I’m sure that an overwhelming majority of people who have
chased a dream, have had times where they wished they could fast forward to the
time where their dream is realized. I am no different. I constantly wish I
could be roaming the sidelines, implementing my gameplan. I wish I could be
sitting behind my desk, in my corner office, making the major decisions that
shape a program. I wonder what it will be like at my first press conference?
What will I wear? Hell, what will I SAY?!
Ah, I’ll figure it out when I get there…
For those that don’t know me very well, music is a big part
of my life. I’m not musically gifted, but I listen to music constantly. My
favorite genre is R&B/Hip-hop, and one of my favorite artists (definitely
my favorite rapper) is Lupe Fiasco. I like Lupe not only for his great tracks,
but because he is a lyrical genius. His lyrics speak to me, and many times make
me stop and think about what I’m doing with my life.
I swear this is relevant…
Lupe has a song off of his most recent album that
illustrates my feelings of wishing to be on top. The song is called, “Until I
Get There”…
I come from a very small town in
rural Southwest Virginia (there isn’t an urban Southwest Virginia). Not a lot
of people from the town get to go on and do big things nationally. For a long
time I have tried to separate myself from my country roots to get away from the
stigma attached to the area I’m from.
If you talk with an accent,
you’re perceived as unintelligent. If you come from a small town, you don’t
belong in the city. So I distance myself from where I came from, right or
wrong.
“I’m just a little old hope with
his back against the ropes,
Fightin for his fans, and fightin
for his folks,
But the boos from the crowd can
become so loud,
If I can block em out, then I can
knock em out
And dance around the ring,
But Until then I’ll sing…”
This lyric from Lupe challenges
that notion. No matter how many miles I put between myself and where I’m from,
I will always be representing them. I will carry them with me wherever I go. I
have a lot of friends there. My family is there. And along the way, I’ve picked
up a support system who will become the fans that cheer on my teams.
So the odds are against me. I
don’t belong in the city. My thick southern accent makes me come off less
intelligent. But I’ll fight for my fans, my family, my support system. I’ll
fight for kids like me, not only in Southwest Virginia, but from small towns
everywhere, who may think that their dream is too big, or that they don’t have
the advantages that others may have.
Working as an unpaid graduate
assistant, every day is a grind. Whether you’re tracking down 19/20 year-old
kids who won’t pick up their phone, because they’re sleeping through class or a
team meeting; or you’re stuffing envelopes until your fingers bleed; you begin
to wonder if it’s worth it. Is it worth getting disrespected by some athletes
because their time is more “valuable” than yours? Is it worth it that the time
and effort you put into making their life easier is wasted when they don’t show
up?
“Imma keep it cool, Imma do me
It is what it is, and that’s how
it’s gonna be
Until I get there…
Until I get there…
Yeah I got flaws, I know I’m not
perfect,
But all the ups and downs, will
soon be worth it
When I get there…
When I get there…”
Lupe is right, it may not seem to
be worth it right now, but it soon will be…I just gotta get there…
In 6th grade, I had a
history teacher who used to always complain when my friends and I would bring
basketballs into the classroom. He always told us that there were more
important things in life, that no one ever makes it out of the area because of
basketball. I’m sure his heart was in the right place in that he wanted us to
concentrate on our studies, but the impact it had on me was just the opposite.
I couldn’t believe that someone would tell me I wasn’t going to make it…I mean,
have you seen my jumper?!
The criticism didn’t end there.
With 2 years remaining in college, I decided to break it to my parents that I
wanted to pursue coaching. They put on their best supportive face, but you
could tell there was a hint of panic in their tone (understandably…I just spent
tens of thousands of dollars on a college degree that I’ll never use).
“Well…what is your back-up
option, Drew?”
“Uhhh…I don’t have one…”
“How about taking some business
courses?”
“Mom, I’m gonna coach…”
Other times, I was chastised that
the work I was doing with basketball wasn’t actually work…but rather, I was
“playing” all day…don’t hate because my job is fun.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t say
that my entire family is now firmly on board the coaching train and they are
genuinely proud of the work I’m doing. It just wasn’t always that way.
When I worked for Virginia Tech,
I enjoyed a lot of the people there who were on staff. But there were two
individuals who made it turn out to be a less than pleasurable experience (for
the record, Coach Greenberg couldn’t have been nicer to me). I had a meeting
with one of those people after I had been with the team for a while and he told
me that coaching wasn’t for me. He told me he thought I should quit. For some
reason, I listened to him…I’ve regretted it ever since.
The point is, there have been
many instances in my life where I’ve been told straight up that I will not make
it in this business. Part of me wants to make it to the top, and then cold call
every single one of them to show them what I’ve done…
“And when I finally make it Imma
stunt so hard,
Evil as Knievel, Imma jump so far
Way up in the atmosphere, I ain’t
comin back
Be a jerk to them jerks,
Yeah, that’ll make em hurt..
Huh?! Says a young boy in the
mirror
A young version of me, so I start
to tear up
He said you need to cheer up,
Your mind need to clear up
You’re already here,
Just be yourself from here up”
Lupe is talking about looking at
yourself in the mirror and getting back to the roots of who you really are. Do
I really need to rub it in someone’s face when I make it? Will their pain or
embarrassment help further my goals in any way?
The man who caused me to quit my
job at Virginia Tech already got a dose of karma…I don’t need to pile on. What
I need to do is use their criticism to fuel the fire of making it to the top.
Use the cheers of those who want me to succeed, and the jeers of those who
don’t. Use them to my advantage, to help better myself on my way up.
“Then he disappeared and I felt
something familiar,
Something I was taught, something
I had lost…
If you are afraid, a fear that
you gonna change some,
All you gotta do is remember
where you came from”
Then it hits me…this whole time
the song isn’t about waiting until I get there. The song is about realizing
that I’m already there. I’m already starting to realize my goal. I came from
nothing. A podunk town in Podunk, VA. And now I’m with a program that is on top
of our conference and one of the better teams in the nation. If I keep waiting
until I’m at the top, I’ll never appreciate the ride. And the ride is the
majority of the battle. The everyday grind to make it in this business. What I
do now clears the way for who I’ll be in the future.
Hopefully the man I will be “when
I get there,” is appreciative of what I’m doing now, and where I’ve come from…
I know I’ve got flaws, yeah I’m
not perfect…but all the ups and downs, will soon be worth it…when I get
there…when I get there
