OPINION: College athletes learn the value of perseverance

Most of us who navigated through college had to juggle a part-time job or two to help with expenses, but the demand on our time was nothing like those who choose to participate in a collegiate activity like sports, marching band, dance team or cheerleading, etc.

For those people, it’s like going to college while having a full-time job. When I did the recent article about former Creston football players Avery Fuller and Derek Paup playing in the NAIA playoffs for Benedictine College and Dordt University, respectively, I gained some insights on their daily schedules.

Both had a series of 50-minute classes on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, and fewer 90-minute classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Morning weight lifting sessions were scheduled around their academic demands.

Benedictine football meetings began around 2 p.m., followed by practices of two to three hours each day. The offensive line coach asked his crew to watch an additional 30 minutes of video review per day, which Fuller often did right after practice. Homework for an hour or two followed in the evenings, before going to bed and starting all over again the next morning.

Paup had a similar schedule, except meetings didn’t start until about 3 p.m., followed by film review and practice. Tuesday practices were held in the evening.

For both Paup and Fuller, the four-year college football journey was a test in perseverance. Paup said he dedicated his junior year spring practice to advancing on the depth chart from part-time interior pass rusher to an every-down lineman. But as the fall season unfolded, he found himself in a three-way rotation for two spots, rather than a regular starter.

Fuller had been the full-time left tackle as a sophomore with a bright future. When he suffered a medial collateral ligament tear and a fracture of his tibial plateau (where the tibia meets the femur at the knee joint), he was on a rehabilitation comeback road and never fully regained a starting role.

Both players made the best of their situation.

“It’s finding your boys in the locker room and developing that social circle, because everybody goes through it sometime,” Fuller said. “Having people you can connect with keeps you motivated to stay with them and wanting to participate. You become a brotherhood. Some of these guys will be in my wedding someday.”

Paup said the daily schedule built around classes and football commitments, including early-morning lifting sessions, is a grind that becomes manageable with a strong support system.

“You find a good group of friends who make you think, ‘I can get through this no matter what,’ even if I’m not seeing the field like I wanted,” Paup said. “They continue to encourage you. It takes a level of perseverance. And it helps when you’re winning, because you’re all working for the same thing.”

Both former Panthers gained considerable weight to play their respective positions in the line, as Fuller went from 6-5 and 225 pounds as a freshman to 270 pounds as a senior, and Paup beefed up from 6-2 and 220 pounds four years ago to 265 pounds this season. Both said it was a combination of diligence in their respective weight rooms and a disciplined approach in nutrition.

“For me, really putting on the weight came when I was cooking for myself and getting out of the college cafe,” Fuller said. “I was making stuff high in protein, high in carbohydrates. One of the big ones was my mom’s beef stroganoff. I’d cook two pounds of ground beef and a full package of noodles. I could save the leftovers for lunches the next few days.”

Paup said he focused on big meals heavy in protein and carbohydrates, without a lot of snacking on “empty” calories.

“It was a lot of chicken, burger and pasta,” he said.

Not every collegiate athlete is trying to gain 50 pounds, although many former Creston wrestlers have had to control their weight while being students in challenging programs. That’s not easy, either.

What I’m saying is, these people who make a commitment to a college sport are making all kinds of sacrifices, while competing for playing time with a lot of people like them, who were the stars of their high school team. You’re no longer the kingpin. You have to learn how to deal with setbacks and bumps in the road.

I commend those like Fuller and Paup who stick it out to the finish, earning degrees and participating even when their time on the field is less than they’d prefer. These guys aren’t making millions of dollars in NIL contracts like the Division I stars.

During spring break, Paup and other football upperclassmen are going to Monrovia, Liberia, for the One Body One Hope program helping churches and community projects.

These guys are ready to take on life’s challenges ahead.

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Email: malachy.lp@gmail.com

X: @larrypeterson