Entry #1 - 9/1/03

After three days into my fifth academic year at East Tennessee State, I have decided to begin a journal for the fall season. This will definitely be a difficult task for someone with my literary ability, but I thought that maybe that someone might be interested in what is going on inside our program and in the head of the head coach. So at least once a week, and maybe more often than that, I will send my thoughts and views to Mr. Matt Snellings in our Sports Information Department. I apologize in advance for my grammatical errors and to all those I will offend.

If all goes well then maybe I'll continue throughout the school year. We will just have to see how it goes. I have always been a firm believer in communicating with the parents of our players and hopefully this will give them a little better insight of what is going on inside our program. I've been around young kids long enough to know that basically they will tell their parents information on what they think is a need to know basis. I'm sure that is how I was when I was a teenager. I also hope that our fans, former players and friends of our program will also be interested and maybe it will bring them even closer to our organization.

The beginning of the school year is such an exciting time. Walking around campus yesterday I could feel a "buzz" in the air. The anxiety of our new players stepping on campus for the first time, along with our returning players arriving with a whole new sense of confidence and eagerness really energizes me. I know this is a difficult time for many of our freshman's parents (especially the moms) as they see their son off to college for their first time. I still remember my mother crying as my parents drove away when they dropped me off at The Citadel for the first time. And believe me, five minutes later I was wishing I was back in the car with them. I cannot imagine anyone being as miserable as I was my first few months in college. I was homesick, my head was bald, my girlfriend dumped me and I was the "meat squad" quarterback on the football team. Things weren't looking very positive.

I thought I was a high school superstar, which up to that point everything had come rather easy to me. I thought I was pushed or challenged in high school but it was nothing close to what I was going to experience at the next level. My mental toughness was going to be tested on a daily basis and I was not sure if I was ready for that. I had never had anyone yell at me at the top of his or her lungs, especially on a daily basis. Sure my father, older brothers and high school coaches got on me every once in a while, but it was nothing close to what I was now experiencing. I realized I was in a different world and I had not even stepped on an athletic field yet. I had to do some growing up very fast and I was not sure if I wanted to.

Once football practice began I thought everything would get better, but actually it got worse. I realized in a hurry I was no longer the best athlete on the field. I was not even close. My coaches wanted perfection and were not putting up with any mistakes. I quickly learned that I was expected to perform at a level which I was nowhere capable of performing. Everything happened so fast. Reality began to set in. I realized that with my (lack of) size and ability I would probably never again be the best athlete on the field. That was really hard for me to swallow. I had to make a choice. I could quit, go to school with the rest of my buddies and dominate the intramural program, or I could swallow my pride, sit the bench, while working my tail off trying to turn myself into a player who could contribute to the success of our team.

Luckily I chose the later but it sure wasn't easy. I wanted to take the easy way out. Just quit and go somewhere else. Luckily my father would not let that happen. No, he never once said, "Tony, suck it up because you are not coming home." That wasn't his personality. During our conversations he would listen to me complain for a short while and then he would give me some encouragement and tell me he loved me. Somehow by the end of our conversations I would feel better. I was like most young kids, I did not agree with everything my parents said, but when I got off the phone I sure felt better. He has always told me, "Tough times never last, but tough people do." I knew that deep down my father was not going to let me quit and come home, but because of how he handled our conversations he never had to actually say it.

You are probably wondering why I am sharing this information with you. I want our parents to know that my staff and I are going to do everything possible to make your son a better person and ball player. Once he graduates from ETSU you will know in your heart that he is prepared to be successful for the rest of his life. It is hard for me to imagine a coaching staff in the country that cares more about their players than ours. To be honest our staff will probably be the last adults (besides his parents) in your son's life who will love, care and be genuinely concerned about his future.

Our staff has no aspirations of making your son's first year of college as miserable as mine. I would not wish that upon any young man. But you need to realize that there are going to be times when he will struggle, be homesick, and unhappy. You need to help him through those tough times. I can also guarantee there will be times when my coaches and I have to light a fire under your son in order to get him moving in the direction he needs to be moving. This is no longer high school. The players in this program are expected to be able to perform at a very high level. There is pressure and there are expectations.

Your son is starting a new chapter in his life. His time in college should be the best time of his life to date. We will take good care of him and hopefully give him the framework and guidance to make good, solid decisions. We are proud to have him be a part of ETSU and our baseball family. Enjoy these years because for me it was during my college years that I really developed a great friendship with my parents. Thanks for your support and time. Until next time...

Coach Skole