May 3, 2006

OWU's Dr. Jay Martin Award Carries Professional Guarantee

John Schlegel '05 will be using his stickhandling skills against Major League Lacrosse competition for the Baltimore Bayhawks this year.

Who are two of Ohio Wesleyan's past athletes to play professionally?

For extra credit, can you name the last two Battling Bishops to earn the Dr. Jay Martin Award as Ohio Wesleyan's top senior male student-athlete?

If you answered John Schlegel '05 and senior Ryan Martin, you are exactly right — to both questions. The past two top OWU male student-athletes are playing professionally in non-traditional sports.

"When most people in the Midwest think about playing professionally, they think of baseball, basketball, or football," says Roger Ingles, OWU's athletics director. "But these two young men are superior athletes and students — as proven by them receiving the Dr. Jay Martin Award — and it is great to see them get the opportunity to graduate and play professionally."

For Martin, being named OWU's top male student-athlete was an achievement. "With so many good athletes at Ohio Wesleyan it was quite an unexpected honor," he says. "This award is a direct reflection on my team's success, which also speaks loudly for the men's soccer team and its tradition."

But it had to be odd winning an award named after your dad. "Well, I never expected my dad to have an award named after him, so...," jokes Martin about winning the award named after his dad and OWU men's soccer coach. "But seriously, it is quite an honor and knowing what he has done playing and coaching in various sports I know that I am not in the realm of what he's done. It is in an honor to just be in his shadow."

A shadow that Martin has emerged from in a big way, as he is now playing professional soccer with Major League Soccer's Real Salt Lake. "I always knew that it [playing professional soccer] was what I wanted to do," says Martin. "And I felt I had to give it a shot or I would regret it the rest of my life. People would always ask me what I wanted to and when I said, 'Play professional soccer,' I would get a lot of doubting looks."

Now he is proving them wrong, playing on the Real Salt Lake development team — which hosts Columbus at 10 a.m. on Sunday — and playing against the world's best players. "We all practice together [the development and major league team] so I'm playing against some of the greatest soccer players in the world," says Martin. "The level is very high and practices are intense. It is faster but it is a blast. We have traveled to Dallas and Los Angeles and played in reserve games and have a chance to move up, so this is the opportunity I wanted. I sign autographs and do appearances, not that anyone would want my autograph — but it is fun and the experience of a lifetime. So I hope it lasts for a while."

Martin wasn't sure how long it would last after he went undrafted — despite being one of 75 players eligible to be drafted. "I was told it wasn't a big deal to not be drafted." And it wound up not being. "I got a call from coach John Ellinger from Real Salt Lake and he flew me to L.A. for preseason and I have been with the team ever since."

Schlegel's career got off to a little different start after being drafted in the ninth round of the Major League Lacrosse draft in December by the Chicago Blaze. But before he ever had a chance to put his feet to the fire, he was then traded to the defending MLS champion Baltimore Bayhawks. It was a trade of necessity for Schlegel. "I wasn't going to be able to do it in Chicago;" he says from Washington, D.C. "I'm playing as much as I can around work." Schlegel works in commercial real estate for GVA Advantis and playing in the MLL on a part-time basis. "It is really a 'whenever I can play, I play' situation," he says. "For example we had our first practice this past weekend and it was great. But, I will not be able to be at practice next weekend because of work. That has probably been the biggest deterrent to this whole experience — the scheduling conflicts."

While he has only had one practice, Schlegel is enjoying the opportunity to play professionally. "It was good to get out there and get up and down the field with the other guys," he says. "It was a lot of fun to meet the new players." Many of the players are in the same predicament with scheduling as Schlegel. "The ones that seem to be able to make it more are teachers and coaches — those with the summer off — but most of us just do it for fun. It really isn't much of a money maker."

While Schlegel will not get rich playing for the Bayhawks — which open their MLL season on May 20 against Long Island — he is enjoying the opportunity to play against top-notch competition. "Probably the best part of the league is being able to play against high level competition," he says. "After you graduate you play in club leagues, where you have basically anyone 21-50 that can pick up a stick playing. So it's nice to be able to keep playing at this high level."

That is a level only fitting for a Dr. Jay Martin Award winner.

— Toby Boyce

Zach Gagel '00, Jed Cronin '95, and Kevin Finnernan '90 will also be active in the MLL this season.