Live Your Legacy: A Carthage Homecoming
- Sep 30, 2017
- 3 min read
Photos by M. Fingerson (1-2) and Courtesy of Carthage Athletics (3)
The 2017 Homecoming festivities are much like those in previous years with students, faculty, and alumni coming together to celebrate the Carthage spirit. Although the new year has seen many changes around campus, one thing remains the same; Carthage soccer’s alumni connection.
Each year Homecoming is seen as a time for many of Carthage soccer’s alumni to return to Art Keller field to scrimmage one another, tailgate before the Homecoming match, and most importantly, to reconnect with one another.
For Carthage Men’s Soccer Assistant Coach Filip Dyminski, Class of 2015, the value of these traditions goes beyond the traditional college men’s soccer team.
Initially transferring to Carthage from Wright State University in 2012, Dyminski competed for three seasons as a Red Men, being part of the 2015 team that won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Tournament Title.
“My season at Wright State wasn’t the experience I had thought I would have, and Carthage was a great second chance. It was great especially because I could pursue Athletic Training as a major and continue to play soccer,” said Dyminski.
Following his final season as a player, Dyminski returned to Carthage in 2016 as a Graduate Assistant Coach, guiding the team to an undefeated run in the CCIW, and a back-to-back CCIW Tournament Championship Title.
“Once I had finished my undergraduate career, Steve mentioned to me the graduate assistantship would be open. The previous GA did a fantastic job working with Steve and offering a way to get the message across to the players, so I told him absolutely,” said Dyminski.
Following the Spring of 2017, the position of full time assistant coach became a possibility for the program. The position was an opportunity Dyminski could not pass up; his passion for soccer combined with his own experiences at Carthage made the decision to apply an obvious one.
“Coach Steve Domin really made sure I felt belonged at Carthage, and that I am able to grow as a player, a student, and a man. He has been on his own as a head coach for the past 25 years building the program up, doing an exceptional job, and I wanted to be a part of that,” said Dyminski.
As the Red Men begin CCIW conference play with a match against North Central College on Homecoming Night, the season objective remains the same: competing as a team. Regardless of the change from player to coach, Dyminski acknowledges that the main priority every season is always continuing the Red Men Soccer tradition.
“We as a staff always instill that it’s not about any individual player; it’s about the bigger picture. We have had a lot of players that have made this program great and part of that is through hard work and representing Carthage as a whole” said Dyminski.
Dyminski would eventually like to apply his studies in Athletic Training and Sports Medicine in a professional setting. However, to continue to be a part of Carthage’s program, and the sport he has grown up with has allowed him to live out two things.
“I’m deeply passionate about soccer; if I’m not thinking about the sport, I’m playing it, training, living for it. Having the opportunity to be with the team that has made me the man I am today on full time basis, I did not think twice”.
His dream and his legacy.
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