Top professional and collegiate athletes came together Tuesday night at the VCU Stuart C. Siegel Center to discuss their journeys to becoming successful student and professional athletes.
The diverse panel included VCU alum and baseball standout Brian Marshall, Randolph-Macon and basketball player Megan Silva, San Francisco 49ers running back Michael Robinson, VCU men’s basketball head coach Anthony Grant, Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell, VCU women’s soccer co-head coach Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak, and VCU alum and track and field athlete Tanika Brown. The event, “The Journey: On the Field and Beyond”, was sponsored by the VCU Sports Center and S&K men’s stores.
Brian Curtis, host of “Taking Issue with Brian Curtis on CBS Sports” asked panelists about their paths to success and leadership strategies. VCU basketball coach Anthony Grant said if you want to become a leader, you need to serve and help out those who may need it.
“If you want to lead, help someone else,” said Grant.
Randolph-Macon College basketball standout Megan Silva said she had a tough time being a leader because she wasn’t much of an outspoken member of the team.
“I had to step out of my comfort zone to become a leader for my team,” Silva said.
Sahaydak said being a leader is something one can learn to do. “You can learn it,” said Sahaydak. “It is not something that you are necessarily born with.”
The journey moved on to the next topic of discussion: goal setting.
Panelists discussed ways students and athletes can achieve their goals. Whether it is excelling in sports or academics, self-motivation is the key to achieving a goal.
Michael Robinson, a running back for the San Francisco 49ers and a graduate of Varina High School, said if you have a good hold on life and what you expect from it, you can accomplish anything.
“If you can grasp the concept of life and the things that you need to get there, you will achieve your goal,” Robinson said. “When you have goals, you are willing to do what you can to achieve them,” Sahaydak said.
There is the notion of redefining your goals if you know things might not work out as planned. Having other options or goals is VCU senior basketball player Calvin Roland’s strategy for success. As a child playing the game of basketball, he dreamed of playing in the NBA. Now, he wants to play overseas after earning his master’s degree, which is something he can always fall back on.
“Playing overseas will be great,” Roland said. “But if I don’t make it there, I have a master’s degree, so I can still be professional at something.”
Other topics included parental involvement in sports and academics, associating with goal-oriented people, having passion in what one does and the challenges that might come when trying to achieve goals.
The discussion ended with words of advice.
Grant encouraged all of the students to do their best.
“We can’t all be 4.0 students, but each one of you can be the best at what you do,” said Grant.
Roland gave tips on staying organized and managing time wisely.
“Get a planner and balance your time between school and sports,” Roland said.
Clarissa Gaines, a sophomore business major at VCU, said she left the discussion with a positive attitude about achieving her life goals.
“No matter what you decide to do in life, you must be passionate about it if you really want to enjoy it and achieve that goal,” Gaines said.
The discussion will be broadcast on a future episode of “Taking Issue with Brian Curtis,” which airs Thursday nights on CBS Sports’ College Sports Network.