GETTYSBURG, Pa. – Over the course of the last year, Gettysburg College men's soccer head coach Mark Mettrick established the Gettysburg College Men's Soccer Alumni Network with six men's soccer alumni serving on the Alumni Network Advisory Committee. The network connects current and recently graduated athletes with soccer alumni to help the students get a jump-start on their careers and foster personal and professional bonds that will last well beyond the four years at Gettysburg.

"Our alumni are an incredible resource who can share their experiences with our recent graduates, current players, and future players," said Mettrick. "Increasing the connections between our alumni and our young men will be greatly beneficial to everyone involved in the network."

The goals of the network are as follows:

• Increase connections between the 581 Gettysburg alumni who played soccer at the College, current student-athletes, and recently graduated players.
• Create opportunities for current student-athletes and recent graduates to have "exploratory" discussions with alumni and parent volunteers about industries and careers.
• Potentially develop internship and externship opportunities for current and recently graduated student-athletes.
• Where applicable look to identify mutually beneficial career opportunities through the network.

The Alumni Network works alongside the College's Center for Career Engagement and provides workshops and career roundtable discussions for every class year as they progress throughout their college experience. The sessions include creating a resume, developing your network, creating LinkedIn profiles, building interview skills, discussing career choices, internships externships, elevator speeches, and telling and creating your story. 

For the second year in a row, the Alumni Network held two events back in February, a career workshop and a roundtable discussion where men's soccer alumni returned to campus to discuss their lives post-Gettysburg College. The alumni and current student-athletes parents in attendance for the workshop and roundtable were Neil Bryant '82, Scott Estill '97, Adam Finkel '09, Tom Keane P'20, Chris Pryor '00, Matt Rockstroh '87, and Brad Tennant P'23.
The creation of the network has benefited 2020 graduates and men's soccer players Thomas Keane and Raff Mazzone as each had exploratory calls from alumni. Having the network has influenced the student-athletes by receiving advice from alumni, improving the chances of landing a job, and building professional relationships.   
 
"The Men's Soccer Alumni Network allowed me to widen my network with people who have had similar experiences to mine and were willing to help me on my professional journey," said Keane. "Being in the network provided an ice-breaker at the beginning of an exploratory call or an interview, which made the process easier. Our soccer alumni have shown a willingness to work with current and recently graduated players, which has served as a positive experience."

Keane was hired this past summer by DANAC, which was John Jaeger's '65 company and is now run by his sons, and continues to work there part-time while working towards a master's degree in real estate from Johns Hopkins University.

Mettrick, along with the co-chairs, committee members, and parent volunteers, wanted to help the student-athletes off the field by providing the next steps towards finding a career job. Their energy, enthusiasm, and support about the network mean a lot to the student-athletes.

"For Coach Mettrick to create this network speaks volumes about his character as a coach and as a person in general," said Mazzone. "Coach truly cares about what happens to his players beyond the four years that we spend in the program, and it shows with his enthusiasm towards this career network. While the network is still in the beginning stages, it has grown substantially over the last year and will continue to be a great resource for future, current, and past players." 

Bank of America/Merrill-Lynch hired Raff this summer.

To date, 39 soccer alumni and 18 parents of current student-athletes have offered their assistance in helping the team's current and recently graduated players. If you can help or if you have any ideas for the network, please contact Co-Chairmen Scott Estill (Scott.Estill@lancor.com) or Chris Pryor (cpryor@csov.org).

The timeframe for the next Alumni Soccer Network events is tentatively scheduled for January-March of 2021. If you are interested in attending or helping, please email Tom Keane (keaneboylan@comcast.net).