All collegiate athletes go to school for various reasons, but what brings them all together is the hunt for a national title. Some teams get lucky enough to battle for a title while others get hammered being in a competitive conference making that opportunity slim. While being in a competitive conference, Averett University has many different teams that compete at a high level having a chance for a national title.
One of the most successful teams within the athletics department is the wrestling team coached by Blake Roulo. He has coached various individuals with multiple national qualifiers per season for the past seven years in a row. The success that the wrestling team has had not only brings more eyes onto the mat but also a mass amount of pressure for both the coaching staff and wrestlers.
“When it comes to the pressure don’t change anything. Whether it comes to a regional tournament, national tournament, against a nationally ranked kid. You don’t change your process,” Roulo said.
Some may credit Roulo’s success to having been a former Division 1 wrestler himself, however, he explains that it doesn’t mean anything. With a unique coaching mindset, he believes that everything is a choice, and that athletes need to be aware of all that they can and cannot control.
“Wrestling is wrestling at the end of the day. You have to learn how to deal with defeat and you can’t get too up or down on a win or loss. You have to stay emotionally the same,” Roulo said.
Only so much can be said from a coach’s perspective; the coach isn’t the one who is on the mat. Senior wrestler, Anthony Taylor has been a national qualifier for two years in a row. Having been to nationals before, he has seen both the highs and lows of what comes with going to a national tournament. Even though excited to be going to nationals and getting to compete at such a high level he also sees some not so bright sides of being in the spotlight.
“My least favorite part on the other hand is the fact that I’m kind of marked and have to be on the top of my game every time I compete. The way I deal with the pressure is by remembering what I am competing for, it helps me a lot to know I’m doing this for a reason,” Taylor said.
Not only is the wrestling team at the university recognized, but the women’s tennis team is also nationally ranked, being #40 as of current standings. The team competes against a fair number of both nationally ranked and non-nationally ranked teams. Junior Elisa Batterman who plays singles believes that any team the team competes against should be played the same.
“Playing a nationally ranked team does not differ from playing a non-nationally ranked team. Both teams require the same amount of focus, energy and toughness just for different reasons. We need to be on our ‘A game’ for the nationally ranked team because we are the underdog, while the non-nationally ranked team requires it because we are ‘expected’ to win,” Batterman said.
A match is still a match at the end of the day, just as any sport is just a sport. It should not define who an athlete or person is at the end of it all. The mental side of any sport is just as important as the physicality of a player. Senior captain on the women’s tennis team Keira Gunning couldn’t agree more.
“My mental side isn’t always the best but not giving your opponent extra confidence by reacting poorly to points, especially if you’re playing a stronger team so they already have the confidence. You keep your head up and move forward,” Gunning said.
Along with women’s tennis, men’s golf has been nationally ranked for the past five years, with the team having gone to nationals in the 2023 spring season. Senior Killian O’Reilly has had an opportunity to be a part of that traveling team during his sophomore year and hopes to get a second shot this season as polls are constantly changing with every tournament.
“Dealing with pressure mentally and physically just takes years to practice. I’m personally physically healthy. I take care of myself, and I work out hard with the team. There really haven’t been many times where I was physically tired. The mental battle with pressure is a different story. I get upset when I work hard and don’t see the results and that’s just how sports works. It’s not going to change overnight. I’ve played golf for 15 years and I’m still not satisfied with my game, nor will I ever be. Smiling at the mistakes and realizing what a privilege it is to be a collegiate athlete helps me become better mentally,” O’Reilly said.
Not only does O’Reilly have a shot at going to nationals again this season, but freshman Benjamin Afzelius also has an opportunity to show his skills on the course with his debut season. This year the team is currently ranked 20th nationally, where the top 18 teams go to nationals and top 20 individual golfers compete for a chance at a national title. Being a freshman on a national ranked team comes with both the good and bad.
“My favorite part of being part of a nationally ranked team is that we get the opportunity to be in contention for playing nationals, the worst part is that only certain tournaments that we play have a strong enough field to where we can improve our team ranking,” Afzelius said.
Golf, tennis, and wrestling, all being very individually oriented, doesn’t mean that teams don’t feel the pressure as a whole. Averett’s men’s lacrosse team, being in one of the better conferences nationally, feels that pressure with every game they play. Also, having been a new program compared to those within the conference, the team just got their second conference win under their belt since joining the ODAC. Not only has this brought confidence to the players, but the coaches as well.
Having been only an eight-year program, the men’s lacrosse team is still trying to find their way through the competitiveness of the conference. Head coach Brian Habick has only been with the team for a little over a year, but the team has made tremendous strides during his time here.
“I’m a player’s coach for sure. I like to enjoy my time with the team and make the experience enjoyable. If you’re not having fun while you’re working hard, then it becomes much harder to work at that pace for longer,” Habick said.
Being a newer coach, there is a lot of pressure that comes with creating a winning team. Comparatively, other coaches within the conference have been coaching for more than double of that of Habick, but that doesn’t deter him from his ultimate goal of getting better with every game.
“Our conference has multiple coaches that will find themselves in the USA Lacrosse Hall of Fame, so how can we get closer each year to eventually add ourselves into that conversation. Consistent improvement is extremely important to ensure that. The pressure doesn’t necessarily come from the other team because we focus on us and our improvement every game,” Habick said.
Not only does Habick not feel much pressure and only motivation, but senior captain Tyler Pearson uses the pressure as fuel to not only play his best but to push his teammates to get through adversity as well.
“I absolutely love playing national ranked teams because it gives me a chance at showing that I can play at that level as well and test my skills against some of the best players in the game. I tell them we have nothing to lose but everything to gain. We can either sink in the moment or swim and show them that just because they ate rank doesn’t mean this is going to be an easy game for them, they are going to have to put their best foot forward to beat us,” Pearson said.
Being able to bring your team together during tough battles is always crucial when under the wire. In a team-oriented sport like lacrosse this is very vital unlike that of individual sports like wrestling, golf and tennis. Motivating your players, especially underclassmen is important in keeping the team momentum going.
“When motivating underclassmen before a game against a ranked opponent I tell them to focus on what they can control and play their game to the best of their ability. It can be daunting for them in their first year of college lacrosse to play such good competition, but they’re all capable of competing if everyone does their job,” junior captain, Emmett Wood said.
In the end, pressure can show up differently for everyone. The key that differentiates athletes from one another is how you deal with that pressure. Do you use it as motivation and hold your teammates accountable? Does it deter you from taking a risky opportunity and play it safe? Or do you let the pressure get the best of you, and crumble forgetting what you can actually control? Which one are you?
