This feature article, written by Ryan Scott, appears on D3hoops.com.
“在30出头,澳门银河网站初级警卫说, 以赛亚书年轻, when asked how much time he spends each week focused on his primary non-academic pursuit.
That might not sound too extreme for most Division III basketball players — two hours of practice, 一周工作六天, another two hours a day in the gym or getting up shots or traveling to games.
杨的篮球准备, 然而, comes on top of these 30-plus hours he spends representing his classmates and supervising activities as Heidelberg’s student body president.
It’s not unusual for Division III athletes to be involved in a variety of pursuits. 第三部门的模式是以学生运动员为基础的, with limitations on practice and contact hours specifically designed to allow the freedom for foreign travel, 俱乐部及活动, 或者学生会. 三区要的是全面发展、会运动的学生.
There are plenty of elected officers who also suit up for a Division III basketball team, but it’s relatively rare for that person to have been OAC Rookie of the Year or, 就像这个季节一样年轻, 全国竞技队的头号得分手. The time and effort required to excel at the highest level of the sport usually means sacrificing some aspect of the college experience, 至少有一点.
“以赛亚非常注重目标,澳门银河网站校长罗伯特·亨廷顿指出, who spent decades in business before transitioning to his current role. “他很聪明。, 种类, and humble; and his competency for moving people and things to a better place is rare in people of any age, 更不用说一个20岁的大学生了.”
Young led the team in assists last year and was second as a freshman, but has transitioned to more of a scoring role this season as Tre Watkins returned from injury and Heidelberg is replacing a number of players who graduated.
“I use the same mindset on the court as in student government,杨说。, “我不会要求任何人做任何他们没见过我做的事. Example outweighs vocal leadership, but that does come later.”
杨是直言不讳的, but also pragmatic — using his student government platform to “spend student money on students.“对任何民选领导人来说，这都是一个好地方, sitting on a surplus of cash after several COVID years when they couldn’t sponsor activities. “We asked students what activities they wanted and then we’re going to sponsor them.”
即使在这种情况下，杨的合作天性依然闪耀着光芒. 他们正计划与蒂芬大学联合开展活动, 镇上的另一所学校, 并推动oac范围内的活动将学生聚集在一起. He’s also spurred diversity initiatives on campus and created a representative position specifically for student-athletes, to close the gap that occasionally exists between athletes and the rest of the student body.
杨说:“由于我的职位，我确信我是独一无二的. “But I attend as many plays and concerts as I can and encourage other athletes to do the same. 那些学生来支持篮球.”
亨廷顿补充道:“以赛亚总是处于团队模式. 这是核心价值. Either you believe in bringing people together or you don’t. 他所做的.”
到目前为止，在球场上一切都很好. Heidelberg is perhaps the most overlooked of contenders in the OAC — Marietta has name recognition while Mount Union and John Carroll return largely intact, proven rosters from last season — but that suits Young and company just fine. Sitting in a second-place tie with Mount Union entering play on Jan. 17, the Student Princes are always happy to put their heads down and get to work.
Work is something with which Young is already quite familiar. 尽管他的时间被占用了, Young is on pace to graduate with a triple major in political science, 经济学, 与犯罪学. “There’s a lot of overlap,” he notes, “So I can get it all done in four years.”
以赛亚书年轻 is just one example of the exceptional student-athletes who exist all over Division III. While there are certainly hoopers who are primarily in school to play ball, 这种情况当然没有其他级别那么普遍. 亨廷顿对此也有自己的看法.
“作为一个天真的二年级大学校长, I went to the bathroom during an OAC meeting and found myself appointed as representative to the NCAA, 我在那里担任过几个职务, 包括在总统委员会任职五年. Interacting with the national SAAC [Student Athletes Advisory Committee] I discovered there are dozens of Isaiahs out there.
“他们来自哪里并不重要, 东/西, 黑/白, 羽毛球和足球, 农村/城市, 富人和穷人, they have incredible qualifications and represent the breadth and depth of Division III student-athletes. They are not paid to play here; they choose to be here. 他们在学术上出类拔萃，他们投入自己的激情. Isaiah might be in the top 1% in terms of ability and achievement, 但像他这样的人太多了.”
Back on Earth, Young interned for Sherrod Brown, Ohio’s senior U.S. 参议员, 去年夏天, 接听电话, 与选民交谈, 还跟踪立法助理. While a fast track to Washington might be doable after graduation, Young’s current plans involve heading home to Akron to serve in local government and make a difference in his community. (I sure hope another basketball-playing, community-minded Akron native takes note.)
以赛亚书年轻 stands in for and represents the exceptional students and leaders driving your favorite team and preparing for wider leadership in the future.
After all, they are precisely what Division III basketball is all about!