Senior midfielder Austin Martz blew past countless defenders in his four-year career on the Georgetown men’s soccer team. When the men’s soccer season ended, however, his most recent opponent was freshman guard DiDi Burton of the women’s basketball team. And she made it personal.

“We’re standing on the court, and there was this dead stinkbug on the floor. [Burton] said, ‘That’s your cousin.’ So the next play I [think], ‘All right, taking it to you,’ drive to the lane, score a layup and stare her down,” Martz said.

That drama unfolded not on the pick-up courts of Yates Field House, where Martz occasionally played when he was not on the soccer field, but in McDonough Arena during a women’s basketball team practice. Martz was not there for leisurely purposes; instead, he played an important role as a member of the scout team. The 5-foot-8-inch outside midfielder practiced with the team from January through the end of the team’s season.

Women’s basketball teams often use male players in practice, but most of the volunteers are non-varsity athletes, though some are out-of-season athletes who want a way to stay in shape.

In order to find a student who could help the team during its practices, Head Coach Natasha Adair and her staff sometimes watched the games in Yates to find players who could contribute to the team. She even mentioned flyers that have been used to draw interest. Generally, the process of joining the team to help in practice is informal. Practice players are not required to attend daily. Brief introductions replace any sort of interview. Martz’s place on the scout team, however, was something that neither side planned on.

“It’s common as far as having male practice players,” Adair said. “[Martz] just kind of showed up on our doorstep, and I am so thankful that he did.”

From Martz’s point of view, his role as a key member of the practice team also came unexpectedly. He played basketball during his freshman and senior years of high school but otherwise had not been on the court for anything more than a pick-up game until he heard from men’s soccer head coach Brian Wiese.

“Coach Wiese sent me a text and said, ‘Any interest in playing women’s basketball?” Martz said. “He introduced me to all the coaches, and within a couple minutes, it was official that I was going to be playing with them.”

Practice players mimic what certain opposing players will do when they take the court against the Hoyas. Their efforts familiarize Georgetown with how the other side will play and prepare the team to shut down dangerous opponents.

Most of the time that meant Martz was imitating a point guard, a shooting guard or a small forward. But even when trying to imitate someone else on the court, he brought something unique to the game.“One of my strengths in soccer has always been my quickness,” Martz said. “I think they were shocked that there was someone that quick. … They embraced it. They recognized it as a challenge, and they knew that it would make them better.”

Martz also accepted new challenges while he was on the court. Naturally, as a Division I athlete himself, Martz played to win, even in practice. Nevertheless, Adair praised Martz for combining his competitiveness with good sportsmanship and teamwork.

“He just goes hard from start to finish. But what I love is that, while he is competing against our players, he is encouraging them on the side. ‘Hey, this is what you can do.’ ‘You got it.’ ‘It’s okay.’ Competing now … but he also wants to lift them up in the same breath,” Adair said.Lifting the team’s spirits became an especially important job this season. Georgetown finished the regular season with a record of 4-27 overall and 2-16 in the Big East. It suffered through a 10-game losing streak in November and December and closed out the season with a 15-game skid that dated back to Jan. 11.

During a tough season, the team had asked for Martz’s off-the-court moral support from day one. At his first practice with the team, Adair asked him to address the players.

“I remember him [at the center of the court] after practice talking to our kids. Very open, very candid and just compassionate about what it means to wear the G. [He talked about] just how important this opportunity is, how important this time in their life is,” Adair said.

Martz took the soccer field 74 times in his career at Georgetown, including 21 starts his senior year. He nearly sent Georgetown to the semifinals of the NCAA College Cup with a goal against Virginia back in December that gave his team the lead until the waning seconds of the match.

However, Martz’s involvement with the women’s basketball team gave the soon-to-graduate senior an opportunity to get involved with Georgetown varsity sports in a completely new way. It allowed him to have an impact both on Shaw Field and in McDonough Arena during his time on the Hilltop. Jumping into a new sport and being a positive influence on and off the court may seem like a daunting task, especially during such a difficult season, but it was a chance that Martz came to appreciate.

“At first I [thought that] this will be a good opportunity for me to stay in shape and to play around, but it has really become something beyond that,” Martz said. “It’s become more about them … which I actually have really enjoyed.”