Player Profile: Kyle Sproles
Men's Lacrosse
Jaime White
Issue date: 3/11/10 Section: Sports
Kyle Sproles, a native of Lititz, PA, is a freshman lacrosse player majoring in Business Administration with an Entrepreneur Track. He has been playing lacrosse since the sixth grade, where he had to play for a neighboring school because his school did not yet have a program. His most memorable sports experience was when "I played for a club team called Blue Mountain Lacrosse, and we were in the Keystone State Games...it was tied and we were in overtime, we were so nervous that we weren't going to win this gold medal. And the coach sent me out to face-off, [so] I took the face-off and then right away we went down and attacked the ball and scored…It was really sweet."
The music most likely to be playing in his car involves a combination of Third Eye Blind, Lifehouse, The Fray, Goo Goo Dolls, and various Christian artists. He considers Tears of the Sun to be his favorite movie, and is a big fan of war movies, because they "just show the courage that these guys have." A self-proclaimed avid reader, when he has the time, Kyle particularly enjoys The Rising Tide, a WWII novel written by Jeff Shaara. If given the chance to travel anywhere in the world, he would choose a biking trip across Europe; when asked about his favorite meal, he responded "My dad makes a mean filet mignon dinner, with risotto rice and green beans."
His favorite part of Messiah, non-athletically? "Probably just the whole fact of being like on your own, freedom, [being] away from the parents, just hanging out with friends 24/7. It never gets old, I mean…but you kind of want freshman year to move on so you can get past the whole freshman thing but I love every second of it."
Joining a new team as part of a 17-strong freshman class, he believes "I think I fit in pretty well. Just coming in on the whole fact that we already have something in common, and that's your belief in God. That's really cool, and you don't get that anywhere else. Everyone's been really welcoming, and the upperclassmen always want us to hang out in their apartments and have open doors and they're always willing to talk to you if you have any problems or anything like that."
His dad is his inspiration and guide. He considers 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 to be particularly relevant to his life: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."
In regards to the coaching staff he now has, Kyle says "You can never be perfect in Coach's eyes, ever. Which was hard to deal with at first, but it's good, because he pushes you and constantly makes you better. And I'm just a freshman and I can already tell an improvement on and off the field, with my character and the way I play."
When questioned about the unfortunately negative stereotype that the men's lacrosse team has here at Messiah, Kyle declares that "It is my personal goal to not have that perception when I leave Messiah." He elaborates with "There are a lot of good-hearted leaders on the team and strong Christians, just some people don't see it at all times."
Later, when discussing his overall perception of the game, he says "I love the intensity of the sport. You talk to people who know me and I'm just intense and crazy, [so] I love that it just never stops. It's always going and it's the fastest sport on two feet they say and I love how the transition is between offense and defense and how quick it is-there is no stopping unless there's a time-out."
And coming to Messiah? Kyle smiles and says "It's been the greatest decision I've ever made. I was thinking about going to other colleges and Messiah is where God has called me to be."
The music most likely to be playing in his car involves a combination of Third Eye Blind, Lifehouse, The Fray, Goo Goo Dolls, and various Christian artists. He considers Tears of the Sun to be his favorite movie, and is a big fan of war movies, because they "just show the courage that these guys have." A self-proclaimed avid reader, when he has the time, Kyle particularly enjoys The Rising Tide, a WWII novel written by Jeff Shaara. If given the chance to travel anywhere in the world, he would choose a biking trip across Europe; when asked about his favorite meal, he responded "My dad makes a mean filet mignon dinner, with risotto rice and green beans."
His favorite part of Messiah, non-athletically? "Probably just the whole fact of being like on your own, freedom, [being] away from the parents, just hanging out with friends 24/7. It never gets old, I mean…but you kind of want freshman year to move on so you can get past the whole freshman thing but I love every second of it."
Joining a new team as part of a 17-strong freshman class, he believes "I think I fit in pretty well. Just coming in on the whole fact that we already have something in common, and that's your belief in God. That's really cool, and you don't get that anywhere else. Everyone's been really welcoming, and the upperclassmen always want us to hang out in their apartments and have open doors and they're always willing to talk to you if you have any problems or anything like that."
His dad is his inspiration and guide. He considers 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 to be particularly relevant to his life: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."
In regards to the coaching staff he now has, Kyle says "You can never be perfect in Coach's eyes, ever. Which was hard to deal with at first, but it's good, because he pushes you and constantly makes you better. And I'm just a freshman and I can already tell an improvement on and off the field, with my character and the way I play."
When questioned about the unfortunately negative stereotype that the men's lacrosse team has here at Messiah, Kyle declares that "It is my personal goal to not have that perception when I leave Messiah." He elaborates with "There are a lot of good-hearted leaders on the team and strong Christians, just some people don't see it at all times."
Later, when discussing his overall perception of the game, he says "I love the intensity of the sport. You talk to people who know me and I'm just intense and crazy, [so] I love that it just never stops. It's always going and it's the fastest sport on two feet they say and I love how the transition is between offense and defense and how quick it is-there is no stopping unless there's a time-out."
And coming to Messiah? Kyle smiles and says "It's been the greatest decision I've ever made. I was thinking about going to other colleges and Messiah is where God has called me to be."
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