Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 9 No. 4 | March 2017

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44 Inside Hokie Sports
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the crossroads for the student-athletes. Where
would the line be drawn? So it was kind of
interesting.”
Another interesting piece of legislation
that passed now requires schools to develop
a time-management plan for each sport that
outlines team activities. Student-athletes want
more transparency and written schedules to
avoid last-minute changes by their coaches.
At the end of the season, each school’s AD,
the faculty athletics representative, the head
coach and at least one member of the team
would review the plan. The school’s president
or chancellor then is required to go over each
of these reviews.
In theory, this sounds like a great idea.
Student-athletes get a say on practice
schedules. But it only works if the student-
athletes follow up and demand a say, as
opposed to caving to a coach’s wishes—and
that concerns Fiala.
“Are student-athletes going to take
advantage of that? I hope so,” he said. “Are
people going to jump in with two feet, or are
they going to be intimidated and skirt around
the edges because it’s a big change? That
would be the biggest thing I’d worry about
over the next two or three years.
“By no means do I think all this is perfect.
The next year or year and a half will be a
big telling point. A lot of this was laying
groundwork, and we left a lot of things up to
institutional discretion. A lot of it is on the
student-athlete and taking ownership.”
Fiala said he expects Virginia Tech to do
a good job implementing these changes. He
expressed confidence in Whit Babcock, Tech’s
athletics director, and his staff because of
their ongoing emphasis on the student-athlete
experience. He also thinks that Tech’s coaches
want the best for their players, even if it means
making some sacrifices.
But Fiala expects some potholes will need
to be navigated nationwide, as colleges and
student-athletes find the sweet spot between
over-regulation and under-regulation.
“Finding that area has been the biggest
challenge,” he said. “It’s going to take time,
and we’re going to find it when people start
implementing these changes. That’s when
we’re going to start solving those kinks—and
there are going to be kinks.”
Fiala performed his role in building the
foundation for student-athlete betterment
and plans on keeping tabs on what transpires
over the coming months and years. Of course,
he will do that not as a student-athlete, but as
an alumnus of Virginia Tech building a career
in the professional world.
He graduates in May with dual degrees in
accounting and finance, and he accepted a job
offer from Baker Tilly, an accounting firmwith
a regional office in Tysons Corner, Virginia,
not far from his hometown of Centreville.
He starts that job in late August, which
theoretically leaves him with his pet
peeve—free time on his hands. Not to worry,
a six-country trip to Europe, a beach trip,
assisting his brother in coaching a local swim
team, and helping his mom to host a local
swim meet in Northern Virginia will eat into
some of that.
“I’ll find ways to keep myself busy this
summer,” he laughed.
Athletics appears to be in his rearview
mirror now. But this swimmer could do a flip
turn rather easily and sprint toward a career
in athletics administration.
His roles outside the pool have him off the
blocks in good shape for that possibility.
“I could very well see myself coming back
to this,” Fiala admitted. “The work didn’t feel
like work to me. When you’re trying to help
people and help shape the lives of people and
see what their future brings, that’s interesting
to me. So we’ll see.”
EDUCATIONAL
EXPERIENCE Continued
from page 43