For athletes, nothing is more thrilling than hitting the game-winning shot, smashing a school record, or striking a batter out with the game on the line. But since only one percent of the 380,000 Division-I athletes will go on to play professionally, this means 99 percent of them must face the day when the rush of competing is no longer an option.
Steve Mellor, who swam at State from 2005-2009, was the picture of a star athlete in his time with the Pack. As a three-year captain of the swim team, he shattered three school records, was a three-time All-ACC selection and was the Wolfpack’s lone competitor at NCAA’s in 2008. Since there is no professional league swimming, Mellor’s last swim was at ACC’s in 2009.
“You think you prepare yourself for it,” Mellor said. “You tell yourself, ‘I’m ready to finish,’ but when you actually touch that wall, it hits you. It’s incredibly emotional, because you put your life and soul into this, and in a second, it’s all gone.”
Senior wrestler Taylor Cummings is also approaching the end of his athletic career, because like swimmers, wrestlers cannot go professional. Cummings has always been immersed in the culture of wrestling. He comes from a family of collegiate wrestlers and has been wrestling since fourth grade. For the first time in 12 years, he won’t be competing. But he will not stray far from the sport, as he plans to become a coach after college.
“Unfortunately, there is no professional wrestling,” Cummings said. “To be able to share the sport that I love with other people and pass along the things that I know, that will hopefully fill that void for me.”
Former N.C. State baseball player Joey Cutler was also left dealing with the void that athletics can leave. As a pitcher, he had a convincing campaign to get drafted his junior year, going 5-0 in 2008. But when he was passed over in the draft, he suddenly had to leave behind his aspirations of professional baseball. It took a little longer for Cutler to realize how different his life would be without baseball.
“At first, I didn’t miss much,” Cutler said. “Playing sports in college means your whole life is already planned out for you. There’s a lot more structure. People tell you what to do and when to do it.”
Being a college athlete requires not only a love of the sport, but also a life centered around that sport. It can sometimes take former Division I athletes longer to miss athletics because of the physical and mental strain it has taken for so long.
Senior softball player Lindsay Campana has been a dominant force on the mound for the Wolfpack. She has 49 career wins and counting, but is experiencing the toll that pitching many games will take on her pitching arm.
“It’s a good time to let my body heal because I have been doing the same repetitive motion for so many years,” Campana said.
But sooner or later, most athletes realize that the winning desire they have cherished for so long doesn’t fade away. Mellor is now a graduate assistant coach for his alma mater and said he is finding that his desire to win is hard to suppress.
“You never lose that competitive drive, you always have it,” Mellor said. “I’ve gotten into coaching, and I compare myself to other coaches.”
A lot of former athletes find a way to keep some kind of connection to their sport, whether it is through coaching or playing in recreational leagues. But for college athletes who have reached the pinnacle of amateur sports, there is something that can’t be replaced. Athletes are judged by how well they compete under pressure, so it is often difficult to adjust to the fact that they will never compete at such a high level.
“There’s a competitive aspect at practice, racing at duel meets, but ACC’s is a whole different ball game,” Mellor said. “Every single day you just pound away at practice waiting for the chance to prove yourself there.”
