We have all heard speeches and lessons aimed at “staying the course” and “getting down to business” with whatever endeavor we are pursuing.  These classic phrases suggest that if we put our nose to the grindstone and persevere regarding the pursuit of our goals, good things will come out of our extra efforts.  Through my experience in sports and life, I have learned that it is really a variation of these classic idioms that are true.  I believe that good things happen to those who work hard, but more importantly to those who work smart and find a way to differentiate themselves from others with similar goals.  While we may not reach the end we aim for, good things usually happens to those who make the best of their situation.

Staying the course is not always an easy endeavor.  Personally, I have let distractions get in the way of my goals far more often than I would like to admit.  These days, it is so easy to get sidetracked with texting, Facebook, Twitter, Xbox, television, the internet, and so many other things.  Very rarely do people stay productive consistently, getting through necessary responsibilities without having to fend off some sort of time-waster.

Neglecting necessary responsibilities for far too long and letting distractions take over the majority of someone’s time tends to teach one lessons “the hard way.”  I’ve actually found this to be the biggest cause of stress in my life – a lack of prioritizing responsibilities almost always leaves one unprepared.  A lack of preparation also seems to perpetuate Murphy’s Law – what can go wrong, will go wrong.  Prioritization is the number one thing I am working on as I move into the next stage of my life. Whether it applies to my search for a business career or more baseball, priorities need to be properly set.

Speaking of baseball, I received an offer to play winter ball in a placement league in Palm Springs from mid-January to mid-February.  This may be the opportunity of a lifetime, or a further distraction; I won’t know which until I go through the experience.  Simultaneously pursuing multiple options is tough for anyone, and not being 100% committed to a job search while playing baseball could prove to be difficult.

So what’s the point?  My goal is simply to offer encouragement to anyone in a situation similar to mine.  The next month will test my ability to prioritize.  While my goal is to find a job, hopefully playing baseball, I have learned from previous endeavors that “hope” is not a strategy, and that backup plans are essential.  I will give baseball everything I have while I’m in California, but will also continue the job search and “backup plan” in earnest.

Hope you all have a blessed holiday season.

Jacob Kemmerer

More on Jacob: The Journey Begins / Jacob Joins VOTB / @kemmerer11

In today’s ultra competitive society, the constant pressure to succeed consumes many of us.  Most competitive people feel pressure to get a good job, pressure to perform on that  job, pressure to succeed in one’s sport or recreational activity, pressure to perform well in school, pressure to pass that big test and do well on that big project.  While some people thrive on pressure and are actually motivated by it, many people wilt or fold when faced with a situation where a big decision or poor performance can greatly affect one’s future path.  I’ve recently faced two big pressure situations: passing my final capstone business class needed to graduate, and finding a job.

As I get closer and closer to graduation, the mounting pressure of finding a good job grows by the day.  My parents, friends, and even my girlfriend constantly ask the question “What are you doing after graduation?” and not having a good answer has become extremely frustrating.  The need to spend time on this job search and to complete my final classes has even led me to neglect this blog!  Hopefully, you all have caught up on my first two posts by now, and you are a little familiar with my story.

So what’s the importance of all this rambling about “pressure”?  I would like to think that my background in sports has prepared me to face real-life pressure situations.  As a player, and in particular as a pitcher, I’ve faced many situations that have been pressure packed.  However, I feel that my biggest accomplishments have stemmed from excelling in these situations.

Some of my proudest moments in baseball came during the state championship run that my High School team mounted during my junior year.  In our state qualifying, loser-out game, I faced a worthy opponent, with little relief available.  After 8 innings, I had tired and in the 9^th I ended up giving up a two run double, which cost us the lead.  Fortunately, my teammates picked me up and we earned a walk-off victory in the bottom of the 9th that sent us to state!

Now I faced a new kind of pressure.  As the ace of our staff, I was expected to come back on short rest to throw the first state game, even though I had thrown 135 pitches in the qualifier game.  Heading into our matchup with the 3^rd ranked team in state, I’ll admit that I was a little scared.  This team had put up some ridiculous offensive numbers, and was on a roll.  The morning of my start, I couldn’t even feel my arm.  However, a few ibuprofens, some adrenaline, and a 20 run game from our offense helped move us to the next round.  Even though we exploded offensively, I felt a great sense of accomplishment in being able to perform at a high level in a high-pressure situation while not feeling 100%.  I only gave up one run in 5 1/3 innings in this outing, even though I was spent.  The pressure to succeed was my motivation to battle.  I think that this is one of the key factors in separating the best athletes from simply good ones.

That team went on to win state against a much more highly touted team (ranked #1 in the state going into our final game) that had reportedly already picked out their state championship rings and had six players continue on to Division 1 baseball (I ended up being the only member of our team to play D1).  I’ll never forget the times with my teammates in which we were able to overcome adversity and handle high-pressure situations on the field.  We used the pressure as a motivator.   Hopefully, this and other life experiences will help in my pursuit of a job, and success in life.

Until next time,

Jacob

More on Jacob: The Journey Begins / Jacob Joins VOTB / @kemmerer11

My name is Jacob Kemmerer, and I will be writing a blog series for the Voice of the Box website.  To briefly introduce myself, I am a 22-year-old former college baseball player currently finishing up the last class of a finance degree at Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA.  I don’t want to delve to deeply into my personal background, as I will get into this more over the series of blog posts.

Because the Voice of the Box platform is geared to help create job search strategies for anyone looking to break into the sports industry, including athletes and former athletes, I saw myself as a natural fit to write for this webpage.  As my athletic career has come to a (hopefully temporary) halt while I finish my degree, I am transitioning from the sports world to the business sector and looking to start working for a living.  Ideally, my career would involve work in some major sport, as sports are my first love.  However, like many other athletes whose professional aspirations have not come to fruition, I am now facing the “real world” and looking to maximize my employment potential.  With Matt Crevin and others’ help, my ambition is to ultimately end up in a career where I both make a lot of money and get to enjoy what I do, something that I am learning can be rare in this day and age. As I am about to emerge out of college, this seems to be an especially daunting task, one I’m sure many of you are similarly about to face.

My first career goal was to become a professional baseball player.  However, like so many college seniors (especially right handed pitchers not throwing in the mid-90s, like myself) who are not considered “prospect” types, I was bypassed in the spring amateur draft.  This brought about the harsh reality that I would have to find an alternate career to replace my lifelong dream of playing major league baseball.  My view as a recent NCAA athlete has given me the insight to understand that the main concern of universities is to keep athletes eligible and in top condition to perform at the highest level possible during their tenure.   Their non-sporting future gets neglected.

The fact is that very few college athletes ever make it to the professional level.  If you are an athlete, career search guidance is pretty much non-existent, and recommendations to find summer jobs or internships in one’s desired field just doesn’t’ seem to exist.  All I was taught was how to craft a résumé, which is basically useless because my summers have all been spent playing summer baseball, and during the school year playing a sport while balancing academics is a full-time job.  The bottom line is that as a college athlete aspiring to transition to the next level, you often find yourself three-plus years behind other similar students when competing for jobs.  You have likely foregone summer jobs and internships in pursuit of your chosen sport, and you don’t likely have a good backup plan.

In light of this, I am determined not to give in and be a “flamed-out” jock that didn’t make the pros.  I will strive to be successful in whatever career field I end up in, and with some guidance from the Voice of the Box principles and a solid network of connections, I am confident that this can be achieved.  I am going to re-channel the drive that lead me to play four years of college baseball into my search for employment!

Follow me in my journey as I transition from NCAA athlete to businessman or whatever other opportunities come my way.  I promise that it will be a fun and informative ride.

Until next time,

Jacob Kemmerer

More on Jacob: Jacob Joins VOTB / Twitter