Little Things Provide a Big Payoff
10/6/2017 2:12:00 PM | Football, Student Athlete, Features
By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications
Every aspect of a team is integral to the collective success, from starting players to the scout team, video operators and more. Everyone doesn't always get the glamour, but each person has a valuable role.
Jimmy Mitchell certainly understands that concept.
"I've never been a big stat guy. I just focus on consistently doing my job," he said. "Consistently doing the right things is how I got the respect of my teammates, and it's landed me in the position I am today."
Today, Mitchell is in his fifth year with the Mountain Hawks. He's a reigning Academic All-Patriot League honoree and a current team co-captain.
In many ways, Mitchell's career has mirrored the resurgence of the Lehigh football program. The reason he's back for his fifth year is because as a freshman, he sustained a season-ending injury before his season even started.
"In high school, I had surgery on my shoulder and two weeks into (Lehigh) camp, it popped out again," he said. "It was going to keep happening unless I had surgery."
In 2013, Mitchell couldn't be on the field, but he could still contribute to the team's success.
"I dealt with the injury by embracing how I was going to be helpful for the year, which was filming," he said. "I took my filming job seriously. Without playing football, you're not as sore and you're not as tired, so it was easier to put in a little more time and effort into school, which helped me a lot during my first two semesters of college."
Mitchell made the most of his situation by truly embracing his academics. He learned to embrace every role he has… as not only an athlete, but also student.
"In football, it's easy to always be competitive because you're hitting somebody," said Mitchell. "But academically, I didn't really have much confidence my freshman year. Once I started getting into my business classes and realized I could have success, that's probably when I brought over the competitive mindset into the classroom."
Mitchell worked his way back to the field, getting into his first-career game as a sophomore vs. James Madison.
"After surgery, not being able to lift all the way until July made it really tough," he said. "I got in one game because a kid's helmet popped off and I just sprinted onto the field before Coach Roberts could find somebody else. I was itching to get on the field. It was literally one play, then Coach Roberts got me off."
Mitchell had a strong spring season leading into his junior campaign, which effectively served as the turning point in his collegiate career.
"I was able to get in and play the defense (not scout team)," he said. "I was out there having fun because I hadn't played football in a year. Missing that first year made me enjoy football a little more than in the spring; it started clicking a little better."
As a junior in 2015, Mitchell played in 10 games at backup nose guard, recording his first-career sack vs. Penn. Lehigh went from a low point of 3-8 in 2014 to 6-5 that season, in contention for a Patriot League Championship deep into November.
As a senior, Mitchell started at nose guard for the 9-3 and Patriot League Champion Mountain Hawks. He finished with 24 tackles and two sacks, helping lead a defense which came on as the year progressed. Lehigh reeled off nine straight victories to win the league title convincingly. It was a culminating moment following months of hard work, which featured many small victories that added up to the program's 11th all-time Patriot League championship.
"When we were 3-8, guys weren't always doing the right things, whether it be missing a lift or showing up late to meetings," said Mitchell. "[Director of Athletics Leadership Development] Julie Ammary sat us down and said you guys have to start doing all these little things right, which will create momentum. You won't notice you're doing them, but you'll be doing all the little things right, which will add up into the big things."
Mitchell embodies that notion. On an individual basis, Mitchell does the little things right. In turn, it helps create a positive culture within the program, which leads to team success.
"I've never been the most athletic, but I've always done what I could to perfect the technique and minimize all mental errors because I didn't have the athletic ability to make up for it," he said.
Teammates couldn't ask for a better captain than Mitchell, who leads the charge for the younger players, both on and off the field.
"Jimmy is big on doing the right things all the time and being in the right places, whether it's in the classroom, doing your work or coming to the weight room," said junior defensive lineman Julian Lynn. "Coach Roberts talks about wanting to be the hardest-working position group on the team. Jimmy works hard in everything we do, whether it's just focusing mentally, getting mental reps or doing something on the field."
"Jimmy has really helped young kids out as players and as students," said head coach Andy Coen. "That's what you want from your older guys. Do the little things and the big things take care of themselves. Jimmy really understands that."
Mitchell will take the same attitude into his career post-graduation. In his fifth year, he is working on an undergraduate accounting degree, to go with his finance degree (which he already earned).
"Finance is a very competitive field. Getting the extra credits in the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) track definitely helps," said Mitchell. "The extra year helps, not only getting an extra summer to get another internship, but also bumping up the GPA some more and getting classes that your typical finance major doesn't take. Looking down the road, I would really love to get into sales and trading, or investment banking."
Mitchell has plenty of experience in the professional world, working at several places over the summer, including First National Bank of LaGrange, Chicago American Tile Exchange and Fitch Ratings as a credit analyst. Between his academic success (which includes a 3.72 Finance GPA), experiences with several companies and all the skills learned as a football student-athlete, he will be in a strong position for success.
"We go to class all day, then there's lift at 3:30, meetings at 4:30, practice at 5:15 and we're not back until 8:00. By the time you get to the library, it's 9:00," said Mitchell. "You're already putting in these long hours where you're beat down, you're stressed, and you still need to find a way to make the most of your time because you have to sleep. You still have to wake up and do it again the next day.
"A lot of those characteristics are things I'm going to push in interviews and bring to the workplace - time management, stress management and a good academic performance."
There's no doubt, Mitchell puts 100 percent into everything he does. He embraces doing his job well, even if it doesn't always come with the fame, and he expects the same from his teammates.
"Sometimes, I still get on the film guys if they're doing a poor job," said Mitchell. "I've been in your spot. Make sure you go up there for your two hours and you're doing it well. That goes throughout the entire team. A lot of the freshmen don't travel, but they have valuable roles as scout players.
"It's about doing the little things that build up into the big things, like winning a championship."
Every aspect of a team is integral to the collective success, from starting players to the scout team, video operators and more. Everyone doesn't always get the glamour, but each person has a valuable role.
Jimmy Mitchell certainly understands that concept.
"I've never been a big stat guy. I just focus on consistently doing my job," he said. "Consistently doing the right things is how I got the respect of my teammates, and it's landed me in the position I am today."
Today, Mitchell is in his fifth year with the Mountain Hawks. He's a reigning Academic All-Patriot League honoree and a current team co-captain.
In many ways, Mitchell's career has mirrored the resurgence of the Lehigh football program. The reason he's back for his fifth year is because as a freshman, he sustained a season-ending injury before his season even started.
"In high school, I had surgery on my shoulder and two weeks into (Lehigh) camp, it popped out again," he said. "It was going to keep happening unless I had surgery."
In 2013, Mitchell couldn't be on the field, but he could still contribute to the team's success.
"I dealt with the injury by embracing how I was going to be helpful for the year, which was filming," he said. "I took my filming job seriously. Without playing football, you're not as sore and you're not as tired, so it was easier to put in a little more time and effort into school, which helped me a lot during my first two semesters of college."
Mitchell made the most of his situation by truly embracing his academics. He learned to embrace every role he has… as not only an athlete, but also student.
"In football, it's easy to always be competitive because you're hitting somebody," said Mitchell. "But academically, I didn't really have much confidence my freshman year. Once I started getting into my business classes and realized I could have success, that's probably when I brought over the competitive mindset into the classroom."
Mitchell worked his way back to the field, getting into his first-career game as a sophomore vs. James Madison.
"After surgery, not being able to lift all the way until July made it really tough," he said. "I got in one game because a kid's helmet popped off and I just sprinted onto the field before Coach Roberts could find somebody else. I was itching to get on the field. It was literally one play, then Coach Roberts got me off."
Mitchell had a strong spring season leading into his junior campaign, which effectively served as the turning point in his collegiate career.
"I was able to get in and play the defense (not scout team)," he said. "I was out there having fun because I hadn't played football in a year. Missing that first year made me enjoy football a little more than in the spring; it started clicking a little better."
As a junior in 2015, Mitchell played in 10 games at backup nose guard, recording his first-career sack vs. Penn. Lehigh went from a low point of 3-8 in 2014 to 6-5 that season, in contention for a Patriot League Championship deep into November.
As a senior, Mitchell started at nose guard for the 9-3 and Patriot League Champion Mountain Hawks. He finished with 24 tackles and two sacks, helping lead a defense which came on as the year progressed. Lehigh reeled off nine straight victories to win the league title convincingly. It was a culminating moment following months of hard work, which featured many small victories that added up to the program's 11th all-time Patriot League championship.
"When we were 3-8, guys weren't always doing the right things, whether it be missing a lift or showing up late to meetings," said Mitchell. "[Director of Athletics Leadership Development] Julie Ammary sat us down and said you guys have to start doing all these little things right, which will create momentum. You won't notice you're doing them, but you'll be doing all the little things right, which will add up into the big things."
Mitchell embodies that notion. On an individual basis, Mitchell does the little things right. In turn, it helps create a positive culture within the program, which leads to team success.
"I've never been the most athletic, but I've always done what I could to perfect the technique and minimize all mental errors because I didn't have the athletic ability to make up for it," he said.
Teammates couldn't ask for a better captain than Mitchell, who leads the charge for the younger players, both on and off the field.
"Jimmy is big on doing the right things all the time and being in the right places, whether it's in the classroom, doing your work or coming to the weight room," said junior defensive lineman Julian Lynn. "Coach Roberts talks about wanting to be the hardest-working position group on the team. Jimmy works hard in everything we do, whether it's just focusing mentally, getting mental reps or doing something on the field."
"Jimmy has really helped young kids out as players and as students," said head coach Andy Coen. "That's what you want from your older guys. Do the little things and the big things take care of themselves. Jimmy really understands that."
Mitchell will take the same attitude into his career post-graduation. In his fifth year, he is working on an undergraduate accounting degree, to go with his finance degree (which he already earned).
"Finance is a very competitive field. Getting the extra credits in the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) track definitely helps," said Mitchell. "The extra year helps, not only getting an extra summer to get another internship, but also bumping up the GPA some more and getting classes that your typical finance major doesn't take. Looking down the road, I would really love to get into sales and trading, or investment banking."
Mitchell has plenty of experience in the professional world, working at several places over the summer, including First National Bank of LaGrange, Chicago American Tile Exchange and Fitch Ratings as a credit analyst. Between his academic success (which includes a 3.72 Finance GPA), experiences with several companies and all the skills learned as a football student-athlete, he will be in a strong position for success.
"We go to class all day, then there's lift at 3:30, meetings at 4:30, practice at 5:15 and we're not back until 8:00. By the time you get to the library, it's 9:00," said Mitchell. "You're already putting in these long hours where you're beat down, you're stressed, and you still need to find a way to make the most of your time because you have to sleep. You still have to wake up and do it again the next day.
"A lot of those characteristics are things I'm going to push in interviews and bring to the workplace - time management, stress management and a good academic performance."
There's no doubt, Mitchell puts 100 percent into everything he does. He embraces doing his job well, even if it doesn't always come with the fame, and he expects the same from his teammates.
"Sometimes, I still get on the film guys if they're doing a poor job," said Mitchell. "I've been in your spot. Make sure you go up there for your two hours and you're doing it well. That goes throughout the entire team. A lot of the freshmen don't travel, but they have valuable roles as scout players.
"It's about doing the little things that build up into the big things, like winning a championship."
Players Mentioned
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