Some high school students face a certain difficult decision when they graduate: go to college and (possibly) play an NCAA sport or serve in the military. Laura Madaio and the team at Athletes of Valor are working to end the false impression that they can't do both.
Athletes of Valor is a start-up based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, whose mission is to provide veterans, active duty military personnel and transitioning servicemen and women the resources and platform to go from the military into college sports. Although the NCAA has a rule that says that student-athletes have five years to complete their four years of eligibility (and their clock typically starts ticking one year after high school graduation), servicemen and women are exempt, meaning they retain their eligibility.
What Athletes of Valor has been trying to do is make military personnel aware they have this opportunity once they complete their service. Its platform is in place to streamline the process, allowing servicemen and women to publish profiles with their information and videos, then connect with college coaches who also use the platform.
"Every coach we've talked to, hands down, wants to recruit veterans, wants to recruit active duty military," said Alex Stone, a former Marine sergeant who left his job at Under Armour to found Athletes of Valor. "There's not one coach who's ever said, 'No, I'm not interested.' And that's a tribute to what these men and women can accomplish both on and off the field."
Although the NCAA, according to a spokesperson, does not track the number of veterans competing in college sports, Athletes of Valor's numbers are already in the hundreds despite only existing for a few months and having a staff of just four (plus an intern). But Madaio, its marketing manager whose responsibilities range from social media and editing to public outreach and finding prospective student-athletes, wants the number to be in the thousands by the end of 2017.
Madaio, 25, a former two-sport athlete at Western New England University, previously worked with the Pawtucket Red Sox, 98.5 The Sports Hub, Wheaton College and IDG. But once she discovered Athletes of Valor, "It was really a no-brainer."
Here is Madaio's story, in her words.
A taste of humble pie
I think being here for the Marine Corps birthday and for Veterans Day has definitely been top of mind as far as really bringing me back down to earth and realizing what we're doing, the impact that it's making. Even in this small office, people are very familiar with what we're doing, and having people come out of nowhere into the office to say Happy Veterans Day and Happy Marine Corps Birthday to Alex and director of sales and business development Jay Blydell and realizing that I work for some really great people. And I know that, but I think it never hurts to get a reminder like that, have someone come in and say that these guys are our heroes.
Family ties
I think I just grew up very pride-filled and very appreciative. Both my grandfathers served. I have two uncles that were Marines, one that was in the Air Force. My dad's cousin was titled one of the most decorated Vietnam veterans in Massachusetts. So I've grown up listening to these stories. When I got to talk to my uncles about all of this and talking to my grandpa, they were just so thrilled and excited that people are still making strides toward veterans affairs. I've obviously been super passionate about being a woman in sport, and the fact that I can now aid women in sport while now working in sport is super exciting for me. If we can help anyone, I think we've done our job if we can help one person.
More than football
I think there's definitely the misunderstanding that we just want male college football and lacrosse players on the platform. Of course that's gonna be a huge population for us, but what is most exciting is seeing the female athletes sign up and get involved, and knowing that type of word of mouth on a story that comes out about a female that is a former Army Ranger who went on to row -- or whatever that story is in college -- and then having that light bulb go off in someone's head that's either active duty or veteran coming home and thinking, "Oh, I can do that." All we really need is for these men and women to have that light bulb go off and say, "I'm competitive, I can do that."
Not a charity case
Right now, we have coaches either reaching out to us and signing up or coaches reaching out to us and asking questions about how they get involved. It's been really exciting to see the response we've gotten from coaches. Coaches are understanding that this is not a charitable thing. This is not "put a veteran on your team for good PR and to make you feel good about yourself." This is put a veteran on your team because you know they're gonna make a difference, and you know that they're gonna compete, and you know that they're gonna be the guy in the locker room that's rallying everyone up and the guy that's out on the field giving his absolute all.
Finding camaraderie
In a lot of our research, veterans are finding themselves feeling individualized and almost alone on campus unless they have some great veteran services to aid them in that type of transition. The sports structure is bringing that again. It's sharing your water with guys on the field. It's having meals -- a lot of sports teams eat breakfast together, or dinner -- taking long rides together, getting to know people again. They just align quite well the more you think about the day-to-day structure in the military and in sport.
Then, from what we've seen, a lot of the times, a lot of college athletes need leadership and they need brotherhood, and these veterans have stories, amazing stories and experiences, in explaining to us that they've provided that for students. A 26-year-old veteran who shows up to his college dorm and realizes he's rooming with 18-year-old freshmen on his baseball team, he's gonna provide that maturity and that cultured type of persona in their lives and on that team.
Reading the comments
I run our social media accounts, and I'm getting notifications nonstop. ... When I check my phone and see that an active-duty Marine commented on our Instagram and said, "This is great, I'm signing up," or I see someone, a mom or a girlfriend tag their son or daughter or significant other and say, "Check this out," that's incredibly exciting for me not because I think that our ad is working; it's because I think our story is resonating with people, and that's probably the most exciting thing.
