From strangers to family in one season

The tradition of success, of hard work and of determination envelops you when you are in the black and blue, and now, closing in on the end of my first semester of college, I can say that becoming a member of the Hopkins football family was one of the best decisions I made in my 19 years of life.

Arriving in early August for fall camp, I was not sure what to expect. I had developed an idea of the other freshmen who would be arriving from our messages over GroupMe, which dated back to February. I remembered brief interactions with upperclassmen I encountered during my official visit early in December.

Other than that, I was coming in almost blind. Despite expecting a rough transitional period at the start just from having to see over 80 new faces in a new locker room and in a new city, I, along with all the other freshmen, was welcomed with open arms.

We were greeted with handshakes and high-fives from the older members of the team and the coaching staff, who probed us with questions about where we were from, what position we played and how our summers had been.

As camp wore on, the strangers that once sat across us in the locker rooms had become friends, and as we became more familiar with one another, I did not feel as far away from home as I was.

Being a kid from an average sized public school in Washington, Pa., a rural suburb 40 minutes outside of Pittsburgh, I expected homesickness to be the predominant feeling I experienced throughout camp. After all, I was at a school where everyone was new. All of my friends were elsewhere, and I was the only one who chose Baltimore as my new home.

Homesickness, however, was put on the back burner as I eagerly took to the new coaching, the new environment and the new people who surrounded me.

As camp came to a close and the regular season and classes loomed, a whole new wave of nerves came unto me. How would I be able to balance a 17 credit course load with football six days a week?

At the beginning of the semester, it was rough going. Finding a routine that was comfortable and also left me with enough time to finish all of my day-to-day commitments — readings, problem sets and studies along with watching scout film on our upcoming opponents, meetings and practice — was not easy.

On top of facing such struggles and the pressure associated with being a student athlete at Hopkins, my dad had recently lost his job, my grandfather was not in good health and I had just suffered from my second concussion in almost a year.

At my most stressful times, I questioned whether this school was right for me. However, the Hopkins football family that surrounded me noticed I was struggling and came to help. Coaches, teammates and former players all contacted me, seeing what they could do.

Whether it was a lunch at Bamboo Café, a quick pep talk on the way back to the locker room after practice or getting together with a group of Hopkins guys to discuss what we were experiencing, every little bit helped me get back on my feet. Once again, I realized why I had come to love this university and felt so much passion for the football program.

It is hard to discuss the season without mentioning the accomplishments the team had this year: an undefeated regular season, a Centennial Conference championship and an appearance in the NCAA D-III playoffs. After winning only nine games over the course of my high school career, it certainly was a wonderful feeling.

It was incredible to see how hard the coaching staff prepared for our opponents going into every game. Whether we were playing a team that had yet to win a game or a team as good as the Baltimore Ravens, our coaches were prepared, and I went into every game confident that we had a game plan that would put us in to the best possible position to succeed.

Beyond the coaching staff, my fellow teammates shared the common goal of going 1-0 each week. We focused on our opponent that week and nobody else. It was a constant effort to better ourselves through competition. Even though we were always competing, the upperclassmen were more than willing to share their knowledge of the game and the techniques they had picked up and mastered over the course of their tenure here.

Whether it was a change in stance or a slight change in step, it felt great to know that I was surrounded by teammates who genuinely wanted everyone to succeed, which, in today’s sports world, can be a rarity.

I am incredibly thankful for the opportunities I have here at Hopkins, both on the field and in the classroom. I am thankful for the experiences I have had and the people I have been able to meet as a part of the Hopkins football family.

The road to championship glory is always under construction, and even just a few short weeks removed from the season, I am ready to get back on the field and work together with my teammates toward another successful season.

Pride and poise.