Mustangs more than just a game

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By Paul Mayne
Thursday, October 15, 2009
When you say Western Mustangs, the first thing likely to come to mind is football; perhaps women’s rugby or volleyball; men’s hockey or basketball.
 
But for Director of Sports and Recreation Services Therese Quigley, Mustang athletics is more than the game. Instead, it is a community of student-athletes giving the campus more to cheer about than touchdowns, goals and home runs.
 
In speaking at the Western Alumni speaker series, Quigley, beginning her fourth month at Western, says building community through sport is just as important, if not more so, than the final score.
 
“All of them are leaders of tomorrow,” says Quigley of the 854 student-athletes at Western. “I can’t say how impressed I am in my three months in the student-athlete ambassadors representing us locally and nationally.”
 
With an honours degree in Physical Education (‘75) and Bachelor of Education (‘77) from Western, Quigley is happy to be back not only at her alma mater, but in the city where she taught and coached.
 
“It’s a privilege and an honour to return to your roots and give back to the community that gave me so much,” she says.
 
That’s what Quigley hopes current student-athletes will take away from their time at Western. And as she continues to love sports at Western, it’s the athletes themselves that she has come to admire.
 
“The engagement of student life is very exciting. One of the lessons we learn from sports is how to pick yourself up when you get knocked down,” she says, noting it happens as a team, “with everyone coming together.”
 
This teamwork and discipline spreads off the field and into academic life. With 25 per cent of student-athletics holding an average of 80 per cent or more, the stereotype of ‘dumb jock’ holds no water.
 
“In fact, their grades are better in season than out of season,” says Quigley. “The discipline, time management and prioritizing of their athletic programs, I feel, is a direct result of that.”
 
A three-time Ontario coach of the year in university volleyball, Quigley is president of Canada Basketball and has served on numerous committees and boards in athletics in local, provincial, national and international capacities.
 
She became the first female Director of Athletics and Recreation in Ontario when she took over the McMaster University post in 1990, and is a founding member of Athletes Helping Athletes, a student-athlete mentoring program.
 
Quigley says a prime example of how “sport has a powerful influence in changing lives” comes from former Mustang football player , now in the NFL, Vaughn Martin.
 
Martin recently donated $15,000 worth of new uniforms to South Secondary School in London.
 
“He understands the value of giving back in a gesture of appreciation for the support he had from the community,” says Quigley. “Sports was a way for him to become a leader.”
 
Current student-athletes are making a difference in the London community with groups such as United Way, the Boys and Girls Club, Easter Seals and others.
 
A new program through London Community Foundation will see Western student-athletes teach coaching and officiating programs in low-income areas of London.
 
“The focus isn’t to train new coaches and officials, but more about creating leadership, empowerment, building self-esteem and becoming a good person,” says Quigley. “It’s about sports building people and building communities. It’s not just a game.”
 
Boxscore
·         854 student-athletes
·         38 varsity sports (19 female, 19 male)
·         36 of the 38 teams placed in the top five or better in Ontario this past year.
·         Students actively involved in student life, such as athletics, have the highest retention rate.
·         Student-athletes have higher incoming grade than general population.
·         Student-athletes graduate at a higher rate than general population.
·         One in four student-athletes has an average over 80 per cent.
·         In 2014, Western athletics will celebrate 100 years.
·         22 per cent of Londoners (2006 survey) said their first Western experience was through sports or recreation.

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