Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Excel Off the Field
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
November 11, 1998
By Michael Smoose
Fresno State Media Relations
FRESNO, Calif. - It's 7 a.m. on a Tuesday, the Fresno State men's soccer team's day off. Most students are just waking up and getting ready for classes - not the Bulldogs. They're starting their morning off with an Academic Excellence session in the Duncan Building. Academic Excellence sessions are not limited to off-days, they're held every day.
The morning sessions are held for all freshmen, newcomers and any player on the team who has not yet achieved a 2.5 GPA. During the Academic Excellence sessions the players meet one-on-one with the coaches for an overview of their academics.
The coaches check the players' attendance as well as quiz them on material from their classes and help them with their note taking skills. Head coach Dave Chesler said the sessions provided the players with life skills, such as time management and prioritizing, that will help them in life beyond the soccer field and Fresno State.
Midfielder Danny Risch said the Academic Excellence program helps players make the jump from high school to college or from one university to another.
"It helps the guys make a smooth transition," Risch said. "It's definitely a great benefit, it helps you get organized."
Chesler instituted the Academic Excellence program when he arrived here last year from the University of Washington. Coach Chesler knows how the system works and knows what benefits it can reap after working with Academic Excellence program at Washington for five years as an assistant coach. For Risch the Academic Excellence program is a great motivation.
"It has helped me get focused," Risch said. "Coach Chesler has shown us how import academics are in our lives."
The program has had an immediate impact on the men's soccer team. Last spring, after only two semesters with the Academic Excellence program, five Bulldogs recorded the highest GPA they've had in their career. Nine players who were in the program achieved their spring semester goal and 11 players were members of the "Three-Point Club," for anyone who achieved a 3.0 GPA or better in the spring.
Three Bulldogs - midfielders, Risch and Ryan Pourhassanian, and goalkeeper, Mirko Vuksic - made the dean's list with cumulative GPA's above 3.5. Risch is the Top 'Dog on the soccer team for the spring semester, recording the highest GPA possible.
The Bulldogs' work isn't limited to the field or the classroom, it carries over to the community. Throughout the year, coach Chesler, his staff and players have conducted clinics, given speeches and met with students from area schools.
When the Bulldogs visit schools they demonstrate skills for the students, but they also go in with an important message. Last spring coach Chesler and six players went to the Vandalia schools in Porterville to give a demonstration, but incorporated themes of respect and attitude into the demonstration.
"They're so glad to meet the guys that they've seen on the field," Risch said. "We're guys that the kids can see as role models. We've graduated high school and moved on to college and that's something they can look up to."
During a visit to Centennial Elementary school, the Bulldogs participated in a reading hour, and on a trip to Pinedale Elementary, coach Chesler talked to the students about respect and working as a team. Chesler has given presentations for the Optimist Club and, along with assistant coach Paul Meehan, he has organized clinics for youth soccer coaches. Chesler said the projects provide the students with a total experience.
"Developmentally they improve their soccer skills and raise their standards," Chesler said. "They learn that once they get outside of school, there is more than just your job, you have to contribute to your community."
The community is not the only one who benefits from the soccer team's community service projects, the Bulldogs themselves get something out of it as well. Chesler said the reward the teams gets from participating in the projects is something they can not get on the field.
"The players learn that there is a bigger picture, that there is a community outside of the program," Chesler said. "For me, the intrinsic awards are greater than anything the team can achieve on the field."
For Risch, helping with community services projects are extra-special. Growing up in Clovis, Risch was once a part of the youth soccer clinics that the Bulldogs give, now he's on the other side of the ball.
"You have to give something back to your community," Risch said. "I took so much from this community for 18 years, it was about time I started giving something back."
For more information on the Bulldogs' clinics or having a Fresno State athlete visit your school, call Lisa Collett at 278-5158.
