2008 Woodie Awards
Soccer captain proves to be a Stand-out
James Fuccione
Issue date: 9/15/04 Section: Sports
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Every athlete has a story. Some persevered through hard work. Some happened to be in the right place at the right time. Some are just plain talented. Jared Stand's journey, however, has included all three.
"Its exciting going from being a walk-on to a captain," said Stand.
The story is not that simple though. Stand came to Assumption College not having been recruited to the AC soccer team, despite playing four years of high school varsity soccer. He scored twenty goals as a high school. freshman and was named a captain in both his junior and senior years.
Entering tryouts for the Greyhounds on a cool summer morning in 2001 with confidence, Stand, along with the other wannabe walk-ons, were shocked to find that tryouts were simply a formality that year.
"It was very demoralizing," remembers Jared. "After that, you didn't think you were cut out for college soccer."
Jared took the fall off from playing, but it was not long before he would find his opportunity. A close friend played for a premier team called Worcester Juventus. The coach of that team happened to be Assumption's Assistant Athletic Director, Peter Gardula.
"I heard [Jared] was a good player and was enrolled at Assumption College," said Gardula. "We had a nice meeting and I thought he would be a great addition to the program."
Gardula passed the word along to then-head coach Brian Laut. Stand started practicing with the team at 6:00 a.m. on Friday mornings. Laut was impressed and invited Stand to play with the team at an indoor tournament hosted by Clark University. Stand made his presence known as he scored in the first game he played.
The ball kept rolling in Stand's direction, as Coach Laut extended the invitation for Jared to play for the spring team and come out again in the fall. Unfortunately, he would miss the first week of the preseason in August of 2002 when a friend from Stand's hometown of Douglas passed away.
Returning for the 2002 fall season, Stand started in his first official college game.
"Its exciting going from being a walk-on to a captain," said Stand.
The story is not that simple though. Stand came to Assumption College not having been recruited to the AC soccer team, despite playing four years of high school varsity soccer. He scored twenty goals as a high school. freshman and was named a captain in both his junior and senior years.
Entering tryouts for the Greyhounds on a cool summer morning in 2001 with confidence, Stand, along with the other wannabe walk-ons, were shocked to find that tryouts were simply a formality that year.
"It was very demoralizing," remembers Jared. "After that, you didn't think you were cut out for college soccer."
Jared took the fall off from playing, but it was not long before he would find his opportunity. A close friend played for a premier team called Worcester Juventus. The coach of that team happened to be Assumption's Assistant Athletic Director, Peter Gardula.
"I heard [Jared] was a good player and was enrolled at Assumption College," said Gardula. "We had a nice meeting and I thought he would be a great addition to the program."
Gardula passed the word along to then-head coach Brian Laut. Stand started practicing with the team at 6:00 a.m. on Friday mornings. Laut was impressed and invited Stand to play with the team at an indoor tournament hosted by Clark University. Stand made his presence known as he scored in the first game he played.
The ball kept rolling in Stand's direction, as Coach Laut extended the invitation for Jared to play for the spring team and come out again in the fall. Unfortunately, he would miss the first week of the preseason in August of 2002 when a friend from Stand's hometown of Douglas passed away.
Returning for the 2002 fall season, Stand started in his first official college game.