Bucknell University Athletics
Bigger than His Body
10/10/2006 8:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 10, 2006
By Jillian Jakuba, Bucknell Athletic Communications
At 6-1, 250 pounds, Stefan Niemczyk, the son of a former professional hockey player, would be a good-sized defenseman on any collegiate hockey team. However, Niemczyk chose not to follow in his father's footsteps, but rather defy the odds and play college football as an undersized offensive lineman for the Bucknell Bison.
"I can remember my dad telling me `You'd be a great hockey player,'" Niemczyk recalls. "I don't know how I fell into football. I can remember sitting in the family room watching playoff hockey, going skating, but for me it was always football. I never really felt the passion for playing hockey that I felt for playing football."
Niemczyk participated in a variety of sports growing up from football to basketball and baseball, but never played organized hockey. He fell in love with football when he was young and at the age where all the players are the same size.
"When I was on the football field, I felt comfortable," says Niemczyk.
Once the time came to choose a college, Niemczyk initially thought that he would attend his father's alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania. However, the game he loved drew him to another region of the Keystone State.
"I'm from the Philadelphia area and I decided my top college choices were Bucknell and Penn," remembers Niemczyk, who attended Malvern Prep School. "To be honest, my first thought was I wanted to go to Penn. My dad is an alumnus there. I felt like I could get into Penn without football, but I wanted to play. I talked to the coaches there, but was told that there really wouldn't be a place for me in their system. Once I found that out, I called Coach Landis and told him I'd love to come to Bucknell. When you look at the two schools, they're both very similar. They're both great academic institutions and they both had what I wanted in terms of a business program. However, I wanted to play and I felt like I wouldn't have gotten that opportunity at Penn. Everybody says `I chose Bucknell for the great academics,' and I did, but I also wanted to play football."
Niemczyk has done just that as a member of the Bison. He currently holds the team's longest active games started streak at 27. Despite being undersized, he has gained respect as a leader and was elected as a captain for the 2006 season.
"The one thing I could never understand about coaches is that they make decisions about a player even though they can't see a person's work ethic or discipline level on paper," says Niemczyk. "When we're running at 6 a.m. and most other people on campus are sleeping, you are going to find out who wants to play and who wants to work."
All throughout his playing career, Niemczyk has proven the old adage "it's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog." He doesn't allow his stature to impede the goals he sets out to accomplish on the field.
"I've always felt that just because a person is bigger than me, it doesn't make them better than me," Niemczyk admits. "I'm the type of guy that is going to compete no matter what. If you've got seven inches on me and 60 pounds, let's line up and see what happens. If you beat me, you beat me. I've always felt that if I give it my best, I'm not going to embarrass myself. I'll at least be able to compete and so far that's worked pretty well for me. When coaches look at a player and see that he's 6-5, 300 pounds, that doesn't account for how hard he's willing to play and how much he wants to win. I feel like I play hard and my will to win gives me an advantage over the bigger guys."
Niemczyk is a workhorse who enjoys every aspect of the game of football. He has no regrets about choosing the sport or about making the decision to come to Bucknell.
"I think my whole experience as a Bison has been wonderful," says Niemczyk. "After going through training camp and each season with my teammates, these guys will be my closest friends for the rest of my life. I can't pinpoint one memory that I enjoyed more than any other time. I love being in the locker room everyday and I love going to practice, and of course, playing on Saturdays."
In addition to his teammates, Niemczyk credits his family as the backbone that has helped him remain confident on the field no matter who he is lining up against. His parents, Stephen and Jeannette, have attended every game of his collegiate career, even before he assumed his role as a starter.
"When I traveled as a freshman, my family journeyed to our games even though I wasn't playing," explains Niemczyk. "They do that because they love the program and enjoy supporting me and being my backbone and safety net. I really appreciate that. It has been ingrained in me since I was young that family is important and that we're always going to be there for each other. You'll see my dad in the stands screaming every Saturday and my mom next to him, probably embarrassed. I can't stress how much they mean to me and what they do."
Thanks to his determination and the support of friends and family, Niemczyk plays beyond the limitations of his frame. Though he may have become a star on the ice, the Bucknell family is certainly glad he chose the gridiron, instead.
The roster might say that he only stands 6-1, 250, but his intangibles make him the biggest lineman on the field.
