Senior Retrospective | Scott Leserman

I can still see the crowds, feel the excitement, taste the anticipation in the air. It's gametime: we are playing Springfield, Santa Cruz, NYU, Naz, Stevens, Ramapo. All you want to do is get out there and start the match. You want to have a perfect set, a sick dig, a dirty kill. Most of all you want the win. You want to beat those other guys so they know we are better than they are.

As much as it was about the wins and losses, it was about the people. It was about those who started as coaches and teammates, but are now brothers and life-long friends. My teammates, particularly the seniors, Bacchi, Johnny, Ben, Steve and Greg, have all been incredible. They are my brothers, people who I've  been able to share so much with. For four years, we experienced the highs and the lows, the incredible wins and shameful defeats, the awards and the backbreaking practices, road trips and Friday night shenanigans.

My experience at Vassar would have been nothing if it wasn't for my teammates.The same goes for Coach Penn. Coach started as my coach, a man I greatly respected, but really nothing more. Our relationship has developed into way more than this. Now, I view Coach (as I will always refer to him) not just as a master of the game, but as an incredible friend, a first-class mentor, and, in the coming years, a colleague.  As I go on to this next stage of my life, the world of sport management and coaching, I will use many of the things I learned from my coaches and teammates here at Vassar, to whom I feel eternally grateful.
Vassar has been incredible because it gives students the opportunity to challenge themselves not only in the classroom, but on the stage, in the dorms and ACDC, and on the fields of play. In my time at Vassar, I have met so many incredible people and experienced many extraordinary things, but through it all, when I think of Vassar, the first thing that comes to mind is always volleyball. VCVB forever.

—Scott Leserman '09 was the President of Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a three-year captain for the men's volleyball team. He received the Coaches Award at this spring's Athletic Banquet. He will graduate with a degree in economics.