Former Titan Men's Soccer Player Glover to Carry Olympic Torch

Watch the Skype Interview with Glover

DETROIT -- University of Detroit Mercy men's soccer alumni Stephen Glover (Stafford, England/Millfield) will have the honor of carrying the Olympic flame in Cobridge, England on May 31 in preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. DetroitTitans.com had the opportunity to chat with Glover via Skype on Monday afternoon and that interview can be seen in the player above or click the link at the top of the page.

“I've known about it now since November which back then, I was excited about it but obviously it was a long way off. So now we're only a week away and I've seen the flame carried in different parts of the country already and I'm really excited and I just can't wait to get my hands on it,” said Glover who works as the Partnership Development Manager for Stafford and Stone School Sport Partnership in Stafford, England.

Glover spent three years on the men's soccer team at UDM in 1991, 1992, and 1993 after transferring to the school prior to his sophomore season. In his senior year, he helped the Titans to a 16-4-3 record in the fall of 1993 starting 17 games and serving as a tri-captain.

“When I was in college, I only thought in the immediate future about the next training session, the next game, the next season and what I was going to do soccer-wise and then it turned into soccer coaching. It was all really just because of my love for the sport so I never thought I would get involved with something like this and have such an honor given to me and such a privilege,” said Glover.

In 52 career games in the motor city, he accumulated 13 goals, including a team-high seven in 1992, along with five assists. Glover went on to graduate in the spring of 1994 with a bachelor's degree in business administration.

Mike Lupenec, who is the current women's soccer head coach at the University of Detroit Mercy served as an assistant coach with the men's team in 1991 and 1992 before taking over the reigns as women's coach for the 1993 season.

“As a coach, I noticed that Steve would sacrifice his body and he always played with heart. It doesn't surprise me about him receiving the honor to carry the torch because he was one of those players who could run around the world and never get tired. He was a gladiator and a true Titan on the soccer field.”

Glover's work now focuses on trying to get kids in school to be more active in sport and physical activities. Stafford and Stone School Sport Partnership tries to encourage two hours of physical education during school time and after school time for students every day. In Stafford, only about 20% of kids between the ages of 5 and 16 were actually doing that at the start of the program. Over a four or five year period, the program has improved that number and it is now closer to 90 percent.

Glover is also hoping to bring Detroit and Stafford together in the future with the possibility of travel abroad an option on both sides. The chance to learn and work with each other on how to promote and improve physical activity is an area he feels could be beneficial to both parties.

“I am trying to bring some school sport over to the Detroit area and compare and contrast the different  opportunities that kids get in Detroit and try and get a school representative from Detroit back to England sometime,” said Glover.

After the experience, Glover will be able to keep his torch as the flame continues on to London for the Olympic games from July 27-August 12. He is one of over 8,000 torchbearers scheduled to take part in the relay. Click here for more information on the torch and the 2012 Olympics, including previous videos of the torch relay.