F&M alumnus Michael DeBerdine ’87 and his wife Deb are currently in France with family and friends cheering on their daughters Brooke and Emma, both members of the U.S. Olympic Women's Field Hockey Team.

Brooke is older by two years, but the sisters have had many opportunities to play together since childhood, including at the University of Maryland. After qualifying for the Olympics in January, the U.S. Women's National Team had to choose 16 out of 28 members from their roster to send to Paris. Michael writes: "That travel roster was released June 10 at 8 a.m. via text to the Team only. Brooke has a home near our house, so both girls stayed apart in the event one or both of them did not make the roster. Our family quickly gathered and had some early morning champagne to celebrate!"

The DeBerdines in Paris, pictured from left: Michael, Brooke (Team #8), brother Nate, Emma (Team #27) and mom Deb.

Michael, now CEO of Rhoads Energy, played football for the Diplomats and credits his time as a student-athlete for helping him face many challenges both during and after college.

"I encourage anyone who considers continuing their sport into college to participate at least one year. Yes, it is difficult managing your education requirements and athletics, but at the end of the day you have a solid network to help you maneuver through the challenges that college brings us all. For me and football, I literally had 80 friends before the other freshmen arrived. These guys and the coaching staff were instrumental in making my experience as fulfilling and successful as I could imagine."

After graduating Michael's path included starting two businesses — "...successfully and not successfully, learning more lessons about winning and losing..." — before moving into a career that eventually brought him success with the help of former coaches and team members. "I firmly believe sports and education create a great deal of accountability, commitment, leadership and courage to step out of a comfort zone and pursue life to a fuller extent."

I firmly believe sports and education create a great deal of accountability, commitment, leadership and courage to step out of a comfort zone and pursue life to a fuller extent.

— Michael DeBerdine ’87 (photo from the F&M Archives)

Michael and Deb encouraged Brooke and Emma to try different activities and to pursue sports for their own enjoyment. "At a young age, no one knows what interests our children will have," said Michael. "We were fortunate in that their coaches also supported multiple sports as they developed into all-around athletes, working different muscle groups and learning the differences between team and individual sports and the accountability that is required of both."

The DeBerdine family will be attending all of Team USA's field hockey games as far as they go in the tournament, and they also have tickets for swimming, badminton, kayaking, beach volleyball and track and field. Their group is staying together in a home just two miles from the field hockey venue. "While in Paris, we expect to do some sightseeing and have booked a day trip to Normandy. Lots of wine, cheese, chatting and laughter is on the daily evening agenda."