Caleb Porter and Akron University have proven to be a success on the field and in the classroom. Jeremiah Oshan examines the culture that Porter has created at Akron.
In the last three years alone, Akron has supplied 11 players to MLS, more than any other school. Eight of those players were picked within the first 10 picks of the draft and five of them were picked among the first four.
While the easy conclusion might lead you to believe that Akron is little more than a pro-soccer player factory, the reality seems to be far more nuanced. Akron head coach Caleb Porter is undoubtedly creating professional athletes, but he's doing it in a way that belies the conventional image of what that means.
His teams are regularly among the nation's academic leaders. In 2009-10 they posted a team GPA of 3.33, eighth best in the country, and the semester the Zips won the 2010 College Cup they posted a 3.51 team GPA. In Porter's five years at Akron, seven Zips have been named Academic All-America and 16 have been named Academic All-Conference.
"Every preseason began with him saying, 'You’re a student first and an athlete second,' " Zakuani said. "I really remember those preseason meetings. I’ll never forget that. If you fell behind on your studies and your grades dropped, you wouldn’t train. He took school seriously. He was talking to our teachers all the time. I used to hate it, but I appreciate it now."
Like many of his Akron teammates, Zakuani left school early. After leading the nation with 20 goals during his sophomore year, Zakuani signed a Generation Adidas contract and was made the top pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft. After winning the Hermann Trophy - given to college soccer's best player - Bunbury left early as well and was the No. 4 overall SuperDraft pick. All five of the Akron players taken in the first round of this year's draft also left early, with No. 3 overall pick Perry Kitchen leaving after his freshman year.
For some, this is further proof of the "factory" label. How serious can students be if they're not even sticking around long enough to get their diplomas?
Of course that ignores a primary role of college: Preparing students for their careers. While many college coaches seem to fall into one of two categories - either they emphasize school and all but force players to stick around for four years or they openly recruit aspiring pros and let them slack on school - Porter seems to have succeeded in finding a middle ground.
"When I got to Akron, there were a lot of local players, a lot of guys whose dream was playing in college," Zakuani said. "He started bringing in guys who wanted to play beyond college. I remember meeting Kofi Sarkodie, this guy was a pro from Day 1. He was acting like a pro, training like a pro, behaving like a pro. The same for Teal Bunbury. We would be in the dorms saying, Oh, we are going to play in this league or that league and play against each other.
"That came from him. Our training sessions were just like that. They were competitive, they were fun. It was a bunch of guys who really believed they could play pro and they made it so. It’s important to play at the next level and he’d say he’d never stand in our way if we wanted to leave early. I think that says something about him that he could have held them back. I could have stayed for my senior year and we would have all been playing together (this year), but it comes from him."
The poster child for this kind of student/athlete duality has to be Sarkodie, the ESPN Academic All-American of the Year who posted a 3.96 before being picked No. 7 overall in the SuperDraft midway through his junior year. Despite being one of the highest rated soccer players in the country throughout his youth, he earned straight A's and enrolled at Akron as biology major with the intention of eventually attending medical school. Only a B+ in ecology and an A- in physics robbed him of a 4.0, and he now says that he intends to finish his degree and maybe even fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor after his playing career is over.
"The way that Caleb runs the program, it’s been awesome," Sarkodie said. "The standard from Day 1 when I got there was perform on the field, but right away get to class and make sure you’re doing your work off the field.
"You’re going to need something to fall back on. Soccer is a short career. Maybe you can play until your mid-30s, but you still have a lot of life left. Coach Porter really emphasized that. Let’s put 100 percent into playing, but also put your all into school. It’s emphasized all year around. It’s the culture that we have at Akron: to be equally in tune to the classroom and the soccer pitch."
Making it easier for a player like Sarkodie to succeed in the classroom and on the field is an environment that celebrates that kind of achievement. Zemanski, for instance, earned a degree in mechanical engineering. All seven players who were drafted this year had GPA's over 3.0, led by Kitchen's 3.945. Joining Sarkodie on this year's Academic All-America team were Anthony Ampaipitakwong, Chad Barson and David Meves.
To be sure, there's a fine line that Porter is walking. On one hand, he's recruiting players who know college is a stepping stone to the pros, but he's also bringing in players that are going to class and keeping up their grades.
"We pick a certain profile," Porter said. "Our niche has been to get soccer junkies who are also good students. If they wanted to party, they wouldn't come to Akron. They are here to focus on soccer and focus on a certain culture. Those are the kids we attract and the kids we go after.
"We don’t get the kids that want to be at the biggest name, in the best conference. I don’t claim to have the best campus. There are better schools out there. But I don’t think there’s a soccer environment that’s better than ours. Most of our kids are honors students. They're getting a great academic experience. The balance of the two, I don’t think there’s a better situation."
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