Cason Stafford ’26 was volunteering as a mentor for young athletes last summer when he met an 8-year-old boy who was struggling with confidence.
The child, who was playing for a soccer club in New York City, had lost his starting spot to another player and had trouble adjusting to his role on the bench. Seeking help, the boy and his parents joined Athlete to Athlete, a program that allows children to seek advice from D-I college athletes through video calls.
Stafford, a midfielder for the Raiders and a psychological science major, signed up for the program as a mentor, knowing his experiences could help others. The opportunity paired him with a number of children who faced various challenges.
But the talk with the 8-year-old is one that stood out.
“The fact that the kid was that young and struggled with confidence — I didn’t realize how early that stuff can happen, especially now,” Stafford said. “I learned a lot more from that program than I originally thought I would.”
He offered the boy a message he received from his parents. It’s a message that helped him overcome his own challenges in youth soccer, when he was an undersized player.
“You can’t control your coach’s decision,” Stafford said. “But you can control how hard you work in training to get better and beat that kid out for a spot or earn a spot in a different position. Don’t blame the kid or that coach. Just say, ‘I’m going to put my head down and I’m going to work as hard as I can.’”
For Stafford, it was rewarding to help a young soccer player in need. The experience also served as another lesson in psychology, a topic that has become his passion.
Stafford, who grew up in Willet, N.Y., a town north of Binghamton, chose Colgate from a group of northeastern schools because he wanted a top education while playing for a soccer program where he could be a contributor.
He found that opportunity at Colgate. His college experience would turn out to be much more enriching than he originally had imagined.
As a first-year in the fall of 2022, Stafford was interested in a career in physical therapy. Thus, he took courses in biology, chemistry, and psychology.
He quickly developed a fascination for the functions of the human brain. Going into his sophomore year, he took another psychology course. It wasn’t long before he declared psychological science as his major.
With that, his direction changed. Rather than physical therapy, Stafford was imagining a career as a sports psychologist or a college soccer coach, using his background in psychology to help student-athletes overcome issues that stem from confidence or injuries.
“Psychology is an important degree if I want to go into the college coaching world,” he said. “It’s extremely important to manage emotions.”
Among the challenges that face student-athletes in college is adjusting to a role unlike what they experienced in high school or the club level.
“At a D-I college, you can assume everybody is a top three player on one of the best club teams in the country or the best player on their high school team,” he said. “They always had a significant role on their team.
“They come to college and find that every other kid has the same role. Every kid who comes to college is as good as the next. Even if the margins are small, some kid is not going to get the spot he wants or the playing time he wants. That can affect you mentally.”
Then there’s the challenge of overcoming injuries, an experience Stafford knows well after dealing with various ailments as a Raider.
“Injury can weigh on you mentally more than anyone can believe,” he said. “There are small things you can do as a coach, like checking in on injured athletes. That can be huge for the mental process. It can help you recover quicker and make you feel more confident.”
Each year, as Stafford browsed through the course catalog for psychosocial science, he found himself wanting to take as many classes as possible.
Some of his favorite courses are psychopathology (PSYC 262), personality psychology (PSYC 261), and sleep psychology (PSYC 343). All three courses opened his eyes on things about the brain he knew nothing about.
“Sleep psychology was really interesting,” he said. “People throw sleep out of their hygiene. Nobody recognizes how important it really is, especially for an athlete who needs on average an extra hour or two more than the average person for recovery purposes.”
His interest in psychology has even changed the way he spends his free time. Rather than play video games, he often spends his time listening to podcasts on psychology.
After graduation, Stafford wants to play professional soccer, either in the U.S. or other parts of the world. He also wants to pursue additional education to prepare for a career in psychology after soccer.
“My academic experience has been amazing,” he said. “I would advise anyone if they’re interested in psychology to at least try some courses because it can all be very interesting.”
