Sweet friends, to say that this transition has been hard would be an understatement. Leaving behind so many things, people and places you love is never easy. Creating a new life isn’t easy. Doing it while your person is still over 450 miles away is even more difficult. But it is also wonderful.
Learning to rely on yourself for the time, is a positive thing. Feeling the love of friends and family this far away has been amazing. So many of you have loved on me and checked on me and that has been so encouraging. I have moved before, and I knew that the beginning would be lonely. I knew there would be many meals eaten alone and many nights spent by myself. It’s just a season and I am trying to make the most of it.
If I’m being 100% honest, I had no idea what to expect of this job, the university, or the people. I didn’t really know what I was walking into. I have done a version of this job for the past 11 years, but I wasn’t sure what the requirements of this job, this place and these people would be. The day I decided to accept the job, I wrote down three principles: 1) value the process 2) win the day 3) prioritize people. I promised myself that I would stay focused on those things, not get bogged down by the hard, but to find value in all of it. Friends, I stepped onto a college campus, to be a first time athletic director, in the middle of a pandemic in which this school is playing all 13 of it’s sports simultaneously with a very small staff. I knew it would be hard. But it’s also an amazing opportunity. Nowhere else, and at no other time, would I get to experience all sports for the year when hired in March. This spring is preparing me for a summer of planning and preparation for next season. If it weren’t this time, in this year, I would have waited an entire year to experience all sporting events.
Currently, I’m taking it a day at a time. I’m learning the expectations. Taking lots of notes on room for improvement opportunities. Getting to know the staff. Meeting student-athletes. Everyday I pray for grace for the day. To face the challenge of what lies ahead that day. For grace and wisdom to navigate the things I am inexperienced in. But mostly, I pray for the people; the coaches, athletes and administrators, it has been a very hard year in college athletics. We are all wearing the heaviness of this situation. All I can do is try to motivate, encourage and help as much as I can. Much love and grace for today sweet friends.
