" On a Tuesday night after a long day of classes and lacrosse practice, I sat at my kitchen table with my laptop waiting for the one and only Steven Tarpey. Then I heard a car pull down the gravel driveway and the door open and close. In walked all six feet, four inches of the second semester sophomore. Dressed in a Brosair Nation T-shirt in support of his lacrosse team and a navy blue pair of UMass Dartmouth football shorts, Steve sat down across from me and kicked up his feet. Through the open end of his flip flops I could see his dirty white socks noticeably stained with FieldTurf rubber pellets and sweat. Without a doubt the man was exhausted, but he had stopped by to talk for a little about the story of his life the past couple of years.
A graduate of Shrewsbury High School in 2007, Steve was a two sport varsity athlete in both lacrosse and basketball. He’s always been a fan of all sports. He made that quite evident with the first thing he said to me when he sat down, “You ready for me to dominate you in Fantasy this week?” I can always expect a wise crack remark like that out of Tarp. That, a funny story from the weekend, some crazy statistic, or a Jim Carey movie quote is always bound to come out at least once during a typical conversation with the kid. Steve has been a great friend and teammate of mine since my freshman year.
We talked about Steve’s years at Shrewsbury High, most notably his athletic conquests, and his time in sports up until the present. Right now, Steve is a second semester sophomore and will be a junior officially after winter break. At that time, he will be getting ready for his third year as a member of the men’s lacrosse team. In the past two seasons, Steve has been a starting defensemen and an anchor for our defense as a whole. The long reach of Steve’s arms, with the aid of a six foot stick, helps him greatly in stripping attackmen heading to the net looking to score a goal.
Now it may seem as if being a two sport collegiate athlete at the Division III level might be easy, but that’s not the case. Being an athlete at this school myself, even playing one sport on top of school work is very difficult. The tag of “student-athlete” is one that comes with a load of work and a load of responsibility.
“It does get overwhelming at points, but I seem to be able to find time to get my stuff done somehow.” He cracks a smile and laugh.
Now what really makes Steve’s story unlike others though, is the fact that he had been removed from lacrosse since his senior year of high school. Until practice opened up that cold winter in 2011 at UMass Dartmouth, Steve hadn’t played organized lacrosse in any serious setting.
“I wasn’t really nervous coming into tryouts. I was confident that I could get my legs back under by the time cuts came around. I saw the other kids at my position and thought I could compete with them. So, I just put my head down and got after it.”
Now from experience, I can admit that “hitting the ground running” when the season starts is no easy task. It’s always tough getting back to business after an offseason of about four-plus months, never mind an “offseason” of four years- give or take. This didn’t affect Steve though, when given an opportunity, a second look from the coaches, or anything else- he took it and ran with it. In a matter of weeks, Steve went from being the new kid with “rag-tag” old equipment to a force to be reckoned with. During this, Steve put his head down and just played. He took direction, he kept his mouth closed, he did his job, and he did it well.
By the end of the snowfall that winter, Steve had beaten out not one, but two seniors for a starting job and wasn’t going to turn it down at all in order to keep his position.
Fast forward to the spring of 2012 and right in the middle of a playoff hunt for the UMD Men’s Lacrosse team and Steve brings up the idea of maybe trying out for the football team that fall. We all looked at him like he was crazy. One because being a two sport athlete in college is quite rare, and two because we all knew that Steve had never played any type of organized, legitimate football in his entire life. But this didn’t stop him and just like he did a year previous in lacrosse, Steve went to football practice and made the team. This season, Steve suits up in his number 86 jersey (not too much different from his #6 lacrosse jersey) and plays wide receiver for the UMass Dartmouth football team. Not only is he on the team, but he is a key contributor, again, just as he is on the lacrosse team. Steve and another receiver rotate into the game every four or so plays and is also incorporated to the offense in goal line and red zone packages.
“It’s been a lot of fun being able to play both sports and it’s a pretty good feeling of achievement too. I love sports, I always have. I love to compete and instead of doing it for one sport, now I basically get to do it year round.”
It’s safe to say for the next couple of years, Steve is going to enjoy his college experience much differently than others will. He’ll be a lot busier than most, but that doesn’t seem to be a problem. "
...........He did beat me in fantasy that week, but I'm in first and everyone else is awful
Cheers, No regrets
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First off, tarp will no longer be considered a two sport athlete after this up coming year. The football team doesnt cut anyone which is why he made the team. Secondly, Dan your probably one of the dumbest kids I know which is why you probably have a tough time academically. As for tarp, I live with him this year and I cannot recall seeing him doing homework for more than 20 mins on a weekly basis. Maybe the kid is a genius or maybe you need to figure it out, I don't know.
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