Written by Lauren McDougle '15
BEREA, Ohio -- Baldwin Wallace University senior midfielder Tim Hamm (Baldwinsville, N.Y.) hopes his last 240 minutes on the lacrosse field counts as much as his last few weeks on campus. Regardless, he intends to leave it all on the field when his career ends following an April 26 when BW hosts Ohio Athletic Conference rival Capital University on Seniors' & Parents' Day at The George Finnie Stadium at 8 p.m.
Four years ago Hamm transferred to BW from Niagara University in New York, which is about a two-hour drive from his hometown. Despite being two hours from home at Niagara, Hamm felt he needed to get further away from New York, so that is where BW entered the picture.
Ever since stepping foot on the Berea campus, Hamm has felt at home.
"[When I visited Baldwin Wallace] this felt like home, it felt like family, and it felt right", said Hamm who will lead the 6-4 overall Yellow Jackets into a Saturday afternoon game at Ohio Athletic Conference and Cleveland cross-town rival John Carroll University at 1 p.m. in University Heights. "BW will always be a little part of home to me."
When Hamm isn't playing lacrosse, working out and practicing his favorire sport, he is excelling inside the classroom. He earned his variety letter last spring, and will mostly like earn his second varsity letter this season. Just like lacrosse, he sees his academics as a big window of opportunity and he has made the most of it.
Hamm, a sport management major, travelled to the New York City/ New Jersey area with other members of the BW Sport Management Program and helped with the public relations, marketing and promotional efforts for this year's National Football League Super Bowl.
"This was a once in a lifetime opportunity and an experience I will never forget," said Hamm, who has appeared in four games this season, taken three shots, scored one goal and had one ground ball. "We got to do so many cool things and at the same time gained experience and got to see how to publicize and promote a Super Bowl."
In addition to taking great pride in his academics, Hamm understands what it means to be a student-athlete at the NCAA Division III level.
"I am student first and athlete second," said Hamm. "The challenges that we face as student-athletes, balancing our time between academics and athletics, makes us a more well-rounded person. I have had a good experience at BW."
Hamm has been playing lacrosse since he was in the fifth grade.
"Where I live [Baldwinsville] most young kids live and breathe baseball, but I didn't," said Hamm with a smile. "My dad put me in lacrosse and I have loved it ever since.
"Lacrosse has become something I looks forward to everyday, and it is a distraction when I have a lot [of other things] going on," continued Hamm. "It's a sport/ place where I go to just have fun with friends and play a sport I love."
The Yellow Jacket lacrosse program began last spring and has grown very popular around campus with interest from student and its current players. Hamm wanted to play lacrosse here to be a part of building a great program at BW. Overall, he has played in 15 games. including 11 a year ago when BW finished 6-5 overall during its inaugural season. He scored his first career goal in a 10-7 win against Wilmington College on March 22 and netted career-high two goals in a 20-11 win at Bethany (W.Va.) College in the 2013 season finale. Hamm was second on the team with a .400 shot percentage and third with a .467 shots-on-goal percentage.
With Hamm's career coming to a close, he reflected back on how fast these two years has gone while playing a sport he loves.
"My teammates have become family to me in place [BW] that I call home," said Hamm. "Putting in the individual work to become better is the most rewarding experience of all because you see how successful you can be, and it translates to future success off the field."
Former teammate Korin Stubbs had this to say about Hamm, "he is humble, a leader and leads by-example not only on the field but also off it."
When asked what he wanted to be remembered by at BW when all is said and done, Hamm replied, "Just as Tim Hamm."
FOR MORE BW SPORTS INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu. Fans can access the latest BW athletics information at www.bwyellowjackets.com and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter at http://twitter.com/bwathletics.
