President greets IU soccer team

Pat Yates began his IU career as a walk-on in 2001. He ended it Friday on a stage in the East Room of the White House with President Bush.\nThe IU men's soccer team and three other NCAA champions presented President Bush with a jersey from their championship seasons. The Fort Wayne native gave Bush a cream colored jersey along with a IU soccer scarf.\nFormer IU men's soccer player and fellow Fort Wayne native Drew Shinabarger presented Bush with a crimson jersey a year ago after the team won the national title in former IU coach Jerry Yeagley's final season.\n"I wasn't that nervous," Yates said. "I was just joking around a lot. It was a great honor to meet the President and to be our team representative. As far as meeting Bush goes, he is a good guy. Going there makes you realize he doesn't have to do things like this especially since it isn't (a presidential) election year." \nThe Hoosiers were the first team Bush honored in his speech. Bush joked about the Hoosiers making back-to-back trips to the White House, alluding to his own back-to-back trip as Bush won re-election in November 2004.\nBush briefly described the Hoosiers championship game versus the University of California-Santa Barbara in which IU defeated the Gauchos in penalty kicks to claim the program's seventh national title. He followed his description by poking fun at IU coach Mike Freitag's ability to pull out the victory as a rookie head coach.\n"One of the interesting things, when the coach made the decision on the back-to-back championship -- he said, if we win, the team can go ahead and shave his head," Bush said. "That's something we don't want to get started here in the White House."\nFreitag made a pact with the team after IU lost to Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament that if the Hoosiers won the national title, he would shave his head. Freitag followed through with his promise in January at a reception at Assembly Hall honoring the champions.\nIn addition to the jersey and scarf, the IU soccer program purchased a water buffalo in honor of the President and first lady Laura Bush. A family overseas will receive the water buffalo to provide for a better living. The donation was made through Heifer Project International -- a non-profit organization that alleviates hunger, poverty and environmental degradation through gifts of food and income-producing farm animals and training.\nBush also acknowledged the Hoosiers for their efforts in volunteering for the Monroe County Youth Soccer program in addition to going to elementary schools in Bloomington. \nStopping by the White House to meet with the President was not the only tour stop the team made in the nation's capital. The Hoosiers traveled to the Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial -- which opened in the time between IU's last stop in Washington, D.C. and Friday's visit.\n"This year was better because we got to do a few more things than just being in the White House," said IU senior Jordan Chirico. "We got a tour of the house, and we got to see something cool of him taking off in his helicopter and walking out with his wife. This year he actually spent more time with us chatting because last year he was on a tighter time schedule"