“Once I get settled in and know what my classes are I’m going to go check it out,” he says.
Altchek says that balancing classes, soccer and community service will not be a problem. After playing for a club team in high school, he says he is used to spending an exhausting weekend playing soccer, only to come home to a teacher who doesn’t care why he’s not ready for an exam.
Ryan C. Johnson ’06, a goaltender, says first-years face several difficult transitions when they join the team because they have to make an impression on their teammates, as well as their coach.
“On top of competing for a spot and being in the most physical pain you’ve ever been in you have to be sociable in your free time,” Johnson says. “For me I was almost a different person, especially pre-season.”
In addition to developing social confidence, Johnson says new players can be overly cautious on the field.
“You might be tentative to do new things beyond the simple ‘get the ball and pass,’ because you’re not sure how the coaches will react,” he says.
The coaches leave it to the team’s veteran members to initiate and welcome the first-years, Johnson says. Though the first-years wore jockstraps over their clothing to every meal during preseason, the team insists that there has not been any hazing.
“They’ve just been treating us as equals,” Altchek says.
At 10:30 a.m., Kerr and two assistant coaches gather the starting 11, including Altchek, and talk strategy.
Lahre walks to the sideline for a drink. He says he is looking forward to joining his entryway for a trip to the North End that night.
Michael T. Sachs ’04, a senior nursing an injury, suggests Lahre might travel with the team that night to Vermont. Lahre smiles.
“I can’t count on that,” he says.
“You’ve got to be confident!” Sachs says. He suggests Lahre injure one of the players at his position. “I did that freshman year.”
Lahre didn’t make the traveling roster for the Vermont game.
Altchek took two shots in Friday’s game, which ended in a 0-0 tie, but he was bumped to the bench as forward Brian L. Charnock ’06 returned to the starting line-up for the Crimson’s 2-1 win yesterday over the University of Rhode Island.
Altchek says he wasn’t disappointed about not starting.
“I was kind of expecting it,” he says.
—Staff writer David B. Rochelson can be reached at rochels@fas.harvard.edu.