brown College and ranked an overall sixth place in the outdoor season and placed third at OCAA Provincials for indoor soc-
cer. The d-league men’s ice hockey team had a fantastic year where they defeated UTSC in the championship game, bringing home the gold for UTM. The men’s volleyball team finished their year with 5 wins and 5 losses. The women’s team, however, suffered worse luck with 1 win out of a total of 9 games. On the other hand, the d-league men’s soccer team achieved similarly dismal results with 1 win out of 6 games and the women’s team losing all of theirs. The HCC did however host some of their annual spectacular events. Their gigantic Be Well UTM Fair was a showstopper, followed by the YOLO pub night, Meet-a-Friend Café, Let’s Talk UTM and the crowd-pleaser; MoveU Skate. Not to mention, all the other endeavours were also very appreciated, including Flu Clinic, Exam Jams, the Health Survey and various educational tabling events. UTM has had quite a busy year with athletics. With all of the UTM sports teams having success in some way, it is relatively accurate to say that the 2018/2019 athletic year was a good one. Bringing this year to a close, the Eagles can be seen to definitely have come a long way. They’ve endured crushing losses, remarkable triumphs and are looking towards the future for profound change.