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

Dear First-Year Matt,

The date is February 14th, 2016. It's Valentine's Day, but love is NOT in the air. Lehigh Wrestling is taking on Bloomsburg and honoring their senior Mountain Hawks. The first five weight classes have dismantled the Huskies, and this is where YOU step in. YOU, the next man up after an injury and several more qualified wrestlers taking their redshirt years, are the starting 165-pounder for the Lehigh Mountain Hawks today. Notice that last sentence doesn't say starting center-fielder, nor lead-off batter…

That life has long passed.

You're standing there nervously bouncing from one foot to the other, chest tight, palms sweaty in a white and brown singlet that doesn't quite fit right around your torso. You're waiting for your role model of a coach to wave you on out to the mat to keep the shutout in tact and avoid taking your second loss in as many matches. He'll say something to you, but the noise in your head prevents you from hearing his final advice. The crowd, nearly 2,000 strong and proudly supporting their Brown and White, are settling back in their intimate Grace Hall seats after intermission. Fix straps. Shake loose. Inhale, exhale. You take a step onto the starting line against the opponent from Bloomsburg. You don't know who he is, and he sure as hell doesn't know who you are, but the whistle sounds and that noise in your head goes silent.

The crowd disappears and you're in total focus anticipating an opening to score. Should've anticipated a little quicker, giving up an early takedown. Don't panic, just get out. You turn it around with an escape to a takedown of your own to end the first period up 3-2. Starting the second period on top, you resort to the only breakdown you've known how to use since your Uncle Doug taught it to you in middle school, and somehow turn this kid to his back. He's gonna go. You see the chance to finish the match, and take it.

The next thing you hear is the loud slap of the mat. You slowly get back to your feet, standing there stunned when reality hits you. Grace Hall stands up with you in a round of applause as you flash your family a smile on the far side of the arena, and try to keep your cool with your hand raised. You run over towards the man who gave you this opportunity, no regard for holding back a smile now, and return the firm handshake he gave you before the match. Never have you been more proud to be a part of something as special as this program. Less than an hour later, your teammates finish the job. You are part of the most dominant Lehigh wrestling win in school history, 54-0.

Yes, this is your life.

Matt, take everything you think you know about the way life works and throw it in the garbage. Take every assumption you have about what it takes to be successful in school, on the baseball field, and in your personal life and throw it out. Take the plan you've mapped out for your future and toss it out with the rest. You barely know your 19 year-old self.

Before college, life was simple, life was easy, and life was good; but part of growing up is enduring unforeseen challenges that force you to learn the hard way. Over the course of your college career, there will be red flag after red flag telling you "you're headed in the wrong direction!" You will have to work at focusing on improving in each facet of life day in and day out. Writing to you now, I can tell you this isn't just a four-year growth process, but one that lasts a lifetime. Lucky for you, you're going to meet some awesome people that inspire you to be the best person you can possibly be.

Let's walk through this together one year at a time. I've included words of advice. Listen.

Year 1: Just Happy to be Here

I was the last recruit in Coach Leary's 10-man class for the Lehigh Baseball team; a business school student without a clue what it means for assets to equal liabilities and stockholders' equity.

Luckily, my roommate Pat became my best friend. I got used to him not being able to sit still for the entire Sunday Night Football game, and says he's gotten used to my snoring. (He has not and will never).

I got through my first year of business classes by the skin of my teeth, fully adopting the mantra of "C's get degrees". Do not do this. Set a precedence of excellence for yourself.

Adjusting to the demands of college baseball took the full year, and what I lacked in playing ability at the D1 level, I made up for in desire to be a great teammate. I didn't travel with the team that year, but I followed every pitch of every game praying for the guys to perform at the level I know they could. Spend those idle weekends at the field or in the library. Can't skip the work and expect to yield results. I learned:

"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail."

Year 2: Lost and Found

Sophomore year began in the friendly confines of Trembley 55. I moved in with Pat, John, and Spencer as roommates that fall... they have kept life very interesting for the past three years and hopefully will for many years to come. I had some better performances on the diamond once the Brown and White series kicked off. The best part of it all was playing beside my brother. There is nothing cooler than that, I promise you.

Despite my absolute best efforts, this phase did not last too long. My baseball career came to an end when I was cut from the team. Be appreciative for the opportunity while you have it. The guys I had come to know like family would leave for practice while I waited at the door for them to come home… the same way the dogs do when Mom goes out for a run. College life as I'd known it, changed drastically...and two weeks later it did another 180-degree turn when my phone started to ring...

...It was Pat Santoro. He wanted me to be a member of one of the most storied wrestling programs in the country. Yes, your math is correct. At this point I really was two years removed since my last time on the mat. I was faced with an incredible personal dilemma... enjoy what my new, carefree college life could be… OR… take a chance to be a part of something much bigger than myself. Have faith in your abilities.

I didn't know it yet, but I just signed up for the most rigorous coursework Lehigh has to offer, and the professor guiding me through it day by day was Coach Pat. Nate is a pretty good guy to follow as well, just saying. A few weeks after that, I became Lehigh's newest engineering major. Run for your life. I only succeeded in one of these two new ventures.

When wrestling season ended and spring came around, and I spent every weekend watching the baseball boys in Brown and White claw their way to a Patriot League Championship out on the diamond. I cried tears of joy in those Annapolis bleachers. The pride I had in my guys overcame any personal regret I had about my baseball career. I heard:

"When you walk into a room, you either bring energy or you take it. Only you can decide what kind of person you're going to be."

Year 3: Change is Constant

Engineering is hard. Everyone knows, "where there's smoke, there's fire," yet I stepped into another full semester of Civil Engineering courses. Unsurprisingly to most, I failed again. You are not alone. Despite my best efforts, I was forced to set a new path for myself knowing it's another life changing endeavor I had no choice but to take on. Back to the business school I went. Make sure Mom and Dad know how much you appreciate them and all that they do for you.

And then one day, somehow, some way, I was the next man up in the Lehigh wrestling line up. I'd put the time in, I'd done the work, and I'd been prepared by the best in the country, but the confidence in myself eluded me when the day came to step on the mat for the first time in Grace Hall. Embrace the opportunity. I took a beating by the American University wrestler, and felt like a dog with its tail between its legs afterwards. That feeling stuck until the next time I walked out onto the mat, which is where this letter began. Get back to work.

I found myself in a new role as Co-Captain of the Student Athlete Council. A role that required the boundary of my comfort zone to be pushed once again; a role that I used to make a positive impact on those in the very community I came to love. Jack said:

"People don't remember things, people remember moments. Create moments and you will be remembered forever."

Year 4: It Will All Work Out

Senior year arrived in the fall. I'd gotten a better grip on things, sort of. I was a Finance major, a field of study that would provide a great job and steady career to provide for my future family. Everything was great...except for the fact that my future job would require me to crunch numbers and do math most of the day… except for the fact that I not only hate numbers, but also am not very good at using them (See Year 1, Year 2, Year 3). Run for your life Part 2.

This spring, I may have set the record for latest major change in Lehigh's long history. Welcome to Marketing, where I have found more words than numbers. At this point, my academic experience was laughable to most, so I joined the crowd in appreciating how difficult I made life for myself. Continue to put the work in to succeed anyway.

There weren't any Cinderella stories for me this past wrestling season, but as I watched my team grow together through each high and low of the winter months I felt an incredible sense of pride in what we'd accomplished together. Despite knowing this since wrestling for the Little Zephs, Darian is as talented a wrestler as any I've ever seen. Coach Pat will tell you,

"Your direction, not intention, will determine your destination."

I've witnessed where talent meets hard work, and where those I've put my faith in stand in their greatest moments of adversity and doubt. I am still waiting to see where the investment in myself will pay its dividend, but I know who has stood beside me through it all, carrying me through the finish line with all the love and support they have to give.

The road to where we are now has its bumps and dead-ends. If you make a conscious effort to always do the right thing, everything will work out in the end.

I'm a different kid now, and I've got one hell of a story to tell, and it's one we should be proud of.

Best,
Senior Matt

Lehigh University Athletics

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