Self-Proclaimed Unathletic Overachiever : Ben Chase

As a boy, Ben Chase had a plastic hoop in his bedroom, watched the Celtics religiously, and looked up to Larry Bird and Steve Nash. At 6-years-old, he played on his first team, and he hasn’t missed a season since.
His years of practice have paid off, as this year, Chase was named to the ESPN: The Magazine College Division Academic All-America second team.
"The Academic All-American award means a lot to me because it showed me that through hard work, having a good attitude, and being a team player, it is possible to achieve goals that never seemed realistic," Chase said.
The recent Emerson College graduate, hailing from Newburyport, Massachusetts, led the Lions in scoring last season, averaging 17.9 points per game. He was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Player of the Week twice last season and has been on the GNAC Weekly Honor Roll three other times, he was also the most valuable player of the Vassar College Tip-off Tournament in 2007.
He was chosen as Emerson College’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year at the Winter/Spring Sports Banquet, and was the only three-year captain in the program's history.
"As a sophomore [being a captain] was tough because I had only played one season, during which I spent most of my time sitting on the bench. I had to earn the respect of my teammates, many of whom were juniors and seniors, who had more experience than me," Chase said. "As a third year captain, things were a lot easier because I could just lead and instruct without having to worry about whether or not my teammates would listen."
Chase compiled a 3.83 grade point average double majoring in Marketing and Television/Video. He was a member of the Emerson College Gold Key Honor Society, and had been named to the Dean's List (3.7 GPA or better) six of his seven semesters.
"One of the most crucial lessons I learned while in college was time management," Chase said. "Basketball actually helped me with my schoolwork because I was forced to stay on schedule. I knew I had to get my work done when I had down time in order to get at least 6 hours of sleep, because without it, practice the next day would be torture."
Though Emerson College isn't an athlete-magnet, Chase said the school was a top choice because of its location and programs.
“The fact that Emerson wasn’t known for athletics was actually a positive for me because I wasn’t a great player when I left high school," Chase said. "Because Emerson was a ‘dodgeball target’ school, I felt I could actually make the team. I found out that basketball was no joke here when I talked to coach Smith. Even though the team struggled to find players (teams from the nineties frequently had rosters of 6-8 active players, while competitors had 12-15), the teams were always competitive and fighting to win GNAC championships."

Currently, Chase is working as an office manager in Medford, MA, but is looking into graduate school and coaching opportunities as a graduate assistant.
“I hope to coach one day, whether it’s high school, college, or volunteering for youth basketball," Chase said. "My experience playing at Emerson, in particular being a captain, will have prepared me well if a coaching opportunity arises.”
Chase is proud to have contributed to the team’s success this past season, and to be part of such an unselfish, hard-working group.
“Last year’s team was special because of how close we were as a group. The winning was great, but it doesn’t compare to the fun we had as a team,” Chase said. “Although, I will admit it’s a lot easier to have fun when you’re winning than when you’re not!”