On October 15, the Florida Gators honored the late Tom Petty, a rock and roll music icon and Gainesville native, during their football game against LSU. The ceremony was just the latest homage paid to Petty, a noted Gator fan; at every home football game since 2017, the loudspeakers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium have blared Petty’s hit song, “Won’t Back Down,” just before the beginning of the fourth quarter. The fans quickly adopted the tradition, and now, just before play begins in the fourth quarter, you can hear 90,000+ Gator fans belting out the lyrics in unison at the top of their lungs. And this got our team at Gator Collective thinking.
To succeed as a college athlete, you need to be mentally prepared for any development or situation that fate may throw at you. You need to not blink in the face of adversity. You need to… as Petty himself declares… not back down from the challenge. There may not be an easy way out of the adversity-laden situation, but you need to stand your ground and deal with the situation head-on.
How do our athletes at Gator Collective do it? Well, we asked them! These were their responses.
Colin Castleton
Men’s Basketball
“I just tell myself to not quit, don’t give up. During games, I just talk to myself, and I say: you’ve got to win, you’ve got to get to the finish line. There are a lot of people who would want to be in your position. So you’ve got to just keep fighting. If you’re down, if you’re in a hole, don’t try to get it all back at one time. And that goes for life, too. If something goes negatively, don’t let that affect the next thing you do. And just build it, brick by brick.”
Wyatt Langford
Baseball
“In the game of baseball, you’re meant to have fun. You’re meant to compete no matter what the situation is. Sometimes you have to step back and realize your situation, and realize how lucky you are to be in that situation to begin with. Don’t take anything for granted.”
Kendra Falby
Softball
“I know that if I back down, that also affects my teammates, and I would never want to put them in that kind of position. And I feel like the best part of life is doing things that people don’t think you can, and backing down means you won’t be able to achieve that.”
Will Grant
Men’s Tennis
“Two things our coach (Bryan Shelton) preaches a lot are self-talk and your attitude. In those big moments, those are the things that put you over the finish line. Sometimes you can’t control how you’re feeling or how you’re playing, but the one thing you can control is your attitude, and your attitude can dictate both how smart you play and how well you play.”
Josh Rivera
Baseball
“I think about the people who believe in me. My family members, my nephews, my baby cousins, aunts and uncles, all the people who have watched me from a young age. And I trust my work. I trust my ability with how much I’ve worked, and I know that I have a good team to support me.”
Alex Fudge
Men’s Basketball
“I just think about my why’s. My reason. I’ve been through a lot, even going back to a young age. I’ve had a lot of people in my corner from a young age— and a lot of them didn’t make it. So that’s my why. I can’t let them down.”
Jordyn Merritt
Women’s Basketball
“I say a big prayer, because my religion is very important to me. And I connect with my teammates. If I need reassurance, or if I see someone is down, I make it a point to go to my teammates and we pick each other up that way.”
Brandon Sproat
Baseball
“When times are getting tough, when things get difficult, I just remember why I’m playing this game. In times when things get rough, as a man of faith, I pray about it, and ask God for clarity, and at the end of the day, it all comes down to having fun and enjoying your time with your brothers.”
Lukas Greif
Men’s Tennis
“For me, it’s about staying as positive as you can be, and honing in on your strengths, and trying to do those to the best of your ability, and just giving it every ounce of energy you’ve got, and that way, no matter what the outcome is, you can walk away with your head held high.”
BT Riopelle
Baseball
“That’s all in my preparation, the way you prepare sets you up for success, and if you’re confident that you will be successful, you will not back down from anything.”
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