The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1184078
DECEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 17 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Student-Athlete Of The Month Men's Soccer Junior Joel Harrison Junior right wingback Joel Harrison had a major detour to navigate before making an impact for U-M soccer. He came to Michigan after growing up in Langley, British Columbia — a Canadian town just outside of Vancouver — where he played his final two prep seasons for the Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency club team. He also suited up for the Ca- nadian National Team at the youth level. After learning what U-M was all about, it was an easy choice to come to Ann Arbor. "I flew out to campus for my visit," Har- rison recalled. "I loved it here. I loved the campus, and I loved the people, the fa- cilities and the atmosphere on campus. When I came home from my visit, right away I knew I was coming to Michigan. I told all the other schools I was going to sign [with Michigan]. I told my club I didn't want to go professional. "Once I got on campus, it was pretty im- mediate that I knew I wanted to be here for the next four years." Harrison was all in on Michigan, but he didn't know the adversity he would soon face. During December of his senior year in high school, Harrison suffered a double sports hernia that would keep him from playing soccer for 22 months. Harrison said there were days where he didn't know whether or not he would play soccer again. However, he used the tough times to grow outside of the sport. "Looking back, I think it really allowed me to expand my areas of interest and really get into Michigan, meet new people who weren't involved with athletics, and adapt myself into the culture and community here at Michigan, which is now a big part of me," he said. "Obviously, I would've liked to have played for those two years, but there's a lot of positives that I take from it in my development." Harrison was able to return midway through his sophomore season in 2018. He made his first collegiate start in the NCAA Tournament against Notre Dame, a game that U-M lost in penalty kicks. "It was a wow moment where you look back and say, 'That was a big stepping stone in my soccer career, my college career and my life,'" Harrison said. "Especially against Notre Dame and with all the history between our two schools, it really felt like a monumental moment that was much bigger than just me and the program." This season, Harrison scored his first college goal in the season opener. "The coaches had stressed how they wanted to get me more on the attacking side as a defender," he said. "In the first game, I scored a goal. It was pretty cool to have the coaches' vision play out right away." He has started every game but one this season and is a big contributor on defense. In addition to Harrison's response to adversity and the impact he is now making on the pitch, he is thriving in the classroom. He has a 3.9 GPA and has been honored as an Academic All-Big Ten student-athlete and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. After college, he hopes to play professionally for the Vancouver Whitecaps before starting a career in software engineering and computer science. "Throughout my time at Michigan, I've been given the tools and continue to be developed in a way that I really feel like wherever I choose to go either profession- ally in soccer or in computer science, I can achieve what I want to achieve," he said. "I can reach the top in my sport, but I can also have an impact in society and can help other peoples' lives. "There really is no limit to what we can achieve coming out of Michigan." — Clayton Sayfie A double sports hernia in December of his senior year in high school kept Harrison out of soccer for almost two years. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY DID YOU KNOW... Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? ALL addresses are cross-referenced with the USPS National Change of Address database. It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP. Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT always include periodical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. You should call your local post office to verify your delivery address? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule. AVOID COSTLY DELAYS & REPLACEMENTS! Wolverine Customer Service: 1–800–421–7751 We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws all postal address changes must be completed by you.