Greetings, cyber world.
So I originally started off this year as a two-sport athlete. The plan was to play football in the fall, then make the turn around and do baseball in the spring; It was the plan during high school, it was the plan during the summer, and it was the plan after football ended.
And that was cool.
After the kind of season that we had in football, filled with missed opportunities, countless shortcomings, and too many coulda-woulda-shoulda’s, it felt hard for me to walk away from a team that was foaming at the mouth for success. The energy in the weight room is high, the focus is unlike anything to happen in years, and the football team is gearing up, like SERIOUSLY gearing up, for a great fall 2013.
The baseball team is a hard-working, go hard or go home group of stud athletes. They will no doubt be very successful this year and in the many years to come. Coach Casey is a great man with countless years of wisdom and experience under his belt, and he knows how to run a powerhouse program.
But after thinking it through for about 2 months (going to baseball the whole time) and after discussing it with friends, family, and coaches, I decided against playing baseball in the spring so I could work out with my boys: the gridiron gang.
Now, some food for thought!
To all those potential multisport athletes out there- it is completely possible to do! I know tons of kids who do football-baseball, football-lacrosse, field hockey-softball, ice hockey-lacrosse, tennis-squash-roller derby, you name it. But if there is something to take into consideration, it’s this: college is a whole different ball game from high school. And don’t think for a second that Division III is patty cake time, show up when you want, shoot the s**t, and maybe get a win. College sports is college sports. The guys and girls that commit themselves (including me, and including you potentially) work day after day, month after month, and those who can’t do it end up falling out. AS IT SHOULD BE!
And don’t get me wrong, there is nothing better than playing a sport in college. It’s fun, the fans are awesome, and the bonds you make with your teammates are unbreakable.
My advice to the would-be multi-sporters: go with your gut. If you want it, go for it. If you think you can do it, then go out a frickin’ do it. I have the upmost respect for the 4-year, 8 varsity letter athletes.
Here’s the thing: coaches and players want their teammates to be 100% committed, with the same energy and the same goals as everyone else.
I happened to find myself in a situation where I felt drawn to one thing while going through the motions of another. The best advice I got as I struggled with what to do was this: don’t let it linger, go with your gut, and as long as you can explain yourself in a respectful way, no one will stop to think one minute that you’re a quitter. Because there is a BIG difference between walking out for selfish reasons, and stepping down in order to fully commit yourself to something else.
Words of wisdom of the day brought to you by no other than Scarface.
Read my next post to find out why.