Phil Kiley enlists with U.S. Coast Guard

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http://www.wickedlocal.com/medfield/new ... oast-Guard

Leap of leadership: Medfield pole-vaulter enlists with U.S. Coast Guard
By Staff reports
Fri May 08, 2009, 10:23 AM EDT
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MEDFIELD - It’s the rare athlete who fails to compete on the field of play, and still gets lauded by his coach. And then there’s Phil Kiley.
The former Medfield High School (Class of 2005) three-sports standout, now a senior at Wheaton College, has been sidelined by multiple injuries during his college track and field career. Last month, as Kiley trained to transition from sprinter to pole-vaulter, he injured his shoulder and could not compete in the conference championships.
Yet, still, Kiley’s coach, Paul Souza, is immensely impressed with his senior co-captain. “If one day years from now, someone were to burst into my office and tell me Phil Kiley had been elected President of the United States, I’d say, ‘And you’re surprised?’ He’s that kind of rare leader.”
Kiley acknowledges his interest in leadership. He enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard last year, and after graduation from Wheaton later this month he will report for advanced training in Yorktown, Virginia. “I plan to spend a few years on the enlisted side of the fence,” he says, “then I’d like to go to officer candidate school and get commissioned as an officer in the Coast Guard.”
Kiley’s interest in the Coast Guard was triggered by a domestic study program he participated in at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut. “I saw a poster on campus one day, and it seemed like a great alternative to studying abroad for a semester,” he says. “We sailed the Atlantic off the coast of Maine, spent a few days in the Louisiana bayous and a week in California - so I got a chance to travel our country instead of going somewhere else. And I met a lot of Coasties, since Mystic is right next to the Coast Guard Academy in New London.”
Coast Guard basic training, which Kiley attended last summer in Cape May, New Jersey, “was the hardest experience of my life,” he says. “I went through the best and worst times there. Physically it was all stuff that I’m conditioned to do as an athlete, but mentally it was grueling, because you start to question and doubt yourself. It always came back to the mental game.”
The determination that propelled Kiley through Coast Guard basic training has been evident to his coaches throughout his college career. “Phil exhibits characteristics that can only be described as exemplary,” says Paul Souza. “He was a star in high school, and we were expecting great things of him at Wheaton. Then it turns out he has a rare blood condition, so he couldn’t contribute athletically as we’d hoped. But that hasn’t stopped him from being a leader on this team.”
Kiley’s effort to convert from sprinter to pole-vaulter is a case in point. “He wanted to do anything he could to help his team,” Souza says. “His goal was to score just one point in our conference championship meet. He was working hard at it and picked up the vault really well; our coaches were very optimistic. Unfortunately, Phil hurt his shoulder, so he couldn’t compete.”
“You ask any track athlete what event they secretly would like to try, it’s pole vault, but few people growing up have the opportunity to do it,” Kiley says. “I’ve had rotten luck athletically, but I consider myself very fortunate to have had the chance to learn it.”
At Wheaton, Kiley’s leadership skills - and his commitment to service - have manifested themselves beyond the realm of athletics. For example, he is involved in student government, and he’s a resident advisor in the dorms. He’s a political science major, an interest he first developed in Richard DeSorgher’s government class at Medfield High School.
And, of course, Kiley’s decision to join the Coast Guard represents a significant commitment to service and leadership. “I’m currently stationed at Port Security Unit 301 on Cape Cod,” Kiley says. “I’ll spend this summer training as a Bosun’s Mate, where I’ll learn to pilot small craft used by the Coast Guard.”
Kiley’s track coach Paul Souza hears this, and looks further down the road: “Admiral Kiley?” he wonders aloud.