Cameron Lee rises as leader throughout career as Yellowjacket

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT Evan O’Kelly Director of Communications O: (406) 657-2130 E: evan.okelly@msubillings.edu Wednesday, September 16, 2015 Cameron Lee rises as leader throughout career as Yellowjacket

A four-year starter for the Yellowjackets, senior captain Cameron Lee is a key leadership figure for all of MSUB Athletics as he also serves as the SAAC president for the department.

MSUB SPORTS – Run your eyes up and down the Montana State University Billings men’s soccer roster and diverse is an adjective that only just begins to tell the story of the 30 entries.

Ten different countries are represented between players and coaches, a conglomerate of international styles converging on Yellowjacket Field in Billings and defining its own unique style of soccer.

Among the faces sporting navy and gold are new, promising players possessing potential previously unwitnessed at MSUB. There is a Mexican striker who through four games ranks fourth in the nation in scoring.

There are German and American midfielders who have connected so seamlessly with their forward up top they have created the illusion of being 10-year veteran teammates.

There is a 6-foot-3 British central defender, soft with his words but brilliantly tough and fearless with his tackling on the ball.

There is a German patrolling the 18-yard box, snatching crosses and shots out of thin air and every once in a while stealing the show with a 70-yard assist from box-to-box.

There are a pair of Australians in the center, infecting the team with their contagiously positive personalities.

There’s a Brazilian winger, lightning quick with a shot equally displaying power and finesse.

There are two outside backs; an outspoken leader from England and a humble Washingtonian eager to prove himself as a senior after missing all of last season with an injury.

There are reminders of the fragility of life, a Californian whom the 29 others on the roster will always play for and hold in their highest regards. A 7-year-old Billings boy who has stolen the Yellowjackets’ hearts, with enough energy and character to lift the spirits of the squad, and with enough inspiration to alter the lives of every single one of them.

In the center of it all is a man who wears the colors as proudly as any Yellowjacket ever has, a humble, gracious leader who has transformed into one of the most significant athletes in MSUB men’s soccer history.

Cameron Lee, born in Cape Town, South Africa, spending much of his childhood in the Isle of Man of the British Crown, has earned the black captain’s stripe he sports on his left arm on Gameday. He has earned it through the leader he has become, through his ability to influence each and every player and every style surrounding him on the field.

Beyond the pitch, he has earned it through all of his peers at MSUB, being elected as the president of the school’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Above all, Lee has grown into an ambassador for his team, MSUB Athletics and the university as a whole. He has become the fitting semblance of the mission of MSUB to foster growth and well-rounded development of each of its students.

Having already excelled as a model citizen and matured into a role model however, there remains work to do in his final season with the Yellowjackets.

OFF TO THE STATES In December of 2011, Lee put his skillset on display in a showcase at the London Soccer Dome. Collegiate coaches from across the United States were avidly taking notes, searching to pick out the top talent to bring back to their squads across the Atlantic Ocean.

Then-MSUB head coach Dan McNally had his eye on a pair of players at the showcase, as Lee and an Aylesford, England native Sam Butterworth caught his attention and provoked scholarship offers.

“At that point, Sam and I didn’t know each other but we happened to be playing at the same venue,” Lee commented on being recruited to MSUB. “Dan saw us both and spoke Cameron Lee as a freshman in 2012. to us. Right at that moment I was sold on MSUB, and it was the fact that he took the time after the event to make me feel like I was worth something.”

Though they didn’t know it at the time, Butterworth and Lee would end up becoming roommates their freshman season at MSUB, beginning their college soccer journey together.

Lee inked his letter of intent to become a Yellowjacket and headed to Billings in the fall of 2012. It was the opportunity to compete at a high level athletically while completing his higher education that drew Lee to the United States, and he was surprised at how quickly he adapted to the culture change.

“I knew my father wanted me to get my degree and America was the best fit,” Lee said. “The university system in the U.K. does not concentrate on sports at the age of 18-20, and there was a bigger emphasis on sports in college here. It is very evident that soccer is extremely fast-growing in the States, and to be a part of that in this time is something special that most people don’t realize.”

Lee had an impact right away, starting in his very first game for MSUB at Chaminade University in Hawaii and playing more than 1,500 minutes as a freshman while starting all 18 contests. In his 12th career match, Lee scored his first collegiate goal as he put the Yellowjackets ahead 1-0 in a road match against Western Washington with a volley finish in the 23rd minute on Sept. 15, 2012.

While it was clear Lee had no problem fitting into the team’s style of play, it was the impact he had on teammates off the field that garnered praise right off the bat as well.

“We hit it off really well from the get-go, and we became pretty good friends off the field,” commented fellow senior Garret Robinson, who met Lee their freshman year in 2012. “We clicked on an intellectual level and both had the same aspirations for life. Coming to Billings was weird for us and Butters, but we all bonded pretty well in our first year together.”

Butterworth cited Lee’s laid back personality and calm mentality as indicators that he would one day grow into a powerful leader. “Cam looks at things in a different perspective from other people,” Butterworth said. “He doesn’t rush into anything, and things worked well between us straight away.”

Helping Lee assume a major role as a freshman were a trio of key role models who he credits with having a major impact on his personal development. In his first season, Lee played next to Conner Moe as a central defender and also looked up to Blair Stevenson and Thomas Chameraud to show him the ropes at the collegiate level.

“Blair adopted me under his wing, and he had a passion for the game that I don’t think many people could match,” Lee said. “He was an exceptional player. Thomas was potentially the best attacking player who I have ever played with, and I could always rely on him.”

Chameraud is currently MSUB’s assistant coach, and alongside him last season was Moe as Lee was fortunate to have two of his major influences remain as guides in a coaching role.

Lee and assistant coach Conner Moe embrace after a home victory during the 2014 season.

“Conner and I developed a special partnership off the field, and I learned so much from him. More than any other player, he has always been my role model at this university because of his

passion, tenacity, and his will to win. He is, in my eyes, the best defender I have ever played with and I have learned absurd amounts from him.”

BLEEDING NAVY AND GOLD

By statistical measure, Lee’s career to this point has been a model of defensive excellence and consistency. He has started 54 matches and played in 56 through his first four games of 2015, and will cross 5,000 career minutes played with his next two matches.

Playing a position that doesn’t lend itself to statistical glamour however, Lee’s career as a center back is more appropriately defined through the growth he has experienced and leadership qualities he has attained.

“Cameron has become a man during his time here at MSUB,” commented Yellowjacket head coach Alex Balog. “He came in four years ago and had the qualities on the field to become a starter right away, but off the field he needed growth.

Year-by-year he has become a better person, and in our program that’s the ultimate goal: Improve the human being. I’m very proud of how Cameron has grown into a steady person with a good head on his shoulders.”

As Lee continues to grow as a leader now in his senior season, he commented that the difficulty of balancing life as a student-athlete is a challenging part of the maturation process that everyone in the program faces.

“College is certainly a learning experience, a time for development and growth in a person’s life,” Lee said. “At times there are a lot of emotional rollercoasters, and you have to find a healthy balance with your social life as well.”

Lee has been able to impart this message among his peers, getting involved with MSUB’s SAAC as a freshman and taking ownership within it. After serving as a representative for MSUB’s men’s soccer team during his first two seasons, Lee served as vice president last year before being elected president as a senior.

The main function of SAAC, an organization featured at every NCAA institution across all divisions, is to foster relations between athletes, their university, and the surrounding local community. Lee has been tasked with leading a committee of his peers in fundraising and community service projects, and also serves as MSUB’s representative at the conference SAAC level.

“SAAC allows you to be more involved with your school and athletic department in particular,” Lee said. “One of the reasons I aspired to become president is that I want to help people better themselves first and foremost. SAAC provides an ideal opportunity for student-athletes to do this, and we all want to help people on our campus become even better role models than they already are.”

Lee’s concerted effort to serve as a leader among his peers not only on the field but off of it as well is one of the main reasons he is held in the highest regards by those closest to him. “Cam has been a good friend to all of us with his leadership, because he does well just being one of the players like all of us,” commented Daragh Kavanagh. “He doesn’t stand out as a boss figure to us, he is down to earth and is just one of the guys. He deals with his ups and downs calmly, and rarely loses focus on his goals.”

DEFENDER AT HEART From the time he can first remember playing the game he loves, Lee has always been a defender. His even-keel personality and rare composure fit the position naturally, and even when conditions on his youth fields in Cape Town weren’t ideal, Lee found a way to make the best out of what he had.

“There were some very good academies but there were also some very brutal areas,” Lee commented regarding playing the game growing up. “Sometimes there were no game balls and you had to bring your own to practice. In the big scheme of things, it was humbling growing up there and seeing that side of the spectrum. It only makes you appreciate what you have that much more.”

The humbleness has not escaped Lee throughout the fortunate opportunity he has had to compete with the Yellowjackets over the past four seasons. His family has held stronger than anyone else by his side, as he credits his parents and younger brother with providing the platform for his growth at MSUB. “Without them, I would not be here with this opportunity experiencing things I’ve been able to experience,” Lee commented on his mother Theresa, father Marc, and brother Neeson. “My little brother is my best friend and has always supported me. My mother is the extreme loving type, and she has given me the love and support any child could hope for and more. My father has given me the set of tools to become a man, and has always taught me to do that which is right. Those three are closer to me than anyone in my life.”

Lee is completing a degree in organizational communications, with hopes of pursuing occupational practical training opportunities which would provide him with a visa to remain in the United States and begin his career. He has maximized the value of his time as a Yellowjacket, earning a starting spot on the pitch and developing better than he or his coaches could have hoped for into a captain.

“Cameron has turned out to be a great mentor for many of our guys,” Balog said. “Not just the youngsters, but every player in our program knows they can turn to Cameron if they need guidance. The greatest reward for us is to see what he has become and how good of a leader he has grown into.”

Among the wide range of personalities and cultural backgrounds on MSUB’s roster, Lee’s does not stand out at first glance. He doesn’t seek the respect of his teammates through orders; he commands it through the example he displays through his every action.

Beyond all, Lee has embodied the spirit of Yellowjacket Athletics, maximizing the collegiate experience and providing a living example of becoming a leader his peers, family, and all those around him can aspire to emulate.

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