I remember waking up at 5 in the morning every weekday in middle school to train before school and going straight to the gym afterwards to lift weights with my brother. Weekends I would get together with teammates to get extra work in on our own. I can’t imagine any kind of replacement for the grind that is demanded when trying to excel in a sport. Handling a difficult schedule and getting the job done have been constants for me, and that creates who I am as person.

The expectation of going to a high academic university and balancing my life was completely based on the culture of the sport and my love for competition and drive for success. As long as I’ve been playing the sport, the importance of getting a good education has always been stressed by my coaches and parents. 

 As long as I’m in college it will be necessary to go from early morning meetings and workouts to classes and back for practice in the afternoon. It will be necessary to do make-up work on the bus while traveling to games. It will also be necessary to  trust that throughout my life I approach every commitment as that same kind of challenge. 

I think finding something you’re passionate about  is such a  rare and  beautiful thing,  and football has been that for me.  And in that passion I’ve had the chance to build the foundation for my work ethic and way of approaching life. 

Clicking on the photo above will take you to an article covering Wesleyan Football’s all-conference honorees for 2025, where I’m listed as a first team player.