Home Sickness

The summer is really slow here at Pierpont accept for the arrival of many of the new athletes. Due to WVU being a Division I school many of them were at the top of their high school teams and were stars on and off the playing fields. For our football and basketball players many were recruited by several schools. In the recruitment process they were treated like a king or a queen in hopes that they would to commit to WVU. They then arrive on campus days after graduating from high school from all over the country and see what the new world they have entered is all about.

Gone are they days of being Number One. They enter the training rooms and work with coaching staffs that comprise Division I sports. Although most of these individuals are caring people they have also been given the task to assist these athletes in being the most competitive players they can be. I have heard grumblings of aches, pains, and making weight. I talk to them about taking this opportunity to grow both as an athlete but more importantly a student. Although many are aware of the opportunity they have been given they still struggle with many of the same issues as the overall student body does. One of these issues is home sickness.

This summer many of the new arrivals have been home sick. In the Fall when students are confronted with home sickness we talk to them about all the wonderful happenings going on here and how if they go out they can be a part of it all. In the summer this is a harder sell as Morgantown is focused more on families and not as much about students. Many of the athletes have been here since May and have already completed six credit hours. To convince them that in just a few short weeks Morgantown will go through a metamorphosis is difficult. I smile, conjole, and talk to them about what is to come. I also inquire about classes and continually ask how their days are going. At times this is met with trepidation while other times it is greeted with a smile.

Brian and I have the unique opportunity to also watch the metamorphosis of these student athletes. Yes, some enter as individuals we know we will be cheering for in the near future while others are looking to be the next star. They all are 18 or 19 and still have the same fears about how they are going to navigate it all. They are also not a group that easily wants to show their inabilities. It is our job to create an environment in which they can share their thoughts with us and be free to ask the questions they need answered.

Last summer friends of mine were here and we had a BBQ in which many of the student athletes attended. When the large new linemen for the football team were all laughing about farts my friend smile and said, "they are just man-boys." It has been our pleasure and will continue to be to watch these man-boys and girl-girls grow into men and women. Home sick, happy, sad, sick, or tired we just work with them to assist them is seeing what the future can hold if they access all the support available to them.