Amherst, at least in theory, has always strived to uphold the best of both worlds in terms of academics and athletics. Perhaps no one at Amherst represents this commitment to overall excellence better than Peter Gooding. Gooding, who has been at Amherst since 1968, coaches men's soccer and serves as the College's Athletic Director. He has also coached lacrosse and squash, and served as a professor of physical education. But he remains most committed to the sport of his youth, soccer.

That dedication to his position here, and soccer more generally, recently earned Gooding the highest award from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. He was awarded the Honor Award in January for his work for both the NSCAA and the NCAA. Gooding, however, was typically modest about the award, protesting that it was both unexpected and unnecessary. "Awards are most irrelevant, the greatest awards come from teaching sports or participating in them. That's the reason I've found Amherst so rewarding," Gooding said.

Gooding was an acclaimed youth player in Britain and widely expected to become a professional. The decision to turn pro, however, was not in his hands. In England at the time, one could not sign a professional contract before the age of sixteen without dropping out of school. If a student did sign, the club met with the headmaster of the school and the player's parents and they made the decision whether or not the student could turn pro.

In Gooding's case, it was decided that he would remain in school. Gooding said the decision was a "terrible blow to me. Everyone assumed that I would sign." It was even more stunning since he was actually supposed to play that upcoming Saturday. "I had an uncle that went to the match, and my name was in the program," he said. Gooding swallowed his disappointment and continued to play for an amateur club. When it came time for him to attend college, Gooding again had a decision to make.

This time, he was given the chance to go to either Oxford University or Cambridge University. "I was interviewed for Cambridge on the sideline of a game," he remembered. The interviewer told Gooding that there was a spot reserved for him. Once news of the offer traveled to Oxford, Gooding was immediately given a competing offer. "In those days, Oxford-Cambridge was the biggest rivalry in England. It was like Harvard-Yale but much bigger," explained Gooding.

Again, however, Gooding's headmaster had different plans for him. "I went to a very academic school where many students were trying to get into Oxford or Cambridge, and my headmaster was very indignant that they were going to let me in for my soccer abilities." So, instead, on the advice of his headmaster, Gooding attended the University of Nottingham, where he majored in physical education.

After school, Gooding did play soccer professionally, but on second-tier teams. Most other players had been playing since they were sixteen, and Gooding, at 21, was too far behind to catch up. Gooding, however, has no regrets for how things worked out.

"Who knows whether I would have continued to develop as a player?" he said. In fact, Gooding is very content here at Amherst. He posed the question "If you had the chance to wake up every day and look forward to doing your job, would you? That's what I'm able to do here at Amherst. We are all very privileged to be here."