Chris Wojcik '96
Men's Soccer and Lacrosse Captain

Written by Buffy Clifford

Assistant Sports Information Director

It is a rare honor to be a two sport captain at Harvard, an honor that senior Chris Wojcik does not take lightly.

"It's a tremendous feeling to be voted captain of both soccer and lacrosse," explains Wojcik. "It was something that I had always hoped could happen--it did--and it really means a lot to me.

"People always wonder if it's more responsibility than a two-sport athlete can handle, especially when you're missing each sport's off-season for the other. But I don't think it's your visibility as much as it's your personality that's important. Besides, I'm really close to all the guys on both teams, and I'm always asking my roommates who play lacrosse how fall practices are going. I keep close tabs on lacrosse, even though my priority right now is soccer. Plus I know that the other lacrosse captains have it under control.

"Both teams are really close socially, and a number of lacrosse players were soccer players in high school and vice versa," he continues. "So, you always know you can count on having the lacrosse team as fans at soccer games in the fall and the soccer team supporting lacrosse at their games. Both teams are really vocal and get into the game. It can mean the difference in momentum when you have that kind of support from the sidelines."

Not only can Wojcik count on his lacrosse teammates being at his soccer games, and his soccer teammates being at his lacrosse games, but he also knows that his biggest fan of all will also be in the stands: his mom.

"My mom is the greatest," says Wojcik, a Westfield, New Jersey, native. "She comes to all my games. I can always count on her being there.

"I might even see her more than some of my friends here at Harvard. Seriously, though, I can't let her know enough how much I really appreciate everything she does for me. Also, my grandparents, my dad and my brothers are really huge supporters. My brother, Randy, was the reason I started to play lacrosse in high school. He did, so I tried it and loved it. My family's encouragement has always been a constant through the ups and downs of my athletic career."

Playing both sports, much less being captain, is a huge time commitment for any student and even more so for a Harvard student, but Wojcik seems to strike a good balance between academics and athletics.

"I was a three-sport athlete in high school, so the time constraints are nothing new to me. As a matter of fact, the biggest thing for me when I was looking at colleges was the possibility to play both sports. I felt that Harvard was the most sincere about it.

"I trusted [lacrosse] Coach Scott Anderson more when he assured me that I could play both sports...he even encouraged it and still does. If you're playing a fall sport it means that you'll be in that much better shape for the spring.

"I also took into consideration if, God forbid, I couldn't play sports in college for any reason, where would I be the happiest? Definitely, Harvard. So with those two conclusions in mind, I chose Harvard and it absolutely has been the right choice."

Wojcik, a self-admitted sports junkie, has had no problem finding his niche on the Cambridge campus.

"People have these misconceptions about the atmosphere at Harvard," explains Wojcik. "Here, you can have the best of any world, academically, athletically, and socially. The resources at Harvard are unlimited. If you're interested in community service, there's something here for you and so on. There's always a group that each type of person can fit into, that's what's so unique about Harvard, all the different niches you can pursue and find."

Although his playing career will end with his spring graduation, Wojcik will take with him the cherished sports memories and the great relationships he's formed through athletics.

"I have so many great memories, but the ones that are the best are the ones that the whole team relished together. Like last year, when we beat Brown in soccer, won the Ivy title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Being a part of that whole effort is indescribable. I'll never forget that feeling.

"For lacrosse, one of my greatest achievements came during my sophomore year when I scored the game-winning goal against Penn in overtime. The Penn football team was standing there [at Franklin Field] watching our team piling on each other and celebrating--it was the best feeling."

For both the soccer team and the lacrosse team, this year has significant meaning. Soccer is working hard to defend the Ivy title that it garnered last year, and lacrosse is on the brink of an NCAA Tournament appearance and collecting its own Ivy laurels.

"Right now I'm focusing on soccer," says Wojcik. "We're in control of our own destiny. All we have to do is win the rest of our Ivy games and we'll have another title and another trip to the NCAAs.

"For lacrosse, everyone said that last season was our year, but one thing I've learned from college athletics is that it's not necessarily the team that has the most talent that's going to succeed. It's the team with the right chemistry and other intangibles that could pull it out. This year's senior class is really close and determined to have a great year. I think it could happen."

And with a captain like Wojcik, both teams certainly aren't lacking in the leadership they need to accomplish their lofty goals.