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Skills, endurance, determination, courage, and, above all, teamwork, are the keystones upon which the program has been built. From these foundations, we fashion a style of play which concentrates on possession and ball control, constructed from the back, and advancing in a controlled short-passing manner. Within this framework, we encourage players to be creative and self-challenging, but require that they maintain the discipline that is required everyday to ensure that team-mates are never let down on the field of play.
To achieve this, we maintain a rigorous and selective program. Twenty-two players are selected each August to represent the College. This selection takes place during rigorous pre-season training . All players are expected to win their places each season. This training week is intense and players need to report in their very best condition - a required summer fitness program will be provided. The first session is a timed 3200 meter competitive run. The purpose of this is that Dickinson Soccer will be match-fit from its first encounter when the season begins in earnest ten days later.
From those who win a place on that final roster, much is then expected. There is no junior varsity team, all men are varsity, all men travel, all men dress, and all are expected to be able to provide their very best to the program at any time, whether that time be during practice or in a championship match. There are program rules which stress responsibility, accountability, and attention to growing maturity. The College would like to treat participants as men and depend their upon maturity to see that no player ever disappoints his team-mates. In the final analysis, it is the growth in all participants as men, scholars, and athletes that is of the utmost importance to this College.
But also we chase the glory. We seek to play the beautiful game and we seek victory. There is no other way to be a part of the greatest sport in the world. The rewards are self-evident and permanent.
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