October 2012 Saints Spotlight Newsletter

OCTOBER 2012

ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT | 400 THE FENWAY | BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02115

Living the Dream with Christopher Clark Growing up, many youngsters dream of becoming a professional athlete in the sport they love. For Christopher Clark (Class of 2008), that dream came true. Over the past five years, Clark has travelled the world playing professional soccer, living out his childhood dream. His road to the pros wasn’t exactly an easy one, in fact sometimes during his travels there were not even roads but his undying love for the game has continuously prevailed, allowing him to play the sport he loves and can’t live without. Following his graduation from Emmanuel, Clark decided to see how far he could go playing soccer. He knew he wanted to try and reach his highest potential as a player and if that meant relocating, his bags were packed and ready to go. Since making the decision to pursue his dreams, Clark has played professionally in Hungary, London, Thailand, Singapore and Australia. “The decision to keep playing was easy,” said Clark, “but there were so many challenges along the way.” Challenges like international quotas for foreign players. Many countries limit the amount of players on their roster that do not have local citizenship, so for every tryout, Clark had to make sure he was twice as good as the locals just to get a roster spot. Once on a roster, many other obstacles would come into play like finding a place to live for the season, adjusting to the local food and culture, not to mention trying to just simply communicate with

the locals and your teammates. “It was really hard at first but you learn to live on your own and find your way,” said Clark. “It was important to just be persistent and not give up, even when I wanted it to all happen overnight. It took some time and sacrifice but eventually I was able to save up and make some connections that helped point me in the right direction.” One such connection showed him the ropes in Hungary by taking him around to the local clubs and knocking on doors for a tryout. “You just never knew what could happen so every door I knocked on was my next potential team,” said Clark. “At one tryout while in Hungary I was able to train with the national team’s assistant coach and this led to a positive referral to a very competitive team.” Through his networking connections, Clark was able to play with Martin Tyler’s team in London. Tyler, an international soccer legend, was recently named the FA Premier League Commentator of the Decade. During his travels, Clark has also played with a professional foreign player’s team in Bangkok that had pro players on

Christopher Clark graduated from Emmanuel College in 2008 as the all-time leader in goals, assists and total points for the Men’s Soccer program.

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By the Numbers – On September 24, sophomore women’s tennis player Jenni Hewes (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) registered a “golden match” against her Mount Ida College opponent during Emmanuel’s 9-0 victory. Hewes scored 48 consecutive points en route to her 6-0, 6-0 win in No. 5 singles play, not allowing a single point or making an error in her two sets of flawless play.

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