Senior Spotlight: Claire Newman
4/18/2016 2:48:00 PM | Women's Soccer
For women's soccer player Claire Newman, soccer is life, but it's not everything. She has been a stalwart in the defensive backfield for The College of Charleston for three seasons and a team captain this past season, but her biggest contributions may have come off the field.
Over the course of her four-year career at The College, Newman has participated in a variety of volunteer opportunities that have allowed her to contribute to the community around her. She has been a member and visible leader of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) as well as Athletes In Action. Newman has also been an extraordinarily active volunteer, working with groups like Move, Groove, & Get Active, an organization that provides people on the autism spectrum the opportunity to participate in physically and mentally stimulating activities.
- Newman and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee meeting earlier in 2016 -
“Honestly, I think I get more out of volunteering than the people that I work with do” Said Newman. “The more that I devote myself and my time to others, the more that I feel like I grow, I learn, and I get more and more inspired.”
Newman has also been an exemplary student, participating in the College of Charleston Honors College in addition to everything else that she does. This is all on top of being an athlete, with the incredible devotion that comes with the workouts, meetings, practices, travel and games.
“[Playing soccer at CofC] is so much more than I thought it would be when I first came here as a freshman” Newman said. “It really is a lifestyle, and it requires the ability to balance a lot of things at one time and a lot of passion.”
The expectations for Claire have always been high, from both herself, and from those around her and she seemed to always meet the challenge.
“In the recruiting process you do your best to get to know people and what you think they might be able to bring to your program both on and off the field.” women's soccer head coach, Christian Michner said. “Claire went so far beyond any expectations that we might have had for her initially and I'm just so incredibly thankful she has been a part of building this program with us in Charleston”
But Newman is no stranger to the rigors of being a student-athlete. She is the youngest of three sisters, each of whom have participated in college athletics at a high level. Two of her sisters, Caroline and Christin, played tennis for the College of Charleston, and Catherine, her other sister, was a standout tennis player at Vanderbilt.
Newman described her childhood as being very competitive with her sisters and herself all being star athletes and phenomenal students, and that a lot of her passion for sports came from playing with her sisters. Claire made her own path though, as she is the only sibling to play soccer collegiately.
“I guess you could say I am the black sheep of the family”, Newman said with a laugh. “I am really proud of everything that my sisters have done, but I wanted to leave my own legacy, and I really feel like I have over these past four years.”
Newman surely has left her mark at The College. She started in 54 straight games as a middle-back defender for the Cougars over her final three seasons. Defenders don't usually get as much attention as the goal-scorers, and Claire never minded that. In fact, she said that she took pride in being able to cheer for her teammates all across the field.
“I take a lot of pride in what I was able to contribute to our team over the years. Soccer is the ultimate team game, and I'd like to think that when our girls had the ball, they could hear me cheering for them all over the field.” Newman said.
But time goes by, and while her time at the College is coming to a close, Newman has no plans on being done with her education. After she graduates with a degree in physical education, Newman is set to begin graduate school at the University of Virginia in the fall, and she hopes to eventually build a career combining her love for volunteering and sports into helping kids use athletics to advance in their lives.
The life of a student-athlete is tough. There is a great deal of commitment in terms of time, effort, and passion needed to succeed. Claire Newman is a perfect example of how to be an exemplary student, an outstanding athlete, and a valuable contributor to society.
“I think the biggest things that I got from athletics were the parts that were off the field.” Newman said “I had the opportunity to develop as a leader and as a member of my community and looking back at it all now, I'm thankful for the work ethic, time management, teamwork, and relationship building skills that have come with being a Cougar.”
-www.CofCSports.com-
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