Oct. 1, 2008

It's easy to recognize the factors that predicate success of a Wayne State student-athlete. Top performance on the field and in the classroom typically leads to accolades and competitive progress.

But Wayne State athletic director Rob Fournier has emphasized another area that might be in part responsible for producing some of the school's GLIAC champions and individual and academic All-Americans - community service.

WSU's "W.I.N." program - Warriors in the Neighborhood - has become a staple of Fournier's eight-year tenure after limited prior community involvement from the athletic department.

"I called it `W.I.N.' because it's a win-win for everyone," Fournier said. "The beneficiaries are the recipients of the volunteerism and the volunteers themselves. There are no losers in the equation."

From the program's roots in 2000 - "I wanted our athletes to see people that had been denied opportunities, and realize maybe they really didn't have it all that bad," Fournier said - WSU now partners with over 50 organizations in the Detroit community, including Big Brothers Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, Motor City Makeover and a host of others.

Last year, WSU student-athletes targeted 3,000 combined hours of community service but actually totaled 4,571, causing Fournier and academic coordinator Ryan Kelley to raise this year's target to 4,000 hours - attainable, yet still ambitious.

"We always think as an athlete that you can make an impact in a game," Fournier said. "But as an individual, I wanted our athletes to realize that they could make an impact in something much bigger than an athletic contest.

"My experience has been that most kids enjoy the program and appreciate it. It opens up a dimension to them that doesn't exist in a textbook."

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

Fournier noted that along with developing an individual skill set through service that is conducive to winning - including leadership and time management traits - there was a strong team correlation.

Four of WSU's top five teams with the highest per-player average in service hours also won conference championships last year.

The WSU baseball, softball and women's hockey teams were also among the leaders in total volunteer hours (each also won a league title in 2007-08).

"You see not just a connection with winning and being in the community, but also with academics," said Kelley, who coordinates service projects from an administrative end in his position as academic coordinator. "The teams and individuals have to discipline themselves. They have to balance their schedules. Those people usually do that very well."

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

One popular service project among WSU teams is the Local Intervention Network for Kids (LINK) mentoring program, which had more than 70 individual participants last season and has a similar turnout anticipated this year.

As part of the LINK program, WSU student-athletes spend a lunch hour or time after school at a Detroit-area elementary school.

"They can help the elementary students with homework, hang out at recess, talk about sports - and really be there for the student they are mentoring," Kelley said.

Redshirt junior Joe Juszczyk participated in the L.I.N.K. for two years and earned PING/GCAA All America honorable mention honors on the golf course. He noted that the mentoring experience was an equally important part of his student-athlete experience.

"It was more than just giving back," Juszczyk said. "I tried to tell the kids about the importance of education and extracurricular activities like sports while growing up, because that has been such an important part of my life. And I really saw for myself what a great opportunity I have to get a college education while playing golf."

Fournier has repeatedly touted this type of self-development along with the correlation between service and championships.

IDEAL SETTING

While the premise that volunteerism leads directly to on-field success might be open for debate, WSU coaches are in agreement that Warrior student-athletes like Juszczyk are in the ideal position to give back.

"I do know that all of our athletes are very, very fortunate," WSU women's hockey coach Jim Fetter said. "They have such a great opportunity to attend school and play hockey. The least they could do is to give back when they can.

"It's a big reality check when we go to a soup kitchen or volunteer with Big Brothers Big Sisters. They see how others might not have it quite as good. They see how fortunate they really are."

Fetter's ideology wasn't lost on one of his former captains, Ashley King. King, who exhausted her eligibility last season, was nominated for the NCAA Woman of the Year Award, which gauges athletic accomplishment, academic performance and service and leadership activities.

Among her off-ice responsibilities was serving as Wayne State's first community relations officer on the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, helping to coordinate different service projects while representing the student-athlete body.

"You don't get players like that every year," Fetter said. "She came up hard and had some hardships herself, which I think motivated her to give back. She became very involved on and off the ice."

King seemingly played in a model program for community involvement at WSU. Fetter encourages his players to take initiative, requiring each class to organize a service event themselves and see it through to completion.

"I tell recruits that I want to be successful and win championships, but at the same time, when you leave my program, I want you to be well-rounded and ready for the real world," Fetter said. "The service projects are a big part of that."

- Kyle Stefan is a writer/editor for The South End as well as a student-athlete on the WSU golf team.