From the Future: Dear First-Year Zach...

Dear First-Year Zach,

I know you're scared. I know you feel like you aren't ready for this transition, and you don't know if you're prepared to leave home yet. I know the idea of collegiate football and academics has intimidated you like nothing else in your life. Too bad. It won't get easier. You will overcome this fear and anxiety.

You will learn quickly that you connect with people easily. During your first camp as a college football player, you will meet some of the most influential people in your life from a school and football standpoint. The upperclassmen will be an anchor for you to vent, learn and most importantly, listen. These qualities will help guide you through every obstacle that presents itself. Trust me, there will be many. You will fail in football. You will fail in school. People will get sick. You will fall in love. You will feel every emotion that a human being possibly can. There's no way to prepare for it all. These obstacles will come close to breaking you, but they won't. You have your support system to thank for that, but mainly, you can attribute it to the one quality that has and always will define you as a person. RESILIENCY.

When you arrive at Lehigh as an incoming freshman, you will be at a disadvantage on the football field. Because of your shoulder surgery in the spring of senior year, participating in practice and games won't be an option. For the first time in your football career, you will have to sit and watch the opposing team, rather than fly off the ball and hit them. Coach Coen will have the talk with you, the doctor and training staff. A decision will be made to apply for a fifth year of eligibility. This means you won't be playing at all until Spring Ball. I promise you this was the best decision that could have possibly been made at the time, and you will be thankful to have an opportunity to play another year. Unfortunately, at this time, the concept of not playing will make you resent football, and what it did to your body (get used to it). As a result, you won't want to be at Lehigh, so you will visit friends at other schools when the team travels on weekends. You can't dwell on this, or it will consume you.

If it weren't for the relationships you developed early on in your freshman campaign, things might've gone very differently. Cherish and appreciate these people. Men like Wenner Nunes, Matt Lippincott and Ned Daryoush will set a standard for what it means to be a Lehigh man on and off the football field. As your tenure at Lehigh progresses, you will become a combination of them all.

The spring won't be any easier. You will be stepping on the field as a college football player for the first time, and it's going to be rough. You will be hesitant, and scared to mess up. As a result, your productivity will suffer and you will not be perceived as a good football player. Academically, you will be enrolled in rigorous courses that take a toll on you mentally. I know what you're thinking. If I'm not having success on the field, or in the classroom, how did I make it? I'm not going to sugarcoat it. This will be one of the hardest experiences of your entire life, but I need you to remember what got you to Lehigh: Your work ethic, athletic/academic ability and most importantly, your RESILIENCY.

As sophomore fall approaches, there will be a lot of pressure to perform at a high level. You will have an opportunity to prove yourself and earn a starting position on the roster. Before I get any further, I need to address something. You will have a position coach who will push you to your limits, and then he'll push even further. There will be days that you hate him, and resent him. There will be days where you question whether or not you are even good enough to play at this level, and there will be times where you want to be done with it all. This isn't an option, and if you take away one thing from Coach Sawyer, it's that he tried everyday to make you a better man. He helped you push past a threshold you never thought existed, Zach. You are a boy right now. I know you think you have it all figured out, but you don't. Brett Sawyer will make you a man, and you will be thankful for everything he teaches you.

I promise you it's worth it. I know the position change to guard mid-season isn't going to be ideal, and you will struggle to the point where you get benched. Benched?! Yes, benched. This will be your most humbling experience to date. In the weeks to come, you will watch from the sideline. The team will struggle while you struggle. There will be a giant weight on your shoulders every single day. The weight of believing you will never be good enough to play at Lehigh, and you will question whether or not you will be part of a winning team. We both certainly know that never happened at Muhlenberg. I know what you're thinking. This is why I came to Lehigh. I came to win championships. I deserve this. You don't deserve anything. Nothing is given, everything is earned; and you will come to that realization very quickly.

The season will come to a close, and the team will finish 3-8. Sounds familiar, right? It's very reminiscent of your years playing at Muhlenberg. You will be hesitant to develop a voice on the team during the offseason, but you need to trust your ability. It's cliché, but you are a natural leader. You were a two-time captain in high school for a reason. It's not out of reach to develop a role as an underclassman. You didn't produce as well as you would have hoped on the field sophomore year, so you don't think anyone will listen. You will find a role as a worker on the team, and you will do the right things…except there will be a roadblock. You will find out that you need to get your other shoulder operated on. It will be a mirror image of the surgery you had two years prior.

It sucks, but there's no time for self-pity. Nobody cares, man. People get hurt all the time. You need to grind and do everything you can to come back stronger than ever for a productive junior campaign. Remember what has gotten you this far, even if it hasn't produced the results you had hoped for. Remember your RESILIENCY.

Finally, right? You're so excited for an opportunity to come out and prove yourself during camp, and solidify that starting spot at right tackle. As the summer winds down and junior year approaches, you'll get some news. You, Nick and Ashley will meet with Dad, where he'll tell you he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. This will be one of the hardest things for you to come to terms with. Do I leave school? Do I go home to help? Dad will affirm the one and only option, and leaving Lehigh isn't it. The most important thing you can do is find success in school, and do your absolute best on the football field. Win at everything you do, every single day, FOR HIM.

You will put pressure on yourself to hide these emotions you're feeling. All I can ask is that you let others listen for once. It's your turn to need help. It's your turn to confide in others, and let them pick you up. You play the game of football because you love it, and that love originates from Dad. At some point you need to find peace with where you're at mentally. Remember, we're the same person. So right about now you're flipping me the bird, telling me to quit lecturing and get lost. I get it dude, but how you handle this situation will solidify the type of man you will be.

As much as you wish you could, there's no running away from this. You have to rally around Dad with the rest of the family. He needs you to be strong for him. Unfortunately, there will be many times when he has to be strong for you because you can't handle it, and that's OK. Yes, he's sick, but he's your father; and he's always embraced that role. Do your best every single day to make him proud. I know you will.

It's your senior year. You've been elected captain. You're a returning All-League player. You've dedicated yourself to the training staff and weight room. You had your third surgery, which was to repair a few ligaments in your ankle. Your hunger to win a Patriot League Championship has never been fiercer. The pressure you feel is normal, so take it in stride. Do the things you've always been capable of. Hold people accountable. Be a big brother to younger players. Guide them in the right direction. Embrace the idea of being the "bad guy" sometimes. Understand your role, and do everything you can to accomplish your TEAM's goals.

Eventually, when Shaf takes one final knee against Bucknell, and the clock runs out, you and the rest of the Lehigh football family will be Patriot League Champions. That feeling lasts forever. That team lasts forever. Enjoy it, but always remember how you got there in the first place. The people you met, the place that changed your life and the one thing that has always guided you to success. RESILIENCY.

Now I sit here in the spring of my senior year, fresh off my fourth surgery since I began my journey as a Mountain Hawk. I've experienced extreme highs and lows during my time here. I've met some of the most incredible people at this university, and I knew that would be the case when I verbally committed to Coach Coen in August of 2012. The last four years have primed me for what I'm about to encounter, and the obstacles I'll need to overcome with my team and family at home. I couldn't be more thankful for another opportunity to win a championship with my best friends, while competing to reach the ultimate goal of playing in the NFL. Thank you for everything, Lehigh, but it ain't over yet.

#GoHawks

Senior Zach

Lehigh University Athletics

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