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TEAM HANDBALL

Beaudoin excels on,off court at West Point

Cony graduate excels in sport at Army, carries 4.13 GPA in the classroom

By Gary Hawkins ghawkins@centralmaine.com
Staff Writer

Marc Beaudoin has always been an athlete in search of a sport. Since winning a national Junior Olympic cross country championship at age 12, the Chelsea native has participated in basketball, track, cross country, football, lacrosse and crew.

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ALL-AROUND SUCCESS: Marc Beaudoin attempts a shot for the Army team handball squad during a recent match. Beaudoin is one of the top players for Army, the defending collegiate champion. He also has a grade point quotient of 4.13, which ranks ninth academically among his peers.

Photo courtesy of West Point

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After spending two years at Cony High School, Beaudoin transferred to Cheverus in Portland, where he lettered in five sports and captained four teams. These days Beaudoin excels at a sport he never even heard of two years ago: Team handball.

He's one of the top players for Army, which is the best college team in the sport. Beaudoin was recently named Brigade athlete of the week after scoring at least five goals in each game of the North Carolina Blue Cup Championship.

"I had actually never ever heard of it before I got to West Point," Beaudoin said. "It's kind of a mix between basketball and soccer."

Throw in a little hockey, too, since it's a very physical sport. It's a six-on-six game with a goalie on each team. Players pass or dribble the ball before attempting to throw it into the goal. In a typical game, each team scores between 20 and 30 goals.

"Players tend to be big, fast and strong," Army coach George Hodges said.

The only time Americans see the sport is during the Olympics. In Europe, team handball is second only to soccer in popularity, but survives here in just a handful of colleges and among ex-patriots who form club teams.

The U.S. plans to field a team handball squad for the 2012 Olympics in London for the first time since 1996. Beaudoin has considered trying out under the Army's world class athlete program.

"He certainly has the talent to compete at that level," Hodges said.

Beaudoin's athletic skills are but a small part to his contributions to West Point. Now a junior, he's been ranked as the top student-athlete in his class of about 1,300 students the past three years.

Rankings are based on three categories -- academic, military and physical. With a grade point quotient of 4.13, Beaudoin stands ninth academically among his peers. He is first in both the other two categories.

"His humilty, maturity and talent combine to make him well-respected and well-liked by the other cadets," Brig. General Patrick Finnegan, Dean of the Academic Board, said. "That doesn't always happen with cadets who are the top of their class because they can be seen as too impressed with themselves and not caring about others. No way Marc is in that category."

Beaudoin's experiences at West Point have taken him around the world. He's traveled Europe, doing a semester abroad in France, and gone to India, Ghana, Mali and Tanzania among other places.

"I enjoyed the trip to Timbuktu (Mali) the most," he said. "I got to take part in training the Army."

Within the past year, Beaudoin ran a marathon in Greece and an ultra marathon in France. Although he hadn't formally trained for a marathon -- he ran his first in Pittsburgh last May -- he completed the Athens Marathon in 2 hours, 53 minutes, qualifying for Boston. He won't make it this year because of a conflicting handball tournament, but he plans on running Pittsburgh again.

The L'Origole Ultramarathon in France is 75 kilometers, or 46.6 miles, but that's only part of the challenge. Most of it took place at night through barely visible trails in the woods and runners had to wear headlamps.

"It was a terrible night, it was raining," Beaudoin said. "I've always been interested in running it. It was kind of fun."

At 6-foot-1 and 193 pounds, Beaudoin fits the physical requirements for a lot of sports. He regrets not trying football until his senior year, but still played quarterback and wide receiver.

His former basketball coach at Cheverus, Bob Brown, called Beaudoin the most aggressive athlete he had ever coached and he's used that drive to succeed both in and out of athletics.

"He's left-handed, that really helps," Hodges said of Beaudoin's handball prowess. "He's quick for a guy as big as he is and he's probably our best all-around defender."

Beaudoin looks forward to upcoming military and academic challenges, too. He's a finalist for the Truman Scholarship, a $30,000 award given annually to one person from each state for graduate studies. It's also a stepping stone to a Rhodes Scholarship.

On the military side, Beaudoin will oversee training for the incoming class of students this summer in a position known as the King of Beasts. He was selected from a number of applicants and will oversee a staff of 300.

"It's a very high honor," assistant to the Dean David Dominick said. "Marc stood above the rest. He's a natural leader."

Beaudoin took a year off after high school, mainly because he found out about West Point too late to apply. It's proven a natural fit for him in every aspect.

"I definitely like having that regimented lifestyle," he said. "One of the things I enjoy about West Point is the competitive atmosphere."

Gary Hawkins -- 621-5638

ghawkins@centralmaine.com