April 4, 2005
Nick Miaritis, a 2005 Captain on the men's lacrosse team, is coming off his best season as a Hoya, recording 16 goals and 10 assists. He is a 2005 Face-Off Yearbook and Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-America Honorable Mention selection. He is a senior in the McDonough School of Business, majoring in marketing. We caught up with Nick to get his thoughts on his final season as a Hoya midfielder and his final semester as a Georgetown student.
Interview by Dan Carroll, MSB '05
DC: How do you see your role changing this year as a senior leader and a captain?
NM: As a senior, and this goes for all seniors, your role changes in that everyone starts looking up to you. You've been there you know the system, you know how the coach works and it's your responsibility to make sure everyone's ready to play. Guys feed off of your energy...you have the ability to change everyone's perspective on a given day.
DC: What's going to surprise people about the Hoyas this season?
NM: I think what's going to surprise people is our depth, we have 50 some guys this year and we've been moving in the right direction as a group of 50 and I think that's a pretty tough force to stop once it gets moving.
DC: Why did you decide to play lacrosse at Georgetown?
NM: A few reasons. First and foremost, when I came and visited Coach Urick told us how it was, not how you wanted to hear it, whereas other schools do things a bit differently. He didn't promise you a spot on the field, he just said he'd give you a seat on the bus. That's something I love about this school; he doesn't play favorites, he plays the guys who are working the hardest and playing the best lacrosse. On top of that, this school is an absolutely amazing place...Being in DC has opened my eyes to so many opportunities, and with the professors and the student body, I just fell in love with this place as soon as I stepped foot on campus.
DC: What have you enjoyed most about Georgetown outside of Lacrosse?
DC: I'd have to say the people I've met. I've met people from so many different places that have so many different perspectives on life it really opened my eyes to what's out there...when you come here you're exposed to so many things you've never seen you can really walk away with amazing friendships.
DC: When and why did you decide to become a marketing major?
NM: I actually decided to become a marketing major before I got here. I really like advertising and I've always thought of getting into that field. I'm not sure that I'm going to get right into that after school but I really love the idea of reaching people with a certain message. That message doesn't have to be to buy a product, it could be to think a certain way or support a certain something. It gives you the opportunity to reach out to people.
DC: What are your plans after Georgetown?
NM: I don't know right now. I'm going to play the year out, hopefully win the National Championship this year and have a good taste in my mouth when I walk off campus. Then I'll figure out what comes after that.
DC: What do you do off the field and out of the classroom?
NM: Obviously the nightlife in Georgetown is a lot of fun... I love to go into the city and check out the monuments and the museums because it's a once in the lifetime opportunity and once I'm out of here I don't know how many more opportunities I'm going to have to come back here so I love seeing every inch of the city that I can see.
DC: What's your favorite place here?
NM: My house on Reservoir Street, I've lived there this year and last year. I have six other roommates and we have the best time there; I wouldn't trade it for the world.
DC: What's your greatest athletic moment?
NM: It's not a specific moment, but after my freshman year, I had been injured and I had gotten out of shape and I had kind of fallen of the charts in terms of playing time and that summer I made a commitment to myself and to coach that I would get back in shape and start training much harder than I had to avoid the injuries that I had that year. When I came back my sophomore year it was a completely new experience, so I'd say it was that decision to be the best I could be.
DC: What have you learned from playing the last three years at Georgetown?
NM: One thing I'm going to take away here is how to communicate to people. When you have 50 guys on a field it's one of the toughest things to do to know what motivates each individual person, and I'm still in the process of figuring that out. The ability to reach people, it's not unique to sports, its something that can be seen in every walk of life, and I think the ability to lead people is a skill that I'll take with me.
DC: Do you have any advice for younger players, say high school age?
NM: Keep working hard, go to the right camps, use all the recruiting tools you can, but be a well rounded person. Don't let lacrosse dominate your life, don't let school dominate your life, just have fun with everything your doing. Especially have fun with lacrosse because when you look at it its just a game so if you take yourself too seriously playing a game, you're probably going to take yourself way too seriously in other things in life. That's something all of us should take away, no matter what age.
DC: Last question. You're a senior and there's two months until graduation, what unfinished business do you have at Georgetown.
NM: First and foremost, beating Syracuse. That's one thing that we are yet to do since I've been here which we will accomplish in two weeks. Off the field, there a few relationships that I've let go astray a little bit and I hope to just get on the phone and talk to a few people I haven't in a while before we leave here because I'd hate to leave here and lose some of the friendships I've made because they're just invaluable.
