Hoosier For Life - Danny O'Rourke
7/26/2017 10:14:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Last season there was a friendly face on the sidelines for IU men's soccer.
Danny O'Rourke, the midfielder for the Hoosiers from 2001-2004, was back in Bloomington last year to be a volunteer graduate assistant as he finished up his degree in Liberal Studies with a focus on Biochemistry.
While attending Indiana University, O'Rourke was embraced with much success. He was a two-time national championship winner (2003, '04), All-Big Ten as a sophomore, junior and senior, a first team All-American his senior year and won the Hermann Trophy which acknowledged him as the top male soccer player in the country.
He did all of this while starting every single game in his four-year span.
"I always wanted to be the best at whatever I was doing," O'Rourke said. "Whether it was school or soccer, I think people attracted to the IU soccer program are those types of people, people that want to be the best and want to be around the best."
O'Rourke was very humble, as he mentioned that yes he was acknowledged as the best male soccer player of the year, but all of the credit deserved should go to his teammates and coaches.
"I never wanted those things (trophies, acknowledgements, Hermann trophy). Of course I was humbled by it, but I always just wanted to win titles," O'Rourke said. "If you look at any sport, everyone just wants to win, and the only thing that really matters at the end of your career is how many champions you've won."
There was undoubtedly a lot of lessons and valuable information that O'Rourke took from Indiana University on to his professional career.
"From day one the two things that stuck with me at Indiana was everything was about winning and everything was about being a good person on and off the field," O'Rourke said. "I can't speak volumes enough for how that carried over to my professional career and to my everyday life. I can still remember just little things everyday that Coach Yeagley would implement, and at the time I might not have realized it, but as I grew older it made so much sense and I could see it."
O'Rourke decided to forgo his last semester and enter the MLS Draft, where he was selected with the fourth overall pick to the San Jose Earthquakes in 2005. He went on to have an 11-year professional career, which included a MLS Cup title in 2008 with the Columbus Crew.
Ever since he left the University a semester early, O'Rourke knew coming back to finish his degree was something that he wanted to accomplish.
"For me, I always knew I was going to come back and finish (my degree) to make my mom happy," O'Rourke said. "But having the Hoosier for Life program there just made it a no-brainer for me to come back and not only give back to the college team but to finish my degree. To have the athletic department and Indiana University take care of it was really beneficial."
For those who are less familiar, athletic director Fred Glass implemented the "Hoosier for Life" program in 2014. It states "Indiana University will pay the tuition (plus books and fees) for an IU undergraduate degree for any scholarship student-athlete who leaves school early to tend to a family emergency, pursue a professional athletics career, or for any other reason."
It is a program that is very beneficial to recruiting, as it gives players the notion that even though they might leave early to continue on their careers professionally, they can always come back to the University to finish their degree whenever it may seem fit.
It undoubtedly makes a lot of mothers around the country rather ecstatic.
As O'Rourke took advantage of this program last season by nearly getting a 4.0 GPA, he also got involved in coaching with the men's soccer team.
While coaching with the team, O'Rourke's responsibilities included being a liaison between the coaches and players as well as being fresh eyes to come in and analyze the program.
"I was a young guy off an 11-year career so a lot of the guys had questions about playing at IU or what it takes to play at the next level," O'Rourke said. "Not only was it my duty to help those guys out, but it was actually a lot of fun because a lot of those guys are tremendous talents and all they need is the right guidance."
He really wanted to show the guys all the beneficial aspects that Indiana University has to offer, and wanted all of them to embrace the moment and get better every single day.
"It just helps mold you as a person, being someone who wants to work hard and acknowledge your weaknesses and make them better. That grind of trying to get better every year was really the most fulfilling thing to me. Always trying to improve yourself is the ultimate goal," O'Rourke said.
O'Rourke mentioned that he wished there was a way to be with the team this year.
"The one thing I'm going to miss the most is the bonding with the guys there. There are some guys that I don't only look to as peers and friends but they are very good talents, and I want to see how they improved over the summer and how they do this year. If I'm not there, I'll definitely be rooting from a far," O'Rourke said.
#GoIU
Danny O'Rourke, the midfielder for the Hoosiers from 2001-2004, was back in Bloomington last year to be a volunteer graduate assistant as he finished up his degree in Liberal Studies with a focus on Biochemistry.
While attending Indiana University, O'Rourke was embraced with much success. He was a two-time national championship winner (2003, '04), All-Big Ten as a sophomore, junior and senior, a first team All-American his senior year and won the Hermann Trophy which acknowledged him as the top male soccer player in the country.
He did all of this while starting every single game in his four-year span.
"I always wanted to be the best at whatever I was doing," O'Rourke said. "Whether it was school or soccer, I think people attracted to the IU soccer program are those types of people, people that want to be the best and want to be around the best."
O'Rourke was very humble, as he mentioned that yes he was acknowledged as the best male soccer player of the year, but all of the credit deserved should go to his teammates and coaches.
"I never wanted those things (trophies, acknowledgements, Hermann trophy). Of course I was humbled by it, but I always just wanted to win titles," O'Rourke said. "If you look at any sport, everyone just wants to win, and the only thing that really matters at the end of your career is how many champions you've won."
There was undoubtedly a lot of lessons and valuable information that O'Rourke took from Indiana University on to his professional career.
"From day one the two things that stuck with me at Indiana was everything was about winning and everything was about being a good person on and off the field," O'Rourke said. "I can't speak volumes enough for how that carried over to my professional career and to my everyday life. I can still remember just little things everyday that Coach Yeagley would implement, and at the time I might not have realized it, but as I grew older it made so much sense and I could see it."
O'Rourke decided to forgo his last semester and enter the MLS Draft, where he was selected with the fourth overall pick to the San Jose Earthquakes in 2005. He went on to have an 11-year professional career, which included a MLS Cup title in 2008 with the Columbus Crew.
Ever since he left the University a semester early, O'Rourke knew coming back to finish his degree was something that he wanted to accomplish.
"For me, I always knew I was going to come back and finish (my degree) to make my mom happy," O'Rourke said. "But having the Hoosier for Life program there just made it a no-brainer for me to come back and not only give back to the college team but to finish my degree. To have the athletic department and Indiana University take care of it was really beneficial."
For those who are less familiar, athletic director Fred Glass implemented the "Hoosier for Life" program in 2014. It states "Indiana University will pay the tuition (plus books and fees) for an IU undergraduate degree for any scholarship student-athlete who leaves school early to tend to a family emergency, pursue a professional athletics career, or for any other reason."
It is a program that is very beneficial to recruiting, as it gives players the notion that even though they might leave early to continue on their careers professionally, they can always come back to the University to finish their degree whenever it may seem fit.
It undoubtedly makes a lot of mothers around the country rather ecstatic.
As O'Rourke took advantage of this program last season by nearly getting a 4.0 GPA, he also got involved in coaching with the men's soccer team.
While coaching with the team, O'Rourke's responsibilities included being a liaison between the coaches and players as well as being fresh eyes to come in and analyze the program.
"I was a young guy off an 11-year career so a lot of the guys had questions about playing at IU or what it takes to play at the next level," O'Rourke said. "Not only was it my duty to help those guys out, but it was actually a lot of fun because a lot of those guys are tremendous talents and all they need is the right guidance."
He really wanted to show the guys all the beneficial aspects that Indiana University has to offer, and wanted all of them to embrace the moment and get better every single day.
"It just helps mold you as a person, being someone who wants to work hard and acknowledge your weaknesses and make them better. That grind of trying to get better every year was really the most fulfilling thing to me. Always trying to improve yourself is the ultimate goal," O'Rourke said.
O'Rourke mentioned that he wished there was a way to be with the team this year.
"The one thing I'm going to miss the most is the bonding with the guys there. There are some guys that I don't only look to as peers and friends but they are very good talents, and I want to see how they improved over the summer and how they do this year. If I'm not there, I'll definitely be rooting from a far," O'Rourke said.
#GoIU
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