Lehigh University Athletics
Potocnie's perseverance pays off
10/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
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Many athletes will tell you that the reason they play their sport is for the love of the game. No doubt, a cliché answer, but for Lehigh senior receiver Jimmy Potocnie, his love for competing and playing football has been his motivating force throughout his career with the Brown and White. In his first three years, Potocnie saw limited playing time at wide-receiver and was primarily a special teams player. His career beginnings challenged the reason why he continued to dedicate countless hours to the sport he grew up loving. Two-a-day practices on the grid-iron in grueling summer heat, copious amounts of hours spent studying film of the opponent; anyone would question whether it was worth dedicating his time to football when he was seeing limited game-time action. But for Potocnie, a blue-collar kid raised in a town and family that instilled the values of toughness and hard-work, quitting was never an option. Because of his dedication, work-ethic and focus, Potocnie has earned a substantial increase of playing time at his position. In his last season, he has reaped the benefits of his never-quit attitude.
A native of Whitehall Pa., Potocnie was raised in an athletic family where his parents, two brothers and sister all played sports. He began playing football in the third grade, coming up through the pee-wee and middle school systems. Eventually in his sophomore year at
“Growing up playing football with my two older brothers made me extremely competitive,” Potocnie recalls. “It was cool being able to play with them their senior year in high school and lining up alongside them each play. We always pushed each other, and I pushed myself to keep up with them and be better than them.”
A solid career for Whitehall led Potocnie east on Route 22 to play for head coach Andy Coen and the Mountain Hawks. Potocnie was not heavily recruited, but after he got a call by the Lehigh coaching staff for an official visit a week before signing day, he was excited when the opportunity to play for Lehigh was presented to him.
In his first three seasons, Potocnie was mainly a special teams player. He was apart of a talented receiving crew and was not seeing substantial playing time. However, he accepted his role and pushed himself each day in practice to become a better receiver. Compared to other receivers, what Potocnie lacked in natural ability was made up by his solid work ethic. No one was going to outwork him, and according to Coen, his work-ethic is what got Potocnie on the field.
“The one word that comes to mind when I think of Jimmy is tough. I’ve always liked his toughness and his physicality,” Coen said. “Initially in his career, his skill set as a receiver was raw, but it was his work ethic that got him on the field.”
In the off-season of his junior year, Potocnie knew that Lehigh would lose some top performers on offense to graduation, particularly at wide-receiver. So in the spring and summer prior to his senior year, he worked extremely hard on developing his body and improving his abilities as a wide-out. Potocnie would drive over to campus many days to lift with teammates and to run through drills that would improve his pass catching skills. His off-season preparation, and subsequent improvement, did not go unnoticed by the coaching staff, and in the young beginnings of this season, Potocnie has earned a considerable increase in playing time at wide receiver.
The culmination to a career and off-season of hard-work came in the September 12 game against the highly ranked Villanova Wildcats. On the field playing receiver, Potocnie eyed the ball at center. It was snapped. He ran his route. Quarterback JB Clark looked his way and delivered a pass. He caught it. It was a simple six-yard completion in a game that would eventually end in a loss for the Mountain Hawks, but the catch meant more to Potocnie than most in his career playing football at any level. It was his hardest earned catch, signifying that he had earned his keep through hours of determination and dedication in practice.
“It felt good to catch that ball against Villanova. I was trying to score, because we were getting close to the end-zone,” Potocnie recalled. “But when I came back up from the ground, I had the biggest smile on my face. A couple of my teammates knew it was my first career reception, and they met me with smiles and handshakes on the sideline.”
To this senior, his first catch was a big relief. He has since caught more passes for more yards, including a big 30 yard reception in the September 26 game against Princeton. Despite the frustrating beginnings, Potocnie’s tough attitude and grit would not lead him to quit the sport he loves.
“For me, I never thought ‘Hey, I’m not playing that much, I should just pack it in and quit,’” Potocnie said. “Being on this team with my teammates is what kept me motivated. Sophomore and junior year I did whatever I could to get on the field, and I pushed everyone in practice to make the team better. That’s what kept me going."
Potocnie realizes that his story epitomizes the idea of “for the love of the game”. Not a big speech giving person, or an overly loud motivator, this senior’s leadership is by example. An example to others that illustrates that anyone can achieve anything through hard-work and perseverance.
Story written by Kenny Burgess ‘10
