Finding
the perfect student athlete balance in college life is an education in itself.
- MIGUEL R. VIERA
He
who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
- MATTHEW 13:37
Success
is a state of being. It’s knowing where
you’re going and enjoying where you are.
- ANONYMOUS
How does
one begin to even try to find balance for the life of a student athlete? That could very well be a question for the
ages. It certainly is not an easy task
to accomplish, whether you are a freshman or a fifth-year senior, also known as
the infamous super senior. Your time is
valuable, and the demands on you are at an all-time high. I was very fortunate to have been a full
scholarship football athlete at UK. The
cost was supposedly free, but little did I know what “free” meant in the big
world of college.
There is an old
saying that every economics professor in the country has said ever since
students starting lining up to take economics courses. That saying is that “There is no such thing
as a free lunch.” That could not be
truer when it came to playing football at the University of Kentucky. Little did I know that I would be putting in
much more than 40 hours a week through classes, coursework and football responsibilities. Needless to say, there were also the physical
demands on my body that would push me near the breaking point.
Without a
question, you must not only like the sport you are playing in college, but also
really love it to be successful. If you
are just going through the motions, it is my opinion that you are simply
wasting your time. In other words, just
taking up space on the team roster and claiming to be something that you are
really not. Does any student athlete
really want to look back on college ten years from the time he/she graduates
and say, “Why did I just go through the motions?” No one ever wants to sit back and reflect on
what he or she could have been in college, where they could have gone or what
could have possibly been achieved if they had been 100% committed.
That is why being
100% committed from the beginning of college was what I wanted to be all
about. The last thing I wanted to do was
look back on my college athletic career and think about how I could have done
things differently. I wanted to know
that there was not an ounce more of energy that I could have put into the game
of football or towards my academic pursuit of a bachelor‘s degree. Fortunately, for myself, I could not get
enough of the rigorous and hectic student athlete schedule. I viewed the whole process as not only an
induction into manhood but also preparation for the real world, where bills have
to be paid on a timely basis, or there are repercussions. It is a world where you and you alone should
be solely responsible for providing a roof over your head and putting food on
the table. Obtaining over a 3.0 G.P.A my
first semester was a solid academic foundation that I could surely build off of
in the future.
I am hoping that
through this chapter on finding a balance for the student athlete, you can
utilize the tools discussed below. They
are readily available to help you become successful in your college endeavors. You should enjoy the experiences that come
along the way. Not all of them are going
to be pleasant and enjoyable, but they will mold you into something that you
never possibly thought you could have become in life - a student athlete for
others to look up to and aspire to become when they grow up.
DEVELOPING PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
When I arrived at the University of Kentucky, I
wanted to surround myself with individuals who would not only help develop my
academic and athletic potential, but would also make me a better person in the
process. New experiences help transform
you from a teen into an adult during your first couple years of college. Having peers to help guide you along the way
is essential to becoming successful in your future endeavors. One thing that will get you quickly stuck in
sinking sand is to act as if you know it all and not be willing to listen to
the advice your peers give you. It never
hurts to be quick to listen and slow to speak when your peers are giving you
guidance.
There were two professional
individuals in my college career who were real difference-makers. One helped provide guidance towards matters
relating to academics, and the other was a real motivator on the football
field. I really feel blessed that they
took time out of their busy schedules to offer kind words of encouragement and
to mentor me along my college path.
The first
individual is Bob Bradley, the Associate Athletic Director for Student Services
at UK. At the time, he was the overseer
of the CATS program. The CATS program
was a real treasure for student athletes.
It opened in 1981 and was the country’s first academic center
specifically created to cater to the student athlete. This facility offers computers, tutors,
career counseling, mentoring programs and internships free of charge to the
student athlete. According to the 1997
Edition of the University of Kentucky Football Media Guide, it was so
successful from 1981 to 1997, “Kentucky has placed 171 players on the Southeastern
Conference Academic Honor Roll, more than any other league school in that
period.”
From the moment I
first met Bob Bradley, I knew that he was going to be a great mentor and an
even better friend. He always had an
open door policy and was willing to talk to me about academics and life in general. You could tell that he really cared about the
student athletes at UK and wanted to see everyone succeed. I can still remember sitting in his office
talking about investments and the kind of return a full scholarship football
player could get if he invested one-half of his $40 weekend meal money in
stocks or mutual funds. You would be
surprised how much that type of investment would grow at an annual return of 8%
over the course of four to five years.
The professional
relationship that I enjoyed with Bob gave me increased confidence in where I
was heading in my pursuit of a bachelor’s degree in Finance. The road to success can be narrow for the
student athlete who plays athletics in college, while striving to be successful
in the classroom. It really made all the
difference in the world to have someone to talk to who had seen so many student
athletes pass through those doors at CATS.
Some made the right decisions in their professional careers, and others
did not take it as seriously because of their one-sided athletic dreams. Thanks to Bob, I feel like I made the most of
my college academic experience.
The second
individual is a person that I have already briefly talked about in Chapter 3
“The Anticipated Recruiting Process”. He
is Coach Ray Dorr, the recruiting coach responsible for getting me to attend
the University of Kentucky. If ever a
person had a real zest for life and enthusiasm for the game of football, Coach
Dorr was that person. I remember one
practice when the running backs were doing monkey rolls and Coach Dorr pulled
one of the players out of the drill and took his place. He was everything you could ever ask for in a
coach and more. There was always the
element of surprise in what he was going to do next on the field to get the
players excited about practice.
Coach Dorr was a
good friend to me during my time at UK, and I will always remember him for
seeing the potential I had at the middle linebacker position. He would always encourage me in the weight
room and on the football practice field.
He took his job seriously and looked out for the players that he
recruited. He is the type of coach you
really come to respect and appreciate during your collegiate athletic career.
These two
professional relationships offered a balance to my life at college. They were mentors in the areas of academics
and athletics and helped me successfully steer down that sometimes treacherous
college path, a path full of crucial decisions to be made. College is much like the game of
Monopoly. Make the right decision and
you pass go to collect $200 dollars.
Choose the wrong decision, and you go straight to jail. It may not seem realistic to compare the
decisions a student athlete makes to getting a paycheck or going to jail. The truth is that I have seen student
athletes succeed in college to enjoy lucrative and enjoyable careers in the
business world. At the same time, I have
seen student athletes make the wrong decisions and go to jail, due to check
fraud, carrying a lethal firearm and public intoxication, to name a few
things.
SPRING PRACTICE IN FULL BLOOM
My first semester at the University of Kentucky
seemed to go by in the blink of an eye.
It was a semester full of studying and scout team duties that often left
me exhausted and ready for bed. If there
was ever a good year to be redshirted, 1994 was definitely the year. The Wildcats won the season opener against
their state rival, the Louisville Cardinals; however, they ended up losing the
remaining 10 games of the season. The
1-10 record posted in 1994 was the worst since 1982, when they lost 10 games
and tied one. Even though the Wildcats
were playing in the Peach Bowl a year before, past results never hold any
promise to future victories when it comes to football. That year the true freshman who were
redshirted watched from the stands as their Wildcats yielded to defeat 10 games
in a row. It was just the motivation to
thrive on when it was time for spring practice to begin.
Although it was
admittedly nice to be done with practices after a season that ended with 10
consecutive losses, there would be repercussions to be paid in the spring. There is not a college football team in the
country that loses that many games and have the coaches just forget about it. Failure is something to build on, and being
reminded of it presented not only an opportunity for personal growth, but also
mental toughness.
Prior to the
start of spring football practice, there was still the matter of spring
conditioning that every college football player gets to experience for
himself. I never really understood why,
but somewhere along the college football conditioning path, it was decided that
this conditioning would be done at six in the morning on Monday, Wednesday and
Fridays. In order to give yourself
sufficient time to start morning runs at 6 a.m., you would have to get up by
5:30 a.m. to get dressed at the Nutter Facility and walk over to the indoor
facility. I can still remember waking up
in the middle of the night and checking my alarm clock to make sure that I
would not miss getting there on time.
Waking up that
early can make a person do unconventional things. During my first experience with morning runs,
there was one occasion where I got up at about 3 a.m. and got dressed to go to
the Nutter Facility. For some crazy
reason my body thought it was 5:30 a.m. and it was time to do
conditioning. Once I got to the Nutter
facility to change into my workout clothes, I was confused why the doors were
locked. Luckily, the light bulb in my
head finally turned on as I looked down at my watch and realized what I had
done. I returned to the dorm to catch a
couple more hours of sleep before I really had to wake up. Looking back, I always found it funny that my
roommate did not say anything to me as I got up that early to get dressed and
head over to the football locker room.
You think he could have at least said something like, “Dude, where are
you going at 3 a.m. in the morning?”
Morning runs
typically consisted of a full hour of all out hustle. When the clock struck 6 a.m., if you were not
in line ready to perform stretches before starting some serious conditioning,
you were considered late. The players
identified as being late would come to the indoor facility on a Tuesday or
Thursday to do some special conditioning with a couple of the coaches. If you think a coach enjoys being at an
indoor facility at 6 a.m., you had better think again. The coach’s lack of enthusiasm for being
there really translated into a conditioning session that you would not forget
anytime soon.
After the players
stretched for about five minutes, the team was broken up into two separate
units. Usually the offensive players
were in one unit, and the defensive players, in the other unit. One unit would go to a series of stations
that were set up, and the members were broken up into position groups like
linebackers, secondary, defensive ends and defensive linemen. These specific stations consisted of drills
that lasted for about five minutes in duration.
One of the least favorite drills I can remember was two 2 x 4’s that
were connected together forming a cross.
This was set on the indoor turf and an orange cone was placed in the
middle of the cross. Two players would
position themselves directly opposite of each other in one of the slots created
by the cross. When the coach blew the
whistle, they would chase each other around the cone on all fours. Every time the coach blew the whistle, they
would have to change directions.
There was a
garbage can appropriately located close to this station because it was very
common for players to lose whatever they had in their stomachs from the day
before due to chasing each other around in circles. Other garbage cans were conveniently located
throughout the indoor facility to accommodate players that had to vomit. This is the type of conditioning I am talking
about here - conditioning the body to go past failure by doing what you did not
think was possible. That is exactly what
it takes to be a champion.
The other unit
would report to the track and perform a series of forty 40-yard dashes and
would have to complete each one in a specific period of time, depending upon
what position they played. Once this
group had successfully completed their running quota, the two units would swap
from the stations to 40-yard dashes or vice versa. After both units completed both portions of
the conditioning program, the sweet sound of the head coach’s whistle would
blow, and Coach Curry would gather everyone together to say a word about the
effort given before dismissing the team.
Once morning runs
were over, spring ball officially started.
The conditioning was just a tool to get the body ready to have a
successful spring practice. It is here
that your position on the depth chart is determined, and the time to show the
coaches that you have what it takes before reporting in the summer for
doubles. The NCAA regulates the number
of practices that a college football program can conduct in the spring. They are broken up into padded and unpadded
practices and spring ball usually lasts about three weeks. The last official practice was the annual
Blue and White Scrimmage held at Commonwealth Stadium and open to the fans.
Spring ball is a
time to fine-tune your skills at your position and to mature as a football
player. There are many football athletes
who make it to the college level on instincts and talent alone. Spring ball is a springboard to really become
a student of the game. For linebackers
it means understanding your gap responsibilities and pass coverage
responsibilities. The unique thing about
the linebacker position on defense is that you are equally responsible for the
run and the pass. You are called upon on
every play, and there is no such thing as an off play. When you’re the middle linebacker of a
defense, your reading and passing along the defensive signals from the
sidelines, calling the strength of the offensive formation to set the front
four defensive linemen and reading any offensive clues to provide additional
information to your teammates about the upcoming play. You are the quarterback of the defense, and
you had better be ready to bring it when a fullback is running at you full
speed or when you are called upon to blitz the quarterback at warp speed.
There can be no
second guessing yourself, and you have no other option but to be confident in
your abilities. If you are not, you are
not going to be starting on Saturday afternoons. As hard as it is for me to admit it, a lack
of confidence during spring ball was exactly my problem. In high school, I was successful on the
field, and when I got to college, I was expecting the same results right
away. The problem is that for most
players, it does not happen right away.
You have to be patient and allow yourself to mature as a player.
An opportunity to
grow in what I like to call football maturity presented itself while we were
watching the Blue and White scrimmage in our linebacker position meeting. This is where I knew that it was going to
take some time to develop into the kind of college football player that I
envisioned for myself. As we were
watching the scrimmage film, the linebacker coach was going around the room
telling everyone how many tackles they recorded. When he got to me, he said something like,
“Viera, zero tackles.” I replied by
saying, “Coach, I didn’t make one tackle.”
That is when he said, while eating his shiny red apple with a smirk on
his face, “Nope, just a couple of J.O.P’s.”
I said, “What is a J.O.P. Coach?”
After a moment of silence, he said, “Viera, that stands for ‘Jump on the
Pile’.”
I was accustomed
to making tackles in high school, but I could not even get credit for making
one lousy tackle in our final scrimmage of spring ball! It was a rough first year in football, but
quitting has never been a word in my vocabulary. I have a question for the college recruits
reading this who are looking to embark on their freshman year. Is it going to get tough your first year of
college? Without a doubt, you are going to be tested and pushed to your extreme
limits. The question is, “Are you
willing to stick it out and keep on pushing forward?” You have to believe that you are going to
succeed, because if you do not, then you have already failed. I truly believe what separates a good
football player from a great football player is not only skill and how hard
they work, but maintaining hope in fulfilling their dreams and refusing to quit
at all costs. Learning from the past and
pushing ahead full steam was just what I planned on doing.
THE OPPOSITE SEX 102
How can I possibly talk about balancing your
life in college and not bring up the opposite sex? Women take our breath away, and make us do
crazy things, even though we pretend we are stronger than steel and faster than
a speeding bullet. It is a wonder that
some of us even find time to study while expelling so much energy pursuing the
opposite sex! It is somewhat ironic that
we can suit up on the field and clash helmets with other grown men, and at the
same time, a woman can bring us to tears over a break-up. Women can fill our hearts with an
overwhelming joy, and later in a relationship, make us feel like our hearts are
going to explode into a thousand pieces.
There has to be a
balance when it comes to this aspect of your life. You have to be mindful of your athletic and
academic responsibilities while being involved in a relationship with a woman
in college. Time is of the essence when
you are a student athlete, and every minute is too indispensable to waste. You must learn to become proficient at
managing your time when a female is a part of the picture. A woman can provide comfort and support in a
meaningful relationship, but she can also become a distraction if you are only
looking for a good time.
Now this is going
to get a little personal for some of you, but I feel like this needs to be
said. A woman is to be cherished and not
simply used for your personal pleasure.
God first created Eve in the Garden of Eden to be a companion for Adam,
and not merely a sidekick that he could just treat any way he pleased. When God finished creating the Earth along
with Adam, he knew that man would need a companion like nothing else already
created. Therefore, God put Adam in a
deep sleep and used one of his ribs to create His most magnificent
creation. The reason I believe he used a
rib close to Adam’s heart is because of the special bond created in the heart
of a man and a woman in marriage. It
also shows that a woman is equal to a man and not above or below. God could have used Adam’s ear or maybe even
one of his toes but he chose a rib close to his heart.
When I attended
college, it was very apparent that some football players were involved with
women for only one thing. That one thing
was a far cry from any sort of personal relationship. Plain and simple, they were looking for sex,
and would be willing to say and do anything to get it. My dear friends, sex can be a double-edged
sword and can be most easily compared to fire.
In a marriage relationship, sex is like a fire in a fireplace. It is warm and comforting, and it is the way
that God intended for a married couple to enjoy each other. When it is done casually and carelessly, it
is like a wild forest fire that is out of control - burning and consuming everything in its
sight, because its appetite cannot be satisfied and its thirst cannot be
quenched. It is a decision that only you
can make, and I would hope that student athletes and college students alike
would take abstinence more seriously in college and life in general before
marriage.
It really should
not be a surprise to anyone why the divorce rate in the Unites States is over
50%. Casual sex is so mainstream in our
society that it is hard to watch a television program or movie these days
without some sort of sex scene or sexual innuendo. Some of the music broadcast over the radio
and sold in records stores is certainly not helping the situation. Our society wants us to think that sex is
okay outside of marriage and tries to condone it in the media with cover
stories about celebrity romances and affairs.
Perhaps you came
to college and have a girlfriend back home, or you have recently found a
girlfriend at college. Maybe your
girlfriend came to the same college to be with you. You might even be one of those guys who are
currently flying solo in college.
Whatever situation you find yourself in, the end result should be the
same. Women you meet in college should
be treated with respect and class. You
should treat them the way you would like to be treated. Someone out there right now could be dating
your future wife and hopefully they are treating and respecting her with
class. Shouldn’t we be doing the same?
SCHOOL’S NOT OUT FOR SUMMER
In high school, just about every student looks
forward to the summer. I always picture
the movie “Grease” when thinking about school being out for the summer. In the movie, the seniors at Rydell High have
their last day of classes, and everyone comes running out of the school,
screaming and throwing schoolbooks in the air.
All of a sudden, a musical breaks out with John Travolta, Olivia
Newton-John and all their friends, as they sing the “We Go Together” song at
the school fair.
College football
puts an interesting twist on your summers if you are serious about stepping it
up and competing for playing time during the upcoming season. There is always the challenge throughout your
college football career to continue to get bigger, faster and stronger during
the off-season. The summer is probably
the best time to make substantial progress in these areas. Due to players having a lighter schedule
during the summer, there is more time for lifting weights, conditioning and
eating everything in sight.
After completing
my freshman year at the University of Kentucky, it was highly encouraged for
all football players to stay on or close to campus for the summer football
training program. One thing that should
be pretty clear by now is that even though college football season starts in
the fall, preparation for the players is a year-round responsibility and a
full-time job. After having to drop
Chemistry for two semesters in a row, I decided that it would be best to stay
for summer school during the 4-week and 8-week sessions offered at the college.
Another perk about
having a full scholarship is that your room, board and tuition are not only
covered during the fall and spring semester, but also during summer
school. The expenses that were incurred
for my 4-week and 8-week courses were fully covered in my scholarship. In addition, every scholarship football
player taking summer school received a monthly stipend of around $750 to cover
living and food expenses - not a bad deal for staying at college during the
summer.
Now if there was
ever a course not to take during a 4-week class, it would be Accounting
201. The class met for two hours a day
Monday through Friday, and there was a test every Friday. The amount of material covered during each
week was mind-boggling, and by the end of the four weeks, I had nothing but
debits and credits floating around in my head.
Needless to say, it was nice when that last test came around and the
course was complete. The two 8-week
courses that consisted of Communications 101 and Economics 201 were a nice
change of pace due to not having to meet everyday. An additional 4 weeks to go over the chapters
allowed sufficient time to absorb the material being taught. After having a dose of a 4-week accounting
class, that was the first and last time I took a 4-week course in my college
career.
During my first
summer at college, my roommate and I rented a very small, one-bedroom apartment
close to campus that did not cost more than $450 a month. We were looking for somewhere not very expensive,
so we could utilize the monthly stipend allocated to us. If you had walked into our apartment, it
would not take you long to figure out why it was so cheap. The apartment basically had two rooms. The bedroom, living room and kitchen were all
connected together and due to people liking to have privacy when they are
taking care of their business; the bathroom was located in a separate
room. For two college student athletes
looking to save a little cash, it was the perfect place to stay for three
months.
Besides the
obvious studying taking place during the summer, there was still the matter of
the conditioning and weight lifting for preparation for the upcoming football
season. The man in charge of leading the
Wildcats to getting bigger, stronger and faster during the summer went by the
name of Hoss. The name designated to the
strength and conditioning coach at UK was basically a synonym for “a really big
dude.” There comes a time in every
football player’s career when you have to give respect to someone because he
deserves it. In the case of Big Hoss,
the 20-inch neck and the fact that he squatted and dead lifted barefoot
automatically created a high level of respect for the colossal-sized strength
coach among the football players.
Everyone loved having Hoss in the weight room pushing us beyond our
limits.
During my first
year at UK, I remember when the basketball players had Midnight Madness at Rupp
Arena to kick-off their new season. At
the same time, some freshman on the football team decided that it would be cool
to have a Midnight Madness of our own in the football weight room. After several freshman, including myself,
decided they were up for the challenge to lift during the middle of the night,
Big Hoss (whose heart was even bigger than he was) met us at the weight room
after midnight. The heavy metal music
was blasting on the gym radio, and the freshman players who showed up got after
it like never before in the 20,000 square foot gym. Working out in the middle of the night was a
memory that I knew would never be forgotten, especially after seeing Big Hoss
jumping in the Mosh Pit that a couple of the players created. The big man truly was a kid at heart as he
let the players push him around in the Mosh Pit in a lighthearted fashion. You could tell he not only loved his job, but
also really cared about his football players.
There did not
seem to be as many players staying for the summer during the 4-week summer
school session. The summer training
program during this period of time consisted of basically lifting four times a
week and light conditioning. It was
during the 8-week summer school session that summer training really started to
intensify and heat up. Lifting in the
weight room was very intense during this time due to the fact that every player
had a customized workout. The workouts
would require you to lift more weight each week based on your three-set max
taken on the bench, squat and power clean in the spring. The more weight you lifted for your three-set
max on these exercises in the spring correlated to pushing even more weight in
the summer.
In addition to
the heavy lifting, the summer conditioning program was geared to prepare the
players not only for the upcoming football season, but also for the run test
that had to be completed by each player when they reported to training camp in
August. The run test was a series of
sprints that had to be completed in a specified period of time based upon the
position you played. For example,
offensive linemen would not be expected to run as fast as cornerbacks or wide
receivers, so their time would be adjusted accordingly.
Preparation for
this run test and the upcoming season consisted of a wide variety of
cardiovascular conditioning exercises.
There were the obvious conditioning exercises like running sprints and
running the mile in a specified period of time, but more importantly, I was
introduced to the type of conditioning that could really take a player to the
next level. It was during this summer
that I ran stadium steps in the midday heat of July like never before. Stadium steps in a high school stadium are
one thing but when you are in a stadium that holds close to 60,000 screaming
fans, that is a totally different experience.
There were also sprints with parachutes and sprints that were run while
wearing a harness with grip handles that another player would hold onto to
offer you resistance. There were even
shuttles we ran as our midsections were encircled in a giant rubber band that
would sling us back to the starting point after stretching it to capacity.
It was a
different world of weight lifting and conditioning that I was exposed to that
summer as I participated in the 8-week summer training program. My body responded well to the physical
activities that had to be completed in the gym and under the sweltering summer
sun. I felt primed and ready to report
to training camp, weighing a very solid 225 lbs. With a year already under my belt, I was
anxious to see how the new season would unfold.
This season there were no plans to watch the games from the stands, but
to be an active participant and make my mark on UK football. I desperately wanted to hear “Viera” called
out in Commonwealth Stadium for making a tackle, and nothing was going to stand
in my way. In my mind, it was time for
all the hard work to pay off.
I’M A TRAVELING MAN IN A PROGRAM OF CHANGE
Change in a person’s life is as inevitable as
having to get out of bed in the morning.
Sometimes you just want to lie there, but eventually you get out of bed
and face the reality of a new day. This
is similar to change in a person’s life because once you are confronted with a
changing environment, you might want to avoid it or even pretend it is not
happening. Sooner or later, you
eventually have to face the music. The
redshirt freshmen who were ready to embark upon their second official year of
college football would be exposed to a changing environment that they never
could have foreseen prior to signing college football commitment letters in high
school.
After the
completion of a season that ended in a 1-10 record, there had to be changes on
the offensive coaching staff. The
pressure from alumni and fans alike resulted in offensive coaching changes that
were probably already in motion upon the completion of the prior year’s
season. The defensive coaches remained
intact, but there was a new offensive coordinator, Coach Elliot Uzelac, on the
scene from a college called Colorado University. He was the offensive coordinator at Colorado
when reputable players like Kordell Stewart, Charles Johnson and Eric Bienemy
were lighting up the scoreboards. In
addition to the new offensive coordinator, there was also a new running backs
coach from Navy. Hopefully these coaches
would provide the plays and discipline needed to rejuvenate the offense to
being a scoring threat in the SEC.
A change that no
one anticipated was when our beloved Hoss had to relinquish his duties as
strength and conditioning coach for the football team and provide his services
to other athletic sports like baseball, soccer and tennis. The big man got a raw deal, and we missed
having him work with us during the ‘95 season.
The new strength and conditioning coach, Rob Oviatt, came from Oregon
State and brought with him an assistant strength coach, who was a nutrition
specialist for the players. It was
difficult saying goodbye to Hoss but I must admit the new weight training staff
did an excellent job with the football team that year. Coach Oviatt was very precise in his training
regimen for the players and the team made impressive strength gains under his
strength and conditioning program. He
was also a coach that cared about his players and really understood the demands
student athlete’s face in academics and athletics.
After a busy
off-season spent getting stronger and faster, the defense was expected to step
it up a notch during the ‘95 season by providing the offense with the turnovers
needed to create scoring opportunities.
It was also expected to do a better job of limiting the opposing team’s
offense to minimal yardage and points scored.
It was clear in doubles that nothing less than 100% effort on the field
would be accepted by the defensive coaching staff. Pursuit drills had to nearly be perfect so
that they did not have to be repeated.
There seemed to be an intensified focus by the defensive coaching staff
to make up for the previous season.
Doubles in the
summer of ‘95 were the hottest that I can ever remember having during my
college career. It was in the mid 90’s
everyday, and some days seemed to push 100 degrees with the heat index in the
Bluegrass State. After each practice,
players would be lined up, waiting to submerge themselves in bathtubs full of
water and ice to help revitalize their aching muscles. In addition, we were drinking three to four
metrix shakes after each practice to supply our bodies with the extra calories
needed. The Russian shower was
introduced to us that year, and it became a staple after every practice. For those of you who have never heard of a
Russian shower, it consisted of turning the water as hot as you can bear on a
sore muscle like your legs or back for a short period of time. After doing this, you simply turn the water
as cold as it will go, and have the water hit the same aching body part. This would shock the body, due to the extreme
temperature change in the water, and your body would recover faster.
It was a crucial
time for players to listen to the advice given by the training staff to avoid
cramping on the field or in the locker room.
Water fountains were placed wherever players were located on the
practice field, and they were encouraged to drink water as often as they
could. Even though multiple steps were
being taken by the training staff to prevent dehydration, players were still
cramping up in high numbers. It was so
bad that numerous athletes had to be given IV’s to replenish fluids lost on the
practice field. It was like a scene out of
the sitcom, ”M.A.S.H,” when you walked into the training room. Every table had a player sitting on it with
an IV.
There were two
incidents relating to cramping during ’95 doubles that stick out in my mind for
one reason or another. The first was
when a wide receiver whose locker was close to mine cramped up right there on
the locker room floor with nothing on but his bath towel. The trainers had to come into the locker room
to massage and ice down his legs before he eventually was given an IV. The second incident was when the team was
listening to Coach Curry talk to us in the main meeting room before one of our
double practices. One of the defensive
linemen cramped up right outside the meeting room doors prior to the start of
the team meeting.
As Coach Curry
talked to us, the trainers attended to the big defensive lineman, but the
cramps were only getting worse. This was
evident to the players and coaches alike, as the defensive lineman yelled out a
long string of profanities that would make even a sailor blush. Coach Curry tried to continue with what he
was saying, but had to take a short break, due to the vulgar language coming
from the defensive lineman right outside the meeting room doors. Everyone felt bad for the defensive lineman,
but there was just something funny about the way the big man cursed about those
cramps. One thing was for certain about
those cramps, and that is that they were certainly a curse for our team during
’95 doubles.
At the end of
doubles, I found myself at third string on the depth chart for the middle
linebacker position. There were two upperclassmen
in front of me who had college game experience, but I was second string on
almost every special team. Being third
string was disappointing after working so hard during the summer, but I was
excited about being able to suit up with the team during the games and about
the prospect of getting some playing time on special teams. Unless there were injuries at the middle
linebacker position, I knew my chances of playing time there were pretty slim.
My goal of not
watching the games from the stands became a reality in the ‘95 season. The only problem was that instead of the
stands, I was watching the games from the sidelines. The first game of the year was against our
in-state rivals. The Louisville
Cardinals came to town, and there was not an empty seat in Commonwealth
Stadium. Our football team stayed at one
of the nicest hotels in Lexington on Friday night to get prepared for the big
game the following evening. Every player
who dressed for the game was issued a Wildcat warm-up outfit manufactured by
none other than Nike. The dinner Friday
night was catered by the hotel and consisted of steak, chicken and more
steak. The food being served was
absolutely incredible. It was not the
most important thing I should have been focusing on, but it was hard not to
notice, with steaks piled so high they almost looked like they were going to
tip over.
That evening the
linebackers met with our linebacker coach/defensive coordinator, and we went
over the opponents tendencies with regard to down and distance, reviewed
formation recognition and went through the different signals that would be
coming in from the sideline. After
eating a snack that was delivered before bedtime, it was lights out until the
following day. The worse part about
having an evening game is the anticipation.
The whole next day consisted of eating breakfast and lunch while going
in and out of either position meetings or team meetings. When it was finally time to head over to the
stadium, it was done first-class all the way.
The players got on the luxury buses and were police-escorted to the
stadium from the hotel. Not too many
people can say they have had a police escort somewhere, unless of course, they
were being arrested for something or rushed to the hospital.
That night the
Wildcats played a tough game, but in the end the Cardinals won by a score of
20-14. It was the first of many games
that season where I would be a spectator instead of a playmaker. In spite of having to watch the games, week
in and week out, I prepared as if my name would be called out onto the playing
field. The reality was that I was still
only a redshirt freshman. My patience
was going to have to persevere, even though it was certainly being tested. Somehow, I knew deep down inside that in the
end, it was all going to come together spectacularly and that I was going to be
a great college linebacker.
Many college
players do not get their break until they are juniors or seniors in
college. The hardest part about this
whole process is that you perform the same amount of preparation for the games,
but can only watch your teammates from the sidelines as they play under those
football lights. You are in essence an
understudy for a brilliant or not-so-brilliant actor, and are waiting for your
chance to shine in front of the anxious and excited audience. The problem is that not all actors break a
leg or get sick before their big performance so you could be waiting for a
while.
It was a season
of waiting as the two linebackers ahead of me performed on the field week in
and week out with only minor injuries.
Even more amazing, almost the whole season went by before I was finally
called to play in my first official college game on special teams. That season we traveled to Indiana, South
Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. As we played the Bulldogs in Starkville, the
special teams coach said, “Viera, get ready because you are going in.” Much to my dismay, it was only a false alarm,
because the player in front of me did not need anyone to substitute for
him. By this point, I was ready to jump
out and tackle the other team’s ball carrier if he came close to our sideline
with the football.
Usually the
players with less experience (or in my case, none) get to play in college games
when the end of the game is near, due to the score being out of reach. The problem our team had was that we were
rarely in the lead, and always seemed to be playing catch-up to our
opponent. When you play teams like
Florida, Auburn, LSU and Tennessee, there is little room for error. It was not until the second to last game of
the season that I finally stepped onto the field at Commonwealth Stadium
against the Cincinnati Bearcats. It
could not have been more than two to three plays on special teams during that
game, and from what I remember, I was just trying to hit somebody on the other
team before the referee blew his whistle.
One play was spent trying to get up off the ground due to a Bearcat
jumping on top of me after slipping on some mud.
Those were my
only highlights for the 1995 Wildcat season, and it certainly was not anything
I was going to brag about. The Wildcats
followed up the 1-10 previous season with a dismal record of 4-7. The season had its share of highlights like
our star running back running for 429 all-purpose yards in a victory over the
South Carolina Gamecocks. We even had
our share of close games like almost beating Peyton Manning and the Tennessee
Volunteers before losing 31-34. Like the
old saying goes, “close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades,” and
football was not in either of those categories.
We needed to win games and everyone could foresee more coaching changes
being made prior to the following season.
As other redshirt
freshman players played enough quarters to receive their letterman jacket after
the completion of the dismal 4-7 season, I was left with a bitter taste in my
mouth wanting so much more from the upcoming season a year away. Why couldn’t I have lettered that season? Why were things so difficult when I was
trying so hard? Looking back now, the
answer to those questions is that I just was not ready. You might be saying, “Ready for what? All you do is run around and play the
game.” My dear friends, college football
is much more than just a game, it is an institution of physically gifted
athletes who are a step away from taking it to the next level. The fact is that I just had to patiently wait
my turn to shine in the spotlight like the players before me who went through
the same waiting game. Hindsight is
always 20/20, but when I had all these feelings and emotions running through
me, at the time it was hard to try to make sense of it all. A very small taste of playing that year would
be all I could take with me into another off-season.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) How committed are you to
obtaining an education and playing your respective sport? Does your level
of commitment accurately reflect your results thus far?
2) Did mentors play a role in
your academic or athletic pursuits in high school or college? Do you
think mentors are important? If so, why?
3) Do you view failure as an
opportunity for personal growth and mental toughness?
4) Does lack of confidence seem
to be a recurring problem for students and student athletes in high school and
college? What makes us doubt our abilities? Do you think hard work,
optimism and hope build confidence?
5) Is abstinence something you
are committed to until marriage? How does knowing that someone could be
dating your future wife or husband right know impact the way you treat and
respect your significant other?
6) Do you believe that we cannot
always control our circumstances but can control the way we react to them?
7) What benefits can be derived from displaying
patience and perseverance as a student or student athlete?
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