Getting to Know U is a new feature that highlights the great student-athletes at Union College. It will appear on the website every Tuesday and Thursday. Men's soccer freshman
Sebastiaan Jansen is the first subject on this question and answer piece.
Name: Sebastiaan Jansen
Sport: Men’s Soccer
Year: Freshman
Hometown: Cape Town, RSA
UnionAthletics.com: You’ve made an impact right away as a freshman, what did it mean to you to lead the team in goals and points AND be named Liberty League Rookie of the Year?
Sebastiaan Jansen: I'm really happy about leading the team in goals and assists, and winning the rookie of the year award, but none of it would have been possible without my teammates. They are the ones who kept me going during my goal droughts and who passed me the ball. It was truly a team effort; I'm just the one who happened to get an award.
UnionAthletics.com: Twice this season, the men’s soccer team went to RPI, who was nationally ranked, and beat them. Were those your two favorite wins so far? Why or why not?
Sebastiaan Jansen: They definitely rank among the top three, because we were huge underdogs. Winning as an underdog always seems to feel better than winning as the huge favorite. Beating a team as good as RPI is a fantastic achievement, no doubt about it, but another great win was against St. Lawrence. Our current team had never beaten them, so it was really nice to finally get a victory over them.
UnionAthletics.com: You’re listed as being from South Africa, what attracted you to come to Union College?
Sebastiaan Jansen: I'm actually not from South Africa; it is just where I lived last. I was born in Mexico City, Mexico, and lived in numerous other places, but my parents are Dutch and Belgian. Ever since we left Florida in 2001, I’ve always wanted to come back to America, so my parents let me go on two soccer camps in the states. Coach (Jeff) Guinn saw me play at the Brown camp and eventually recruited me. After looking at the information about Union, I applied and was accepted.
UnionAthletics.com: You’ve just completed your first term at Union. What has that experience been like?
Sebastiaan Jansen: So far I have loved every minute of it. In season it was a little hard to socialize because we had so many practices and games, but luckily I had the greatest bunch of teammates around me to have some fun to say the least. Managing the soccer and academics hasn't been too hard; you just have to manage your time well.
UnionAthletics.com: Who would you say has had the greatest impact on you athletically (whole life)?
Sebastiaan Jansen: I don't think there is any one person who has influenced me the most in my athletic life, but my club coach in South Africa, Pepe dos Santos made me realize that I was a good player. He played for the Portuguese national team with Eusebio during the late sixties and early seventies, so for him to tell me I was a good player, really meant a lot and gave me a lot of motivation to become even better.
UnionAthletics.com: Who would you say has had the greatest impact on you academically (whole life)?
Sebastiaan Jansen: I don't think there has been one person who has had the greatest impact on me. I wasn't the best student in middle school and early high school, but then I started getting average grades, so I decided to do something about it and started working harder. Since then I’ve been mostly a straight-A student. My parents were always on my back about grades, so you could say they had an impact on me.
UnionAthletics.com: What are you going to do during winter break?
Sebastiaan Jansen: I'm going back to Brussels, Belgium where we are now living. I am also visiting my twin sister in Newcastle, England to celebrate our birthday. Then we are going skiing in France for Christmas. After that it's back to Schenectady.