Head soccer coach Chris Keller has one expectation for his team. That's giving it 1.5 points.
1 represents personal effort and 0.5 represents a determination to try harder.
Hugo Garcia '24 is one of those players who has lived by the program's motto on and off the field, Keller said.
“He came right in and was a solid player for us,” said Keller, who first met the midfielder as a senior at Crown Point High School. Garcia, a native of DeMott, Indiana, was a four-year varsity letterman, team captain and was named team MVP.
“I remember him being very quiet, very mild-mannered, but his presence on the field was a monster,” Keller said. “Even in prospect camp, he was always one of the biggest, most athletic kids on the field. He blossomed early physically and continued to get stronger and stronger and do the right things.”
Garcia, who is majoring in PPE and minoring in economics, said the program's culture ultimately attracted her to Wabash.
“Multiple alumni on the team reached out to me and stayed in close touch, making sure all my questions were answered and I was taken care of,” Garcia recalled. “It made me feel like I had a home in Wabash even though I wasn't there yet. It felt like the right place for me.”
Garcia, who has played since he was 10 years old, said the Wabash soccer team was unlike any other he had been on. His teammates are competitive, but always encourage and motivate each other to do their best, following his 1.5 motto.
“It's a culture of respect. It's about respecting your teammates and coaches, going to practice on time, keeping your promises, and understanding that your actions always have consequences,” he said. “It really helped players like me grow as men.”
Garcia came in as a hard worker from the start, but Keller knew he could do more. In his junior year, Keller encouraged Garcia to become a more vocal leader on the team.
“He's always led by example and led by effort, but part of my coaching with Hugo was to get him to be a little more vocal as he got older,” Keller said. Told. “He was elected team captain, so I told him, 'Now is the time to speak up.' You can't just keep your head down, just do the right thing. It’s time to step up.”
“He struggled with it early on,” Keller continued, “but eventually he found his footing and started taking command of more and more of his teammates.”
Garcia credits Keller and his supervisor, Associate Professor of Religion John Baer, for helping Keller become a more confident leader at Wabash.
“Professor Baer has always helped me,” Garcia said. “He has helped me a lot, both with soccer and teaching me how to achieve new career goals.”
As a freshman, Baer remembers Garcia as a very likable, soft-spoken, attractive young man with a “healthy self-confidence.”
“I thought he would do well at Wabash,” Baer said. “But I wanted to work on bringing him out as an advisor, and that was partly done by talking about football and going to games regularly to cheer him on.”
Baer is proud to have watched Garcia's leadership growth as a team captain and the skills he developed as Garcia pursued a career as a project engineer at F.A. Wilhelm Construction Company in Indianapolis. I believe that it can be fully applied even after graduation.
“He's the glue guy. You always need a player who is stable and mature and can unite others to face different challenges, and Hugo has shown us that. ” he said. “This is a classic Wabash guy. He's a talented guy who brings a lot to the table and has a bright future.”
“There are players you always want to have three or four more years and he's definitely one of them,” Keller added. “When we built this program, we wanted it to be hard-working, no-nonsense, and for the players to do what they're supposed to do and not be fancy about it. Hugo said that He set an example for future generations, and I will always be grateful to him.”
