Arriving On Campus

I am a 5th year senior but it took me my whole freshman and sophomore year before I really grasped the concept of being a student-athlete. Before college I grew up in a small town in Indiana. Evansville is the birthplace of former Yankee Don Mattingly but other than that it is pretty much just another dot on a map.  I grew up as the youngest of three but my siblings are 10 and 12 years older. By the time I was a teenager my brother and sister had already moved out and my parents didn't go to college so I didn't have anyone to talk to about it. My motivation for writing this blog is that nothing prepared me for college or being a student-athlete and maybe I can help someone else.
 When I arrived on campus as an 18 year old kid I had no idea what to expect. I didn't know anyone except for a few teammates I met on my recruiting trip and thanks to facebook I kept in contact with a couple guys. During the fall, lift and run is at 6:15 in the morning and practice is at 2:30 and classes were between. College is completely different from high school in the sense that many professors don't take attendance so I took this as a reason to stay in my room and nap before practice. This was probably the worst mistake I made because although professors don't take attendance they know who you are (when you are 6'3'' 225 and have red hair you tend to stand out).  Needless to say I finished my first semester on academic probation with a 1.6 GPA, barely eligible, in the doghouse with my coach, and the laugh of the locker room. The most important thing I have realized is the guy that works hard in the classroom is the same guy that works hard in the weight room and on the field and the easiest way to earn the respect of your teammates is being known as a hard worker.