03/09/2021
Why Oi?!
Because thirty-four years ago today, 3/8, a WALK-ON broke and set a Division I school record of 9.9 on Floor X! A good, not great, multi-sport athlete coming out of high school (football, basketball, gymnastics, and pole vaulting) with very good grades, minimal sleep, and no knowledge of the recruiting process, he naturally had a handful of schools expressing interest for football and another handful for gymnastics (even after enduring a broken leg his senior year). Lack of visibility, not knowing what to do and when to do it, led him to attend the same university as his brother. Fate, not an exhaustive search with expert knowledge about how to play “recruiting” was his guide. Through humble beginnings (a minimal academic scholarship, student loans and an embarrassing performance in his singular opportunity to compete as a freshman), he learned, persevered, trained diligently, endured, and by the grace of the ultimate COACH who is still, and will always be, undefeated, he began to evolve and eventually experience ultimate success as a collegiate student athlete. Had someone told him back in high school that he would become a DI national champion, win multiple conference championships, become a two-year team captain, earn a full ride scholarship his senior year, and become a DI coach all of which would segue into performing in five world tours professionally, including a special documentary on ESPN, he would have thought you had him mistaken for someone else! Had the alarmist (“playing sports in college is too demanding” or “too much work”) or fear-mongering souls (“you’re not going to make a living playing sports” or “your grades are more important than sports” or “what if you get injured?”) got into his head and somehow derailed his providential destiny, he would not be where he is today helping and sharing his knowledge about the “road ahead” to future college bound student athletes. That young man is now a grown adult still coaching multiple sports, a father of five of his own student athletes and has helped hundreds of high school athletes write their own success stories because of the company he started named Oi – Opportunities Through Athletics, inc. But the question was “Why Oi?” Because, to know the road ahead of you, you must ask those coming back. Life’s lessons must be experienced in order to be authentically passed along and that will always differentiate his mentorship and give you the edge over your competition! Call Oi and ask for the “founder”. Try Oi and you’ll see why! To get to the top you want to work with the top.
