Ask an Athlete: What Advice Would You Give to Your Younger Self?
by Madison Pitsch
You see them on the court, in the field and on the course, but do you really know them? It is our mission to introduce you to Concordia’s athletes and their shining personalities and funny stories.
This month we asked athletes, “What advice would you give to your younger self?”
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- Junior Autumn Owens, softball: “The advice I would give my younger self would be (that) later on in life we run into some obstacles that we can choose to let break us down or we can choose to barrel through them and keep going. Bottom line is: put in the work today to be better tomorrow, because it will definitely pay off.”
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- Sophomore Grant Suchanek, golf: “Be patient and pay attention to the upperclassmen’s advice. You can learn how to handle different situations from the older athletes who have been in the same situations and dealt with the same adversity.”
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- Freshman Alex Kaldahl, tennis: “If I could convince myself of anything, it would be to get more sleep. I usually would get three to five hours a night, and it really hindered my progress in all areas of my life.”
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- Senior Devin Bettmann, baseball: “If I had to give advice to my freshman self, I would’ve said be more selfless, bought-in and focused. Selfless because at my high school, which was on the larger end, athletics were all about getting better for yourself, not the team. The quicker everyone is selfless and playing for the teammates next them, the quicker the team can become great. Selflessness also goes into buying into and trusting your coaches and teammates. As Kaleb Geiger says ‘you’re either on the bus or you’re under it.’ Lastly, I wish I was more focused from the beginning. This goes with being bought-in as well. Freshman year I thought I was focused, but now as a senior I realize that I was not focused on my process as an athlete or student. By focused I mean focused on every repetition. Because if you aren’t focused and don’t have a purpose on every repetition, then you’re just wasting your time. Enjoy the teammates and the game everyday because you never know when your last practice or game will be.”
