<p>My son wants to attend an academically challenging school with a strong soccer program. Any information about Wesleyan 's Men's Soccer team which is nationally-ranked? How well do athletes and non-athletes mix? Son's h.s. friends are mostly non-athletes with other interests.</p>
<p>I can't tell you from first hand experience but since no one else has stepped foreward, I will give you my hunch: it's a terrific team with a loyal following. But, I think, generally speaking, members of men's contact sports tend to live together; they tend to be more moderate politically which occasionally places them at odds with whatever cause of the day is roiling some of their peers. OTOH, their houses give some of the best attended and most eagerly awaited parties on campus. They can be very savvy both personally and politically.</p>
<p>I actually disagree that there's any particular mold of the men's soccer team. Johnwesley's characterization would be more apt for football, hockey, or lacrosse, but not soccer. There is no overwhelming soccer team presence in any of the fraternities, and the guys I know on the team do tons of other stuff besides soccer. </p>
<p>My soccer-playing friends have non-athlete friends and have lots of interests. I think Wesleyan is a great place for soccer players who don't want to be isolated in their team from the rest of the school. I don't think there is any particular political bent of the team as compared with the rest of Wesleyan...</p>
<p>I don't know what "their houses" means in this context... if it's a senior house occupied by a bunch of soccer players, maybe, but again, none of the fraternities has a ton of soccer players.</p>
<p>Thanks, jumble. I was just trying to bookmark this thread so that it didn't get lost. So, which team is it that refers to its home field as The Birdcage? that's the team I'd want my son to play on. :)</p>
<p>I'm interested in club soccer. Anyone have any experience with the Wes team? Level of skill? Time commitment?</p>
<p>johnwesley- the men's lacrosse team refers to Smith Field (the CFA field) as the Birdcage. I know men's soccer plays there as well, but I'm not sure if they use that nickname as well</p>
<p>Actually the CFA field is called "Jackson Field". Smith Field is the new turf one by Freeman Athletic Center.</p>
<p>haha oops...</p>
<p>I don't know about club, but there's an intramural "A", "B", and "C" league. I played C league and got my ass kicked, so I imagine A and B league are quite competitive. I know a lot of the faculty/staff from Europe play A league.</p>
<p>Changing the sport but not topic is there club or intramural tennis at Wes? I played four years of varsity at high school but am not Div III quality. I really love to play but was surprised to not find any reference to club tennis. I am hoping when I arrive on campus in August there will be some way to find other tennis players. Any current students want to help me out here? Why no club or intramural tennis?</p>
<p>You'll be able to find other people to play tennis with-- just ask around. The courts are always open to anyone other than during scheduled varsity practice, and you can just go.</p>
<p>How 'sporty' is Wesleyan in general? Other places put more emphasis on sports in their packets, but then I see that the school looks pretty strong in lacrosse, hockey, etc. I'm also interested in intramural soccer. Is it hard to get a pickup game going?</p>
<p>the recent Wesleyan magazine quoted Wes as being ranked 34th out of over 420 schools in division III for the entire athletic program, so wes does have its athletes. when the weather's nice, there's a pickup game of every kind going on...</p>
<p>When I visited Wesleyan yesterday, the information session featured a student speaker who just happened to be the captain of the Men's soccer team. He explained how Wesleyan is a member of the NESCAC league, how they compete with the best, and how avid Wes students are in cheering on the soccer team. As I am merely a prospective student, I obviously cannot give that much information, but I saw your post and thought that it was worth mentioning. He advocated the sports community at Wesleyan greatly, and seemed to love his scholar athlete experience. Also, he explained how Middletown provides great access to other colleges in the league and how the school allows scholar-athletes to balance team commitments, academics, extra-curriculars, and a social life besides.</p>