Fifth-year athletes take leadership roles

For NCAA varsity athletes, balancing classes, practice and the potential for injury often extends players' college careers. Athletes have five consecutive years to complete four seasons, said Maura Smith, assistant athletics director for compliance.

"Once you start full time, with 3.5 units or more, your clock starts ticking away, and you have five chronological years from that day to complete four seasons," she said.

Besides sports such as football or basketball, a fifth- year is usually a product of an injury, Smith said.

There are three regulations regarding medical hardships, Smith said: The injury must be incapacitating to the extent that an athlete cannot compete for the rest of the season; the injury must occur during the first half of the season; and the athlete cannot play in more than 30 percent of the season's games. The athletic department submits waiver forms, and the conference decides whether an athlete can get that season back.

Soccer midfielder Kristin Lescalleet tore her ACL at the end of her freshman year. "When my coach asked me if I wanted to come back, I said of course," she said. "It's the last chance I have to play at the collegiate level."

Lescalleet is using this semester to complete the senior seminar for her biochemistry major, to do research, work as a TA, and to take an economics and art history class for fun, she said.

"With a full schedule, you have to delegate time to classes, and there seems like hardly enough," she said. "I'm trying to be a better student now that I'm only in two classes.

"Soccer-wise it's really different because people I've been here with all four years aren't here anymore," Lescalleet said. "We're expected to be role models and in the leadership positions, which is hard."

Lescalleet said the coaches had handed many responsibilities to her and fellow fifth-year Andrea Young. "We're kind of at the top of the tier," she said.

Young agreed with the increased leadership this season: "We're older than the oldest, and it was a hard adjustment at first. We had to be the responsible ones, almost like babysitters.

"I actually decided [to fifth-year] kind of late, in January. Graduation was coming up, and I realized I could take another six months. I've done a lot at the Career Center this semester, resume building."

After graduation in December, Lescalleet plans to apply to medical school and said this transition period would be helpful in getting ready for the long application process. "I'm glad I stayed," she said. "I've gotten to take classes I wouldn't have normally taken, and there's been a lot more soccer responsibility as opposed to the past four years when it's been academics."

Young said she saw her role in the campus community differently as a fifth-year student. "Last week I was walking through the forum, and I realized our class banner wasn't even up," she said. "That kind of stuff gets me."

Smith agreed fifth-year athletes had a different role at Richmond. "I think its tough," she said. "Richmond students want to be involved in everything, and most people are expected to finish in four years. Our coaches are very careful on how they use fifth years because it's not the norm with the regular student population of Richmond."

Like Lescalleet, lacrosse player Caitlin Fifield tore her ACL at the end of her freshman year, and then again before the first game of her sophomore year. As a spring athlete, Fifield said the decision to stay a fifth year was different because a student must commit to an entire year. "It's different because you're not just staying for your final season," she said. "It's also the off-season which is all the training and the hard stuff."

But there was little doubt in Fifield's mind when making the decision. "I never even questioned not taking it," she said. "I think it's great being able to play a sport in college. It's a huge opportunity to learn about yourself, and I've been able to grow since I've seen so many people go through the program."

Fifield described this year as a "bubble year." She is student teaching this semester, which includes an 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. workday and commute, followed by lacrosse practice. "It's kind of like I'm in the real world, but am not getting paid," she said.

As the only fifth-year on her team, Fifield said she had tried to embrace her leadership role and be extra vocal on the field and to make connections with freshmen, despite her busy schedule.

Basketball players Rachael and Samantha Bilney have had an atypical journey as NCAA athletes. Nine combined knee surgeries have not deterred the sisters from staying an extra year to play one last season together.

Rachael Bilney tore her ACL just before practice began her junior year and redshirted that season, she said. Knowing her sister had been eligible for a red shirt as well had been a huge factor in her decision.

"I've had three knee surgeries since my sophomore year," she said. "It was a matter of if it was smart to come back, and I think most doctors would say it wasn't; but it's my decision, and I'm going to play."

Samantha Bilney has had six knee surgeries and missed being recruited because of injuries in high school. "I was very determined to not be beaten by my injuries, and I've come to terms with the long-term effects medically," she said. "This is my last opportunity to do what I've been preparing for the past 20 years."

Both women are in a different situation from other fifth-year athletes because they are taking two semesters of full course loads, which translates to 3.5 units at Richmond. "There are benefits on the academic side," Samantha Bilney said. "It's a wide open book for what I can do for my last year."

The two take guitar and jazz dance together this semester, and Rachael Bilney said she had admittedly taken easier classes, but also sees the benefits academically.

"For a lot of people there's a ton of pressure senior year with capstone classes and finishing degrees while looking for jobs at the same time," she said.

Rachael agreed they had a different role because of the knowledge gained from competing in the A-10s for four years. "Being patient is probably the biggest challenge," she said, "Being older is great because there is no learning curve, but then we see how steep it is for the freshmen. Our role on the team is honestly to be the moms."

Another set of values they bring to the team, Rachael said, is to show the importance of dedication. "Looking at Sam, people don't usually go through six knee surgeries. She serves as a reminder to keep working hard, and excuses aren't excuses."

Both Rachael and Samantha Bilney said they were glad they had stayed so far. "My knees are angry at me most of the time, but I would come back and be on a team for the rest of my life if I could," Samantha Bilney said.

Despite an injury earlier this season, football quarterback John Laub was redshirted his freshman year, and was on the track to graduate in 4.5 years from the start, as is common among NCAA football players.

"There was only one person in my class who didn't get redshirted. You're able to spend more time in the weight room training and getting your body used to the level of competition, and also to being away from home for the first time," Laub said.

"That transition period can be rough and it gives you a little more chance to do what you need to do in the classroom." Laub is enrolled in two classes this semester, and said he had been able to focus on football for his last semester here.

Smith said that it was common for football players to redshirt as freshmen to act as a kind of orientation year. "Coaches use that first year to built them up. They want to teach them the system, the plays, a lot of them coming out of high school aren't conditioned to play at the college level." The NCAA used to not allow freshmen to play at all, she said.

In response to how his role on the team has changed, Laub said the number of fifth-years has made a different dynamic. "There's a sense that the fifth-year seniors are the heart of the team, they've been here the longest," Laub said, "Some of us have been here for the national championship, and we've been through a lot so we have that brotherhood that began even before freshman year during recruitment trips."

Laub took advantage of his extra semester by delaying a business internship. "I benefitted from having more classes in the business school before going into an internship, I felt more prepared." This opportunity led to a job offer, which he will begin after graduating in December.

Smith said of fifth-year athletes at Richmond: "I truly believe that all of our fifth years are so dedicated to their sport and love the University of Richmond so much that they're dedicated they're willing to continue doing difficult academic work at a rigorous institution and also there are things that they sacrifice to remain here as student athletes."

Contact staff writer Taylor Kloonan at taylor.kloonan@richmond.edu