The NCAA News - News and Features

The NCAA News -- October 25, 1999

Football player works to break a leg -- in theater, that is

BY KAY HAWES
STAFF WRITER

If the hours in the day could be altered by vote, Ian Lauer would campaign long and hard for a 30-hour day. Lauer, a senior at the College of Wooster, is a modern-day Renaissance man, and he could use more hours in the day to pursue his diverse interests.

When Lauer graduated from high school, he knew he wanted to go to medical school, and he knew he was not interested in being one of those people whose interests extend only as far as the book in their hand.

"I wanted to take advantage of all that Wooster had to offer," Lauer said. "There were so many things to experience. I knew I would have to make some sacrifices to fit it all in."

Lauer doesn't sacrifice when it comes to academics. A chemistry major taking a pre-med curriculum, Lauer has a 3.400 grade-point average and is a candidate for academic all-America honors.

"Ian is a student who has the great fortune, or misfortune, of having many talents," said Ted Williams, one of Lauer's chemistry professors. "Most students have one or two things they do well. Ian has three or four. He is a good researcher, a top athlete and a talented actor. He could serve as a model for what students can accomplish at a liberal arts college like Wooster."

On the field and on the track

Lauer got a head start on the discipline required for his busy schedule with one of the first sports he seriously pursued.

"I started taking karate when I was 12," he said. "It helped me to develop good habits. I even got my black belt before I was 16."

Lauer has devoted the same intense energy to football at Wooster. He is a starting linebacker, and he can bench press 400 pounds. Last year he had 42 tackles for the Scots, and he had 22 tackles by the middle of this season.

"Ian has been a fantastic addition to our program and the college," said head football coach Jim Barnes, who recruited Lauer four years ago. "He is a great role model for our program in that he is a man of possibilities. If there is a potential area to be explore, investigated and ultimately conquered, Ian is the guy to do it. He has demonstrated that he can get it done."

Lauer also gets it done on the track. He has been a solid performer in the 55-meter dash indoors and the 100-meter dash outdoors as well as the 400-meter relay.

"Ian has done a super job, especially in the relay," said head men's track coach Dennis Rice. "He has run the first leg for us and has been an outstanding team leader."

When 'breaking a leg' is a good thing

When Lauer's friends tell him to "break a leg," they're not being poor sports. They're offering him good luck in a theater production.

Lauer first took Acting I, and he was somewhat of a surprise to his professor, Dale Shields, who initially thought Lauer might be in the class simply seeking an easy grade.

"But I began to notice that he was very conscientious and took an active interest in the class. Slowly, he began to emerge as a fine student with considerable talent."

Shields encouraged Lauer to try out for "The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail," and he won the role of John Thoreau. The next semester, Lauer took an advanced acting workshop. After that, he landed the lead role of Stanley in a "Streetcar Named Desire."

"He took the role and went all the way with it," Shields said. "I was proud of the work that he did. He gave to the role exactly what I envisioned."

Lauer's success on stage may have been enough to change his mind about medical school.

"One day he came to me and told me he had serious thoughts about theater and acting," Shields said. "I wanted to encourage him, but I knew that he had an interest in med school as well. I'm not sure what path he'll follow. Maybe he can strike a compromise. Maybe he can play a doctor in a television series."

Do you suppose "E.R." is hiring?