college sports, a risk worth taking
It’s early May, and most of our seniors have made their choices about where and how they’ll spend the next four years. For a few, the balancing act will include competing in intercollegiate athletics. Some are absolutely positive that they’ll have the time, energy, and talent to take their game to “the next level.” Others are not so certain.
My advice, occasionally solicited, is simple. Take a chance. If you don’t try, you’ll never know, and my guess is that you’ll always wonder.
Last October (as testimony to the fact that I have no life outside distance running), I ventured to Bridgewater College to watch the state Division III cross country championship. It was a spirited race, and most of the competitors (including Steven Banks, Collegiate class of 2002, who runs for Roanoke College) negotiated the hilly 8K course very well.
Long after the next-to-last athlete had crossed the line, however, a lad representing Shenandoah University was still trudging along and eventually finished in 56:10. Why, I wondered, was he out there enduring an ordeal for which he seemed so ill-suited? The guy, I learned upon asking, was Joe O’Hara, a freshman from Norfolk whose college plans included lacrosse. He’s 6-0, 220 pounds, hardly the classic profile of a distance runner.
“He realized he needed to get in shape,” explained his coach, Deanna Estes, “so he decided to run cross country. He knew he wouldn’t be near the rest of the pack, but he’s OK with that. He took a risk, he made a commitment, and he followed through.”
Matthew Eisenman is a member of Collegiate’s class of 2002 whom I’ll remember as much for his encouragement of younger teammates as for his success over the hurdles. This year, he’s running for Emory University. “I never would have seen myself playing a sport in college,” he said on a recent visit home, “but I enjoyed track in high school and thought I’d enjoy it in college.”
“Running for Emory is an extension of what I did in high school, only the practices are a little harder and longer and the hurdles grew three inches, but I didn’t. The best part is that it keeps me healthy and scheduled, and I've met people I wouldn't have met otherwise."
We've had our share of exceptionally talented athletes graduate from Collegiate.
Ray Easterling '68 played defensive back for the University of Richmond and later the Atlanta Falcons.
Robbie Perkins '73, who still holds our mile and 2-mile records, starred in track and cross country at Duke, won the 1983 Richmond Marathon, and placed 8th in the 10,000 meters in the 1984 Olympic Trials.
Antoinette Lucas '87 was a field hockey and lacrosse All-American at Northwestern and, as a member of the U.S. national field hockey team, has competed in one Olympics and three World Cups.
Robert Wrenn '77 starred in golf at Wake Forest, played on the PGA tour for more than a decade, and won the 1987 Buick Open.
Carter Hamill '01, a sophomore at Amherst, has earned All-American honors six times in five seasons of cross country and track and in March 2002 won the Division Ill national championship in the 5,000 meters.
Many more have left our playing fields and followed a path less tangibly rewarding, but the parallel among all of them is clear. Regardless of their skills, greater success was never preordained. They accepted the challenge. They took the risk. They trained with passion and diligence in their pursuit of excellence. They'll never wonder.
