Today is Kingsday in the Netherlands, we celebrate the King’s birthday. We do this by keeping 1,5m distance from eachother and with very few people, but: we do celebrate! At the same time, it is also just a regular Tuesday, so if you are enjoying a piece of orange cake at the moment: take some time for this week’s University Spotlight. Because once again we will talk about an awesome university & student-athlete!
The King of high jump: Jelle Golbach. You may have seen that name before on our socials. Because at the end of March, Jelle did an Instagram take-over and gave our followers a glimpse into his life as a student-athlete. And for Jelle, that life started in January this year. After many successes on the athletics tracks in the Netherlands, Jelle left for Kentucky to strengthen the track & field team and to follow a study in Business Administration & Marketing.
Why Jelle chose for Lindsey Wilson College?
“I chose LWC because I immediately felt a great connection with the coach. I believe they can help me achieve my athletic and academic goals!”
Do you want to know more about Jelle’s new home base in the USA? Keep reading!
Campus
Lindsey Wilson College is a private university located in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903, the school has approximately 2600 students annually, of which 1100 live on campus. In total there are about 50 different buildings on campus with different facilities. Below is a photo of part of Lindsey Wilson’s campus!
As in every spotlight, we zoom in on the (for us) most interesting part of the campus: the atheltic facilities! American schools look after the group of student-athletes as best they can. Below are some of the athletic facilities at Lindsey Wilson College!
There are a number of cool sports facilities on campus. One of those facilities is the ‘Biggers Sports Center’, it is the place where both the wrestling, volleyball and basketball teams play matches. It is a beautiful stadium in which the university colors can be easily found! There is seating for 1500 fans. Check out a photo of the stadium below!
The ‘Doris & Bob Holloway Health and Wellness Center’ is another beautiful facility that can be found on campus. A large sports pool but also a 40-person hot tub can be found there! In addition, there is a ‘Wrestling Room’ to optimally prepare the wrestlers for matches. You can see a photo of the sports pool below
The tennis courts and soccer field can also be found on campus. Other facilities are located in the Lindsey Wilson Sports Park, including the Blue Raider Stadium! This is where the American Football and Track & Field matches are held: it is also the place where Jelle can often be found! There is seating for 1500 spectators, has its own ‘press box’, fitness room and much more. All sorts of beautiful things that are certainly not common for athletic tracks in the Netherlands. You may already have seen the athletics track in the photo at the top of the article, but you can see it again below!
The baseball and softball field are also located in the Lindsey Wilson Sports Park. Furthermore, the golf course and BMX facility can be found at other locations close to the campus. Too much to show in this article alone! Would you like to see more of the campus? Check the campus tour video below that the school made!
Athletics
The student athletes at LWC are called the ‘Blue Raiders’. And this group of student athletes consists of no less than 25 different teams: 11 men’s teams, 11 women’s teams and 3 mixed teams! These mixed teams are called ‘Coed Sports’ and participate in cheerleading, cycling and archery.
All varsity teams participate in the Mid-South Conference, in the NAIA. The university colors are (you probably guessed it): Blue & White! No fewer than 61 individual titles and 17 national championships have been achieved in the history of the school! This success is of course due to the high level student-athletes, great facilities and coaching staff. But mascot Blue Raider Bob also has a share in this ..! He appears at home games and other events. You can spot him in the photo on the right. Bad ass Bob, right?
The soccer teams are one of the most successful teams at LWC. The men’s team managed to win the NAIA Championship no less than 9 times! In addition, they became the Mid-South Conference Champions 12 times. The men’s coach, Ray Wells, received the National Coach of the Year award eight times.
But the soccer women also managed to win the NAIA Championship a total of 4 times, for the last time in 2014. The women won no less than 15 Mid-South Conference Titles!
The men’s Track & Field team, of which Jelle is now part, also won the Conference title in 2015. The team participates in the indoor & outdoor seasons. During indoor seasons, 33 athletes from the Track & Field team have been declared ‘Indoor All-American’. During outdoor seasons, 22 athletes have received this title as well. So uh, who’s next, Jelle? 😉
Great successes of the Blue Raiders. Would you like to learn more about this group of student-athletes? Then check out the athletic website!
Academics
Studying, that’s what the Blue Raiders do. As you know, this is the second part that makes a student-athlete, a student-athlete. Jelle combines his Track & Field career with a study in Business Administration & Marketing, but there are also many other majors to be followed at LWC. Do you now want to know whether the major you prefer is offered at LWC? Check the list of courses here!
Did you start thinking: what Jelle does, I want that as well. That’s possible! Reach out, and we are ready to help you!
