Soccer is called "the beautiful game."
It's probably safe to say that Declan Lehmann has more than the usual appreciation for being able to play the beautiful game here at Tiffin University.
Lehmann is a goalkeeper for the Dragons. After first arriving last spring, he is entering his first full year with the program. A native of Swindon, England, he has faced challenges in pursuing his dream of playing soccer and obtaining a quality education.
But few student-athletes his age have had to overcome the challenge he faced just five years ago.
Lehmann was diagnosed with cancer, specifically a seminoma tumor growing in his chest.
"At first I had some chest pains and night sweats," said Lehmann. "I thought at first that it was just stress but it got worse. So we had some scans that revealed what it was. This was in November of 2015."
"I couldn't go back to school because I needed to immediately start treatment. I couldn't keep playing soccer either. I had to either choose a gradual two-year treatment plan, or a much more intense treatment plan that would last four months. We chose the more intense approach, so I finished my last treatment in March of 2016. In April I got the clearance to start playing soccer again."
Lehmann, a Sports Management major, had been playing soccer since he was six years old. It seemed only natural that he pursue an opportunity to get his education and play soccer overseas.
"I had a chance to come to America and get my education while playing soccer," Lehmann said. "I put some videos out for coaches to see, and (Head Coach) Rudy (Brownell) reached out to me. I liked his team philosophy, and I liked what I saw in November of 2019 when I visited, so I joined in the spring of 2020."
"He has very good ability and a strong work ethic," said Brownell. "Bringing him in gives us great depth and provides strong competition at the goalkeeper position, so it made sense. This gives us three or four players at keeper, all of whom have great talent, which is what you want as a coach."
Lehmann had only been here a short time when Covid-19 brought the spring season of 2020 to a screeching halt.
"It was early in my first semester that everything got stopped," Lehmann recalled. "We didn't get the chance to play in the spring, and I ended up going back home at the end of March. We were also in lockdown in England but fortunately I have a field in our back yard along with a gym so I was able to work out and stay in shape."
The soccer team, like all of Tiffin's athletic teams, continue to deal with the pandemic this fall. The fall season for soccer has been moved to the spring, providing a different opportunity for the coaches and athletes.
"We have a chance as coaches to work extensively with the younger players," said Brownell. "Everyone will get a fair chance to play in the spring, because we are able to give the younger players much more playing time and experience now in the fall. We can give more personal attention to everyone, which helps prepare them for the spring."
"We just recently started full contact practices," said Lehmann. "We are spending a lot of time working on tactics and set plays, learning them. All four goalkeepers work out together, while everyone else is in smaller groups for drills."
Lehmann's goals for this year are straightforward.
"I am new here but I want to start," he said. "I want to prove myself to the coaches and show what I can do. The talent level is very similar to what I played against in England. The intensity is the same."
"Declan has many strengths," said Brownell. "He is a leader, a competitor. He is good academically, and he listens to coaching. How he works between now and the spring will determine who plays. We have plenty of time to look at everyone."
After all that Lehmann has overcome so far, his biggest challenge right now seems much more normal for a student in his position.
"The toughest thing for me is being away from home," said Lehmann. "Everything else is fine but it is tough being away from family. We stay in contact regularly so that helps."
"We are viewing what is going on with the pandemic right now as a chance to turn a negative into a positive," said Brownell. "We have time to do things with players now that we don't normally have time for in the fall. So we don't dwell on the negatives."
A philosophy that Lehmann seems to have learned years ago.