Machel Turner '10
Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com
Wildcats Forever: Machel Turner
7/29/2011 10:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Previous Features
With 10 seasons in the history books for Davidson men's soccer head coach Matt Spear, DavidsonWildcats.com got in touch with a senior from each of his 10 teams to discuss their memories of Davidson and see where they are now.
Starting with 2001 and concluding with 2010, DavidsonWildcats.com will post a Q & A with an alumnus every Friday. This week's feature is Machel Turner.
Machel Turner (2006-09) tallied 23 points (9 goals, 5 assists) in 66 games as a forward for the Wildcats. He was one of the team's scoring leaders throughout his career and appeared in every game during his sophomore and junior seasons, starting 27 of 38 contests.
Q: Why and how did you choose Davidson?
A: My route to Davidson was pretty circuitous. I found out about the school late in the college process and liked what I was reading about it on the website and elsewhere. I wasn't being heavily recruited coming out of prep school in the north and never visited the school until I actually got in and was assured by Coach Spear that I had a spot on the team. We had spoken a few times on the phone and he had suggested that I apply ED 2, just based off seeing my tapes, but I didn't because I still wasn't sure about the school, not having visited. I applied ED 2 to Swarthmore and got in, but that financial aid, along with other decisions and packages weren't what I was looking for. At the end of it all Davidson came out on top: top academics, a really successful program and an excellent financial aid package.
Q: Do you remember the first time you met Coach Spear during the recruiting process? What was your first impression?
A: As I said, the first few times we spoke on the phone. We didn't actually meet until I had already been accepted and was visiting the school late in April. During those talks and during the time I met him I was always struck by his sincerity. That was the biggest thing that stood out to me during those times.
Q: What were some of your favorite memories from your Davidson soccer days?
A: So many. Not as many as there could have been if we had had four winning seasons while I was a member of the team, instead of one, but still quite a lot. The bus rides were always great fun and the times when all three or four coaches were in a jovial mood, joking with the whole team were always good. Definitely the huge wins against South Carolina and Duke at home in 2009 were extremely special. My first college appearance was against Virginia in a stadium with almost 8000 people and the phenomenal atmosphere was something special. Scoring against Maryland during the season when they won the national championship. Pretty much any ACC team we played against was something I'll remember for a long time. And of course scoring my first goal, which turned the game and led us to our first win of my freshman season.
Q: What were your favorite memories off the field?
A: There are a lot of these too. One of the things about the team is we were so close off the field that a lot of the off the field memories involve those guys, especially those in my class. Definitely the basketball games during my freshman and sophomore years. Especially going to Detroit to watch us play in the Elite Eight which involved us playing on the Saturday night in a spring game (something we were not happy about, seeing as the whole school was in Detroit already and we were convinced we would not be able to go to the game like they did), and then sleeping on the floor of a coach bus with Charlie Reiter and Clint Smith as another bus load of students drove through the night from campus to Ford Field. Good times for sure.
Q: What was your major and how did the academic and athletic experience help you moving forward?
A: I was a sociology major. Coming into Davidson I was convinced I would be an econ major, but that dream got snuffed out quickly during the first semester. Sociology attracted me because it was all about stuff that is going on in the here and now daily. It's a part of everything and its something where you have to be really analytical, which is my nature. I've only been out of Davidson for a year now and I'm studying Sports Management in London, but sociology is always something that pops up in the business of sport. And the combination of the academic and athletic experience at Davidson I felt gave me the ability to view the world through a bunch of different lenses. And by the academic experience I'm talking about Davidson in general. One of my biggest things was that I didn't only learn in the classroom. I didn't place a high level of emphasis on what I did in the classroom (sometimes that didn't turn out too well) but more of how I approached and reacted to and navigated things. So something like me going to Japan junior year, even though it wasn't an academic experience per se, counts as an academic experience for me. Davidson really allowed me to be able to explore everything and anything I wanted to.
Q: How was your Davidson experience as an international student originally hailing from Jamaica?
A: It was fine. I had two years of prep school in the north so I was used to the American system and all of that. I was also used to not living at home and handling myself because of that. There I had a lot of support because there were a lot of Jamaicans around so we were tight. There wasn't really that community at Davidson but there were some fellow Jamaicans around which helped the transition. And being part of a sports team pretty much eliminates a lot of the awkwardness of being an international student because you have a group that you're already a part of from the go. So it wasn't a stretch for me at Davidson. Another thing was that Davidson to me is just a bigger version of Hotchkiss, my prep school, with less rules and more freedom. With all that said, the international student community and support system at Davidson is also something phenomenal. One of the more underrated things about the school I think.
Q: Where are you now, and what are you doing now?
A: I'm currently in London, doing my MA in Sports Management. It's a year program from September to September.
Q: What are some tips you would have for current recruits considering Davidson?
A: Biggest thing is to be honest with yourself about whether or not you think you can handle Davidson and all it throws at you academically and athletically. You don't want to be in a place where you're unhappy for any part of the Davidson experience because then you miss out on a plethora of great things. And if you do think you can handle it, then it's the place to be for sure.
Q: What advice would you pass along to current Davidson players?
A: Cherish it. It goes by really fast. Make sure you're getting the most out of Davidson that you can- whether the team or the classroom or the social life- because after college it's not the same.
Q: What do you miss the most now from playing soccer at Davidson?
A: The camaraderie. You definitely build great relationships. And the big night games with full stadiums and great atmosphere.
Q: Have you been able to return to Davidson to catch a game?
A: No I have not but I follow online. Hopefully I will be able to do that before the last of the players I played with leave the school.
- Jon Tetirick '02
- Soren Johnson '03
- Justin Porter '04
- Joey Bass '05
- John Latting '06
- David Sartorio '07
- Aaron West '08
- Cameron Griffin '09
With 10 seasons in the history books for Davidson men's soccer head coach Matt Spear, DavidsonWildcats.com got in touch with a senior from each of his 10 teams to discuss their memories of Davidson and see where they are now.
Starting with 2001 and concluding with 2010, DavidsonWildcats.com will post a Q & A with an alumnus every Friday. This week's feature is Machel Turner.
Machel Turner (2006-09) tallied 23 points (9 goals, 5 assists) in 66 games as a forward for the Wildcats. He was one of the team's scoring leaders throughout his career and appeared in every game during his sophomore and junior seasons, starting 27 of 38 contests.
Q: Why and how did you choose Davidson?
A: My route to Davidson was pretty circuitous. I found out about the school late in the college process and liked what I was reading about it on the website and elsewhere. I wasn't being heavily recruited coming out of prep school in the north and never visited the school until I actually got in and was assured by Coach Spear that I had a spot on the team. We had spoken a few times on the phone and he had suggested that I apply ED 2, just based off seeing my tapes, but I didn't because I still wasn't sure about the school, not having visited. I applied ED 2 to Swarthmore and got in, but that financial aid, along with other decisions and packages weren't what I was looking for. At the end of it all Davidson came out on top: top academics, a really successful program and an excellent financial aid package.
Q: Do you remember the first time you met Coach Spear during the recruiting process? What was your first impression?
A: As I said, the first few times we spoke on the phone. We didn't actually meet until I had already been accepted and was visiting the school late in April. During those talks and during the time I met him I was always struck by his sincerity. That was the biggest thing that stood out to me during those times.
Q: What were some of your favorite memories from your Davidson soccer days?
A: So many. Not as many as there could have been if we had had four winning seasons while I was a member of the team, instead of one, but still quite a lot. The bus rides were always great fun and the times when all three or four coaches were in a jovial mood, joking with the whole team were always good. Definitely the huge wins against South Carolina and Duke at home in 2009 were extremely special. My first college appearance was against Virginia in a stadium with almost 8000 people and the phenomenal atmosphere was something special. Scoring against Maryland during the season when they won the national championship. Pretty much any ACC team we played against was something I'll remember for a long time. And of course scoring my first goal, which turned the game and led us to our first win of my freshman season.
Q: What were your favorite memories off the field?
A: There are a lot of these too. One of the things about the team is we were so close off the field that a lot of the off the field memories involve those guys, especially those in my class. Definitely the basketball games during my freshman and sophomore years. Especially going to Detroit to watch us play in the Elite Eight which involved us playing on the Saturday night in a spring game (something we were not happy about, seeing as the whole school was in Detroit already and we were convinced we would not be able to go to the game like they did), and then sleeping on the floor of a coach bus with Charlie Reiter and Clint Smith as another bus load of students drove through the night from campus to Ford Field. Good times for sure.
Q: What was your major and how did the academic and athletic experience help you moving forward?
A: I was a sociology major. Coming into Davidson I was convinced I would be an econ major, but that dream got snuffed out quickly during the first semester. Sociology attracted me because it was all about stuff that is going on in the here and now daily. It's a part of everything and its something where you have to be really analytical, which is my nature. I've only been out of Davidson for a year now and I'm studying Sports Management in London, but sociology is always something that pops up in the business of sport. And the combination of the academic and athletic experience at Davidson I felt gave me the ability to view the world through a bunch of different lenses. And by the academic experience I'm talking about Davidson in general. One of my biggest things was that I didn't only learn in the classroom. I didn't place a high level of emphasis on what I did in the classroom (sometimes that didn't turn out too well) but more of how I approached and reacted to and navigated things. So something like me going to Japan junior year, even though it wasn't an academic experience per se, counts as an academic experience for me. Davidson really allowed me to be able to explore everything and anything I wanted to.
Q: How was your Davidson experience as an international student originally hailing from Jamaica?
A: It was fine. I had two years of prep school in the north so I was used to the American system and all of that. I was also used to not living at home and handling myself because of that. There I had a lot of support because there were a lot of Jamaicans around so we were tight. There wasn't really that community at Davidson but there were some fellow Jamaicans around which helped the transition. And being part of a sports team pretty much eliminates a lot of the awkwardness of being an international student because you have a group that you're already a part of from the go. So it wasn't a stretch for me at Davidson. Another thing was that Davidson to me is just a bigger version of Hotchkiss, my prep school, with less rules and more freedom. With all that said, the international student community and support system at Davidson is also something phenomenal. One of the more underrated things about the school I think.
Q: Where are you now, and what are you doing now?
A: I'm currently in London, doing my MA in Sports Management. It's a year program from September to September.
Q: What are some tips you would have for current recruits considering Davidson?
A: Biggest thing is to be honest with yourself about whether or not you think you can handle Davidson and all it throws at you academically and athletically. You don't want to be in a place where you're unhappy for any part of the Davidson experience because then you miss out on a plethora of great things. And if you do think you can handle it, then it's the place to be for sure.
Q: What advice would you pass along to current Davidson players?
A: Cherish it. It goes by really fast. Make sure you're getting the most out of Davidson that you can- whether the team or the classroom or the social life- because after college it's not the same.
Q: What do you miss the most now from playing soccer at Davidson?
A: The camaraderie. You definitely build great relationships. And the big night games with full stadiums and great atmosphere.
Q: Have you been able to return to Davidson to catch a game?
A: No I have not but I follow online. Hopefully I will be able to do that before the last of the players I played with leave the school.
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