Staff Writer
The NCAA prides its student-athletes on not just being athletes that go professional in their respective sports, but go professional in other career fields, something that the majority of the athletes do. The commercial campaign that the NCAA runs shows athletes playing with equipment from their respective sports while doing work in labs, writing and other things that relate to their majors.
Springfield College lacrosse player Kevin MacBride is no exception to this. If he were to appear in this ad, he would need a separate spot from all the other athletes. MacBride is the ultimate student-athlete, one that leaves all other student-athletes in the dust with what he does not just on the field and in the classroom, but for what he does for his school and his peers as well.
Dom Marabello has been MacBride’s best friend since their freshman year at Springfield in 2010. They went to Pre-Camp together and were roommates all year long. When asked how MacBride deals with all the things on his schedule, Marabello responded, laughing and saying, “I really couldn’t tell you how he does it.”
MacBride has alarms set in his phone, a big calendar in his room, and even another calendar on his computer to keep himself updated on his upcoming events and to make sure he has enough time and is on time for everything. MacBride, standing at about 5-feet,10- inches with brown hair, a big smile on his face and constant five o’clock shadow, began his leadership career at SC at Pre-Camp. The yearly program accepts about 60 freshmen applicants out of the hundreds that apply. To be selected, you have to be unique and demonstrate leadership skills. MacBride fit this bill perfectly.
Coming into college, MacBride did not have too much leadership experience and did not do much else in school besides play lacrosse. While at Pre Camp, Marabello remembered that Macbride wanted to be involved during his time at SC.
Annie Warchol, the Pre -Camp adviser, noticed something different about MacBride.
“I saw in him a drive that you don’t see in most freshmen,” said the assistant director of student activities.
One of the Pre-Camp leaders, R. John Reidy, noticed this and thought MacBride would be a great class president. MacBride ran for the position and won, beginning what is already a sterling resume here on Alden Street.
During his freshman year, MacBride started the semester off looking for more ways he could get involved. He joined the Campus Activities Board, which, like its name implies, sets up activities that are campus wide and incorporate all students. In the winter, he also applied to be a Pre-Camp leader, something that even less applicants were admitted too. This time around, there were only 12 leaders accepted, and again, MacBride impressed and was selected.
MacBride has the unique combination of being a creative person, a leader and all the while being able to be someone that the incoming freshmen could relate to. He did not flaunt the things that he did; he was just friendly and inviting.
“He just puts people at ease. He’s out there so people can laugh at him and he doesn’t take himself too seriously,” said Reidy.
In the spring, MacBride plays lacrosse, a very demanding sport that involves workouts and captains’ practices in the off-season. He was not scouted to play lacrosse at Springfield, but instead attended a camp that is put on by the Pride’s coaching staff in the summer before his freshman year. MacBride impressed all the coaches and players at the camp and was even named as an All-Star for the week. After the camp, coach Keith Bugbee came up to MacBride and told him that he’d see him in the fall, an insinuation that MacBride had made the Springfield lacrosse team.
MacBride had a limited role on the team during his freshman year but was able to make an impact when he was on the field. He appeared in six games in goal for the Pride, a feat in itself for a freshman on a varsity collegiate team. His accomplishments on the field were good enough for him to become a leader, but MacBride was not satisfied. He wanted to prove that lacrosse players did not just play lacrosse.
“I get to show other lacrosse players that it’s not just about lacrosse. There are more important things,” MacBride said. “My coach really loves that I’m involved and that I give the program a good rep.”
Teammate James Lindrooth thinks that MacBride is a very good teammate.
“He’s always upbeat and he’s always encouraging,” Lindrooth said. “As a goalie for lacrosse, you are captain of the defense, directing everyone, so he’s very vocal. He has a great work ethic and he’s ready to play every day.”
In his freshman year alone, MacBride was able to go to Pre-Camp, become the Class of 2014 president, be selected to become a Pre-Camp leader for the following summer and have an impact on the varsity lacrosse team, all while being a full-time student and taking 18 credits a semester. Most student-athletes have a schedule filled up by just classes and their sports; MacBride transcends that and his activities will only continue to grow in his sophomore year.
The sophomore returned this year as a Pre-Camp leader.
“It is awesome getting to know that I have an impact on incoming students like my leaders had an impact on me,” MacBride said. “It feels really good to be a part of something bigger than myself.”
MacBride was able to leave Pre-Camp with more energy and confidence for the upcoming school year. He resumed his responsibilities of being class president and then was accepted to become a Resident Assistant. Being a RA is a tough job for just a regular student, but again, MacBride is able to rise above all issues and do it to the best of his ability, fulfilling all responsibilities even with everything else on his plate.
Along with the new RA position, MacBride also applied and received a job in the Richard B. Flynn Student Union to work at the front desk.
The list of activities that MacBride takes on is daunting. The amount of obligations he is able to take on as a student is incredible and the fact that he can do it while being an athlete is unbelievable. He leaves his peers and his advisors dumbfounded at how he can do everything and not have issues. He is the epitome of what a student-athlete could be and should be. He makes both Lindrooth and Marabello want to do more; both felt as though they were busy before hearing of MacBride’s schedule and both are inspired by MacBride.
The sophomore from Long Island literally does it all and does it flawlessly. MacBride lives by the motto, “Do what you love, and love what you do.” This is a motto that he applies to everything he does.
MacBride is the perfect role model for incoming student-athletes, someone that they should strive to be: the ideal student-athlete. Even though MacBride does it all, he still wants more.
The NCAA needs to raise their bar so that Kevin MacBride can find something else to transcend, as there are not many other things this lacrosse player/class president/Pre-Camp Leader/RA/ LTC participant/CAB member/Union worker has not done yet.
His commercial should be coming soon.