True Student-Athletes: Alex Cagle and Joonas Jokinen

Joonas Jokinen was in the kitchen with his mom when he got a notification from Temple's men's soccer Twitter page. His mom stopped what she was doing and gave him a hug.

The senior midfielder and forward had found out he was the recipient of the 2016-17 American Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award.

"You come to college, especially as a student-athlete, you have class, you have training, you have lift, you have everything in-between," Jokinen said. "So it's really gratifying knowing that you put in all the work and you're recognized for that, so it feels really good."

Jokinen is the second Temple men's soccer player in two years to receive the award. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Alex Cagle earned it in 2015-16.

According to The American's website, the award is given to a student-athlete based on "academic credentials, athletic accolades and performances, and volunteer service to the community."

In order to be eligible for the award the student-athlete must be at least a junior and have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00.

Those requirements were no big deal for Jokinen and Cagle.

In 2014, Jokinen was named to Temple's Athletic Director's Honor Roll for having a GPA above 3.0. In 2016, in addition to winning the American Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award, he was selected to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Team Area.

The sport and recreation management major, who also is minoring in general business studies, owns a 3.91 cumulative grade point average. That earned him a spot on Temple's Trustee Ten, which is awarded to the 10 student-athletes with the highest GPA's. It is something he hopes to accomplish again this year.

"I want to keep my place in the Trustee Ten," Jokinen said. "It would mean a lot."

Cagle, who has earned a 3.59 cumulative GPA as an environmental science major with minors in corporate social responsibility and general business studies, was named to Temple's Athletic Director's Honor Roll in 2013 and 2014. In 2015 he was named to Temple's President's Honor Roll (GPA of 3.5 of higher) in addition to winning the American Scholar-Athlete Sport Excellence Award.

A member of the Honors Program at Temple, the Brookfield, Wisc., native was named the 2016-17 Temple University Male Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Not only have they both been named The American Player of the Week numerous times, Jokinen and Cagle have also helped lead the men's soccer team to four consecutive NSCAA Team Academic Awards.

In order to be eligible for that award, a team must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 for all of the athletes on its active fall roster.

"Alex and Joonas are prime examples of what it means to be a student-athlete," extolls Temple men's soccer coach David MacWilliams. "They lead by example on the field, where they are two of our top players, and in the classroom where they excel at the highest level. There hard work has been instrumental in our team's success in both areas."

Cagle and Jokinen credit not only their personal academic success, but also the team's success to the environment they have created.

"We are always pushing each other," Jokinen said. "We make fun of each other if someone gets a 3.92 and someone gets a 4.0. So it's kind of a little competition within the team to see who can carry the team academically, but it's all in good fun."

In addition to his class load and soccer responsibilities, Jokinen, who has five career goals and two assists, also works four jobs. He credits his success to his time management skills.

"I take care of everything usually before sports," he said. "As soon as something is assigned I take care of it, even if it isn't due for two months. I try to get it out of the way. Then I can get a good night's rest and feel good for class and training and everything, so it all doesn't pile on top of me."

Cagle has also learned how to manage his time over his four years at Temple. Not only is he in third place in goals against average in Temple's history, but he also completed an internship in the Rocky Mountains this past summer and is currently working two labs.

"You have to make it a priority," Cagle said. "You wake up that extra hour or two earlier to get your workouts in ahead of time before you start your day. Then you go from there, but you have to keep your priorities straight ahead of time."

Cagle, Jokinen and the men's soccer team are a perfect example that being successful in both athletics and academics is possible, and they hope younger players can learn from them.

"I think you can do whatever you put your mind towards," Cagle said. "If you allocate your time correctly and you know exactly what you have to do and you do it exactly when you know you have to do it, there's a lot you can get done both on and off the field."

Temple University Athletics

True Student-Athletes: Alex Cagle and Joonas Jokinen

Players Mentioned

Alex Cagle

Joonas Jokinen

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