From the moment I could walk, I was always around sports. Whether it was a ball in my hand or watching NASCAR as a newborn on the couch, it was clear what my life would consist of.
Although my parents were heavily involved in athletics and the sports life, my grandma on my mom’s side likes to take the credit that she introduced me to sports from day one.
We’d always spend hours in the garage or backyard playing hockey, football, baseball or soccer until it was time for bed.
To me, sports, aren’t just something you watch on television or play on the court or field. They’re a way of life.
While most people thought about day-to-day life, I thought about what college I wanted to play football at — Notre Dame or Boise State, and baseball — Texas or Florida. I thought about what I wanted my dorm room to look like and and all the cool places I would travel and play at.
Sports didn’t just teach me about teamwork, it taught me about how to live life and to be the best man that I can be.
After winning the high school football CIF Championship, I quickly decided that I wanted to play both football and baseball at the college level.
It became less of a dream in December of 2012. Sitting in my anatomy class, my teacher got a phone call from the coach’s office, and after watching so many upperclassman in years previous get these calls, I knew there was a coach who wanted to talk to me about coming to his school.
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was sitting in the office when I walked in, and it was the start of the recruiting trail that I will never forget.
In June of 2013, after two campus visits and four different university talks, I signed to play college football and baseball at Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois. I spent two years at Olivet and because of that experience met some of the greatest friends and memories.
Through the struggles of being a college student and everyday life, sports have always been there for me, even after transferring to Weber State in the fall of 2016.
It had been two years since I stepped on a diamond, but when I came to WSU I got my second chance at playing college ball.
Playing collegiate sports has brought memories and friendships that I’ll cherish forever. From playing on Saturday afternoons or under the lights on the gridiron to under the lights at Lindquist Field and in front of a rowdy, trash talking, crowd in Logan, UT, it is something I can remember forever.
Memories like never ending bus rides in the Midwest where you saw miles and miles of cornfields to a walk-off single and a home-run in Ogden that my dad finally got to see.
Sports are a grind, but the rewards are always tremendous, and the memories and lifestyle is something I can pass down to my future generations. Although my time on the field came to an end in the spring of 2019, it’ll continue on press row or up high in the press box.
