The Franklin & Marshall Diplomats

During a 1935 match against Fordham University, the Franklin & Marshall football team was penalized for an unusual activity in the typically fast-paced game—a lack of activity, period. Because of their "penchant for oratory," the F&M players spent too much time in the clubhouse during halftime, apparently expounding on their game plan.

A New York sports columnist dubbed them the diplomats.

The epithet stuck, and Franklin & Marshall today is the only college to rally around a mascot that espouses nonconfrontational, polite dialogue. This doesn't make the College's sports teams any less formidable, however.

The men's basketball team has done more than talk to rank second in NCAA Division III wins in the last 25 years; to have made 19 NCAA championship appearances; 11 trips to the NCAA "Sweet 16," five to the "Elite Eight," and four to the "Final Four;" to boast 15 players with 21 All-American Honors and to claim 15 conference titles.

The women's lacrosse team won the 2007 NCAA Division III National Championship and fell one victory short of reprising their title in 2008.

The Franklin & Marshall men's soccer team recently completed a truly diplomatic mission. Working with the Grassroots Soccer, an NGO, the team has traveled to the world's second-fastest-growing socially and economically disadvantaged township of Khayelitsha, South Africa. There, the student-athletes built a soccer field and taught children how to play soccer, while health professionals taught them about preventing HIV/AIDS.

Whether you strive to decrease your swings, even your strokes or increase your stride, as part of a team reaching for a common goal, you'll cultivate respect for others and responsibility for yourself. You'll develop your character and learn to become a leader. You will gain confidence by putting yourself out there.