Reflection
What did you enjoy about this project?
This entire project was enjoyable for me. It took me a little while to settle on a topic I liked, but once I did I felt like the ideas flowed pretty easily for me. The historical narrative was really fun to write. To be able to give a creative spin on a historical story about something as close to my heart as Trinity Soccer was special and enjoyable for me. I'm extremely privileged to have had the chance to connect with some Alumni, especially Mr. Ron Pritz, which makes me feel great. As a proud member of the current Trinity Soccer team, it's been an honour for me to connect with the man who seems largely responsible for creating the program I love.
What surprised you about this project?
I was surprised by how challenging I found working with Omeka. I consider myself pretty technologically literate but didn't find it as easy to put together the website as I have done using other programs. This was a bit frustrating at times. I also was surprised at how well my information came together at the end. Midway through the project I was feeling the strain, as I felt I was behind and with very little actual factual evidence to go on. Luckily, things fell into place in the nick of time.
What was the most challenging aspect of the project, and how did you manage it?
The most challenging aspect of this project was my inability to garner any concrete evidence on the 1959 team. I tried really hard to get in touch with any of the guys from that team, but one major obstacle I encountered was that it was nearly impossible to get in touch with any of the players listed in The Trinitonian's article about the team. I reached out to Alumni services but many of the players were deceased (they would have to be around 75 years old now) and the others were mainly not in the system. I was able to garner one overseas postal address and one email address, but I was not blessed with enough time to send international mail and got no response to my email enquiry.
If you could start over, what would you do differently?
Start sooner. I kind of used my other classes as an excuse to delay my research starting. I had a busy schedule this semester and things like the research check-ins were really helpful in keeping me on track, but I still think I could've set more time aside earlier on in the semester to make more progress. This would have made the entire project a little less stressful and given me a better start in producing things like this site and the historical narrative.
What did you learn about history and/or the historical process through this project?
Things are never simple and easy. I was sure I'd be able to give a definitive story of the creation of Trinity Soccer at the end of this project but, truth be told, I still have some unanswered questions. Whilst this disappoints me, I think it also teaches a lesson. History is not simple, nor easy to understand. Even those who were there at the time and lived through it do not have perfect recollections so the chances of being able to fully grasp the reality of the topic one is investigating is unlikely. We must simply do the best we can to provide one possible explanation of the facts.
What did you learn through this project that can be applied to life outside the classroom?
Not being afraid to reach out and contact people. It can be a bit daunting sending messages out to people you've never met before asking them for detailed, and sometimes personal, information but it was necessary here. Once I got over this initial reluctance, everything went smoothly. Also, time management is one of the most important skills in college life and this project has definitely helped me hone my work style and avoid procrastination.
CALLUM SQUIRES