The Gulf South Conference recently released the names of 16 athletes from Union who made the 2013-2014 winter academic honor roll from the men’s and women’s basketball teams.
To qualify for the honor roll, student athletes must maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
The women’s basketball team placed nine students on the list: Shelby Ashcraft, Chelsea Bodiford, Astrid Huttemann, Amy Philamlee, Amber Rechis, Kelsey Risner, Emily Sissom, DeAnna Thompson and LaTesa Mclaughlin.
The men’s basketball team placed seven students on the list: Ashanti Day, Pedro Faller, Elijah Fletcher, Eric Leisey, Caleb Pittman, Felipe Rocha and Paul Valdor.
Head women’s coach Mark Campbell is proud to have so many of his players make the honor roll.
“Having nine players on the [Gulf South Conference] honor roll makes me proud of the efforts they made in the midst of a busy schedule,” Campbell said. “However, being on the honor roll is not an indicator of effort alone.
“I have some players that are not on the honor roll but give their best effort every day,” Campbell said. “I am proud of all of them. We are so result driven, we forget out best effort should be what we define as success.”
Head coach of the men’s team, David Niven, said he is proud of his players and the efforts they have made this year.
“It is very gratifying to see that those guys clearly understand their purpose and why they are here,” said Niven. “Union is not an easy place to make good grades, and excelling in the classroom as well as speaks very highly of them.
“Being on the honor roll suggests that these guys know how to prioritize things and speaks a lot about them being able to get things done in multiple areas of their life.”
Basketball has one of the longer seasons of the all the sports teams at Union, and balancing one’s classwork during the long season is no easy task.
Emily Sissom, junior guard on the girl’s team and special education major, also is proud of her teammates for making the honor roll.
“I think it is a great accomplishment to have this many teammates mentioned on the [Gulf South Conference] honor roll,” said Sissom. “We realize that we are student-athletes, and Coach Campbell always stresses how our school work is just as important as basketball and that we give our best effort in both. This honor shows how hard our team has worked this year not only on the court but also in the classroom.”
Coach Campbell was pleased the girls made the honor roll but mentioned final results are not everything, and touched on the effort he expects from his players while during the season.
“We talk about best effort and not great grades. Each person on my team has different abilities and levels of achievement that are possible,” Campbell said. “The two things we can control are our attitude and effort. We want our players to maximize their abilities, to reach their potential.”
There are several ways in which both teams attempt to get their athletes to do well in their classes. The men’s team places a high priority on accountability.
“We emphasize the importance of class attendance, and have a zero tolerance for missing classes; we already miss enough with traveling. We also meet with our players individually and meet with their professors as well so we are aware of what they are doing in each of their classes,” Niven said.
Emphasizing good study habits and good time management is important for these athletes but, ultimately, it is their decision to put in the time and work it takes to be successful in all aspects of life.
