Written by Tyler Neville '17
Tyler Neville, a junior Communications/Journalism major at Saint Joseph's, will be a regular contributor to the SJC Athletics website. Stay tuned to www.gomonks.com to read more of his special interest features!
The sports world is littered with stories about athletes who seemingly came out of nowhere and developed into standout players. You see it across all leagues, professional and college. Individuals who weren't expected to be anything overly special yet became stars in their respective sports.
This isn't one of those stories.
From a very early age, it was apparent that Kartikeya Swarup was going to be an exceptional soccer player. From the age of 13 "Katty," the nickname to which he is referred by most, was heralded as a potential superstar in Indian soccer. His childhood consisted of competing on the Indian Youth National Team, traveling and competing in places like Dubai and Manchester, England, and being heralded as one of the best players his age in a country of 1.25 billion people.
So just how is it that such an immensely talented athlete finds himself beginning his American soccer career at NCAA DIII Saint Joseph's College of Maine? How did Katty get from the bustling city of New Delhi to the quiet shores of Sebago Lake? Most importantly, how does he make it all look so easy?
It's late in the first half, on a chilly Vermont evening in October. Saint Joseph's is up on non-conference opponent Lyndon State 2-0 going into the half. Both sides seem content to just coast into halftime and let the scoreboard stay as is, cruising towards the break. All of a sudden there's a flash of blue and white and the slight 150-pound frame of Kartikeya Swarup slashes through the Lyndon State defense. All the Lyndon State defenders see is the back of Katty's jersey, as the freshman forward blasts a shot into the top right corner of the net, extending the Monks' lead to three and putting the game well out of reach for Lyndon State.
This was not an unusual occurrence for Katty during the 2015 season. The freshman showed flashes of his immense potential throughout the season, showing off his elite speed and agility while simply blowing past opposing defenses. However, the transition to American soccer was not an easy one for the 18-year-old striker. Head Coach Adrian Dubois, a former NCAA DI player who played several years of professional soccer, states that "it's a more physical game" here in America and that the transition overseas is a difficult one, even for the pros. "Guys that move big distances, say Brazil to England or Spain to England, it usually takes about one season to get transitioned and comfortable." Coach Dubois went on to say "(Kartikeya) still had a terrific season, but next year and the year after and on to his senior year will be incredible seasons for him."
The high expectations that the Saint Joseph's coaching staff has for Kartikeya is nothing new for him. Growing up in a country that's dominated by the sport of cricket, Katty lost interest in the national pastime at an early age and turned his focus to soccer, preferring the fast pace of the sport. Starting off by just kicking the ball around with friends behind his home in New Delhi, it quickly became apparent that Katty was special.
Right away his family enrolled him in a soccer academy and from there, Katty took off. At the age of 12, he made his first international trip, traveling with the 13 and under Indian National Team to Tehran, Iran, where they came in second place in the 2009 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Football Festival. After that, he competed against and beat out 20,000 other Indian teenagers to earn one of twelve spots for a week-long training camp at the iconic Carrington Stadium, home of the English Premiere League's most popular team, Manchester United. The training techniques and lessons he learned there advanced his soccer career light years in the span of a week and set him up well for the next part of his soccer career.
With his graduation rapidly approaching, Katty turned his attention to pursuing college soccer in the United States. "I had no idea how everything worked in the United States," says Katty, "I didn't know what recruiting was, how colleges recruited, how scholarships worked, anything like that." Katty reached out to the one contact he had in the United States, his paternal uncle who lives in Massachusetts. His uncle set him up with a phone interview with an associate at NCSA Athletic Recruiting, a website that specializes in connecting prospective student-athletes with college coaches around the country via their website. After their conversation Katty joined NCSA.com, posting a few videos of his soccer highlights and creating a profile with all his information.
That's where Coach Dubois found Katty, who immediately began recruiting the young man hard after seeing his profile. "It was between us and UMass-Lowell and I don't know why he chose us over Lowell, but I'm glad for it," says Coach Dubois. "I don't think other programs are doing the work we're doing here," Coach Dubois went on, explaining just how kids like Katty fall through the cracks and end up attending smaller schools. Katty says Coach Dubois is one of the main reasons he ended up choosing Saint Joseph's, stating that Coach is "a really passionate and hard working coach, as everyone can see." Couple that with a young and exciting roster and the mentorship of a senior captain who similarly came from overseas to Maine - Ralph Houanche hails from Port-au-Prince, Haiti - and you can see why Katty chose Saint Joseph's.
Kartikeya enjoyed a very successful first year in the United States. He played as a starter on the Saint Joseph's team, and tallied three goals and two assists in eleven games while playing through a nagging ankle injury that was only exacerbated by the dramatic climate shift encountered when coming from India to Maine (he saw his snow for the first time in his life during the season). Going into his sophomore year, Katty is focused like never before. "Right now, the only things I'm working on are my weaknesses. The only way you become a complete player is by working on your weaknesses," Katty explained, "I know I can do better."
For now, Katty is working on building off a successful first semester in the classroom (he earned a 4.0 GPA as a freshman Accounting major) and participating in summer team tryouts throughout New England. He'll keep working hard, along with the rest of his teammates to build off of a successful 2015 season that saw the young Monks squad, featuring 22 freshmen and sophomores, go 11-7-1 before dropping a heartbreaker in the quarterfinals of the GNAC conference playoffs to underdog Albertus Magnus 2-1. Expectations are high for the Saint Joseph's men's soccer program, which kicks off preseason training in mid-August.
With the transition year under his belt and the offseason focus on eradicating his weaknesses, Katty most certainly will be a player to watch next fall. When he ascends to standout status, it won't be unexpected.
#GOMONKS
Follow Saint Joseph's Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram!
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
