In Augustana’s 154th year of existence, senior mid-fielder Nathan Kyes helped the college gain its 154th Academic All-American athlete.
Kyes’ said his familiarity with the honor of being named an Academic All-American is nothing new.
Since his sophomore year, Kyes knew one of his goals as a student-athlete was to earn that honor his senior year.
“It was extremely far-fetched for me to make this goal at this specific time because my performance on the field had been struggling,” said Kyes. “However, I asked coach to hold me accountable to this goal and expect something more out of me in the future. To look back and think that I actually achieved that goal is crazy.”
As a captain of the men’s soccer team, Kyes said he believes his leaderdship assisted him in earning his place on the Capital One Academic All-America team in men’s soccer.
“I think that my leadership role on the soccer team was certainly a factor in me receiving this award because I think my value to the team is fully realized when you factor in my leadership capabilities and intangibles on the field,” said Kyes. “With my skill alone, I would not have won this award.”
Not only was Kyes able to lead his team as a captain, but as a player as well.
Kyes’s work ethic on the field set an example for his teammates and paid off greatly for Kyes himself.
As a starter in every game this season, Kyes was able to contribute to the fact that Augustana only allowed 17 goals to be scored against them in the 18 games the team played this season.
The Vikings also boasted seven shutouts on the season.
Kyes’s individual accomplishments are shown through the fact that he is a four-year varsity letter winner, a three-time academic all-conference selection and is projected to earn a fourth honor this fall.
Though he felt his soccer career came to an earlier close than he’d hoped, Kyes said that once he found out he had earned his final honor of becoming an Academic All-American, he could enjoy some of the closure he needed.
“I received the news via a phone call from Coach Joseph,” said Kyes. “I was pretty speechless to be honest. I was still really hurt from our last loss of the season and was wishing I had more time left to play; however, this award brought me a little bit of closure to the season and ultimately my 16 years of playing soccer.”
Kyes has maintained a 3.96 grade point average in his four years at Augustana and is also a member of the Austin E. Knowlton Honors Program.
He was also offered a position as an audit intern at Deloitte, LLP in Davenport to begin upon graduating from Augustana in May of 2015.
He declined this offer to pursue his Masters in Accountancy at Wake Forest University on a full-ride offer.
Kyes said that at times it was not always easy excelling both in the classroom and on the field, but he is grateful for the experience it gave him.
“At times it is difficult to balance academics and athletics, but I think that being a student-athlete at a DIII institution is such an incredible experience because you are a true student-athlete,” said Kyes. “From your freshman year of college to your senior year, every single class is just as important to your grade point average as the other. Not taking college classes seriously could be a fatal mistake.”
Kyes said that this is a huge gain for Augustana as a whole, specfically the men’s soccer program.
“I think this award is a testament to what the team has done both on and off the field to be where we are at today,” said Kyes.