College

I played JUCO ball for a year. The season had ended and I stayed up one night past 3 in the morning betting on myself - putting together my tape, drafting up an email about my athletic numbers, my academic standing, and sent it out to a combination of three dozen or so DI and DII schools.

Soon after, around 5:30am, I woke up to about seven responses. The first response came at 5:01am from the head coach of a small DI school in West Virginia. A couple hours later, I had just over two dozen responses. A couple weeks later, even my dream school, the University of Oregon, offered me an opportunity to join the program.

It was very clear to me I had been right about my place in the game and had built a successful daily personal plan that put me in front of opportunities that I always knew I could have if I was mentally filtered, disciplined, and committed to the process.

It was surreal. But known…

“I had to become someone before I was something.”

I ultimately chose a DII school where I felt I had my best opportunity to make an immediate impact.

I was wrong.

I battled injuries from day one at the university pulling my hip flexor in my very first practice that led to other injuries. A year later, an extensively torn labrum that required surgery and put me out a full season. I came back the following year and was entirely lost in the fold.

I lost my fire and myself in a game I still loved. Finding a way to the next level from the circumstances seemed like it would require a miracle.