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Inside Hokie Sports
The more I seek to understand my own
personality, and the overall path that I took
to get here, the more I realize that most
everything boils down to one common
denominator. Timing is everything. It dictates
howwell or how poorly our relationships in life
begin. It lays some opportunities in front of us
and renders others impossibly lost behind us.
It is the reason that, as we prepare to
enter the crossover season for football and
basketball –known within my office as “the
whirlwind”–I become more conscience of
the seemingly perfect blend of situations that
timing has afforded me … and you.
This is not because of where I feel the
respective prospects lie for Justin Fuente’s
and Buzz Williams’ programs. While I expect
both continue on a relatively rapid upward
trajectory, it remains phenomenally difficult
to predict the future in terms of wins and
losses. Too much fragility exists to do so, as we
recently witnessed with Ty Outlaw’s injured
knee and Divine Deablo’s now-mending foot.
All that you can do as program leaders is to put
yourself in the best possible situations through
recruiting and culture to give your program
repeated chances. Both are clearly doing that.
However, this is not a column about
opportunities for wins, but rather fortuitous
timing in regard to relationships. As I reflect
on my own life, I see the breaks that timing
afforded me, and also some of the challenges
it presented. I also see times in my life when
others benefitted from being around me, and
certainly to the opposite extreme of that,
occasions where I became a negative impact
on people who looked to me as a mentor.
At the beginning of my career, I came
across the extremely good fortune of interning
at a radio station (KFAN) in Minneapolis at a
time when the collective staff featured young,
energetic and somewhat electrifying people.
When I go back to visit now, most of those
people remain. They remainwonderful people,
having advanced in their lives and careers,
and in some cases, ascending to the top levels
of our industry. Yet I wonder, if the 21-year
old version of me walked through their door
now, would I have same experience? Probably
not. Other examples of fortuitous timing come
to mind–ones that benefitted me and yet
the outcome might have been dramatically
different a moment sooner or later.
On the other end of the spectrum, I also
remember when I hired a young intern to
learn from me over the course of the 2013
season–a season that also happened to be a
time period when my personal life and a long-
standing relationship fell apart. It impacted
this young person who viewed me as a mentor.
I know through memory that I became
difficult to be around, and my bitterness in
other areas spilled over to dampen his love of
baseball and this profession. I forever regret
that summer, not for the impact on my life,
but the impact on his. I learned from it, and I
took away a valuable lesson. When you benefit
from timing, take everything possible from it.
When you don’t, there will be other chances.
Make the most out of it.
You only hope to be associated with
people on the ascent, both personally and
professionally–and not necessarily ascending
up a wins list. It means on their way up in life.
You want to be with people who continue to
grow and gain wisdom and sophistication,
while you attempt to do the same. It is why I
always say that I remain tremendously grateful
for having the opportunity to work with
Coach Beamer in his final season. Without
that opportunity, I never would understand
fully Virginia Tech–and not just in a purely
football sense.
But at the same time, I hadn’t enjoyed the
opportunity to grow along with him. When
we met, he and his career were nearly fully
formed, as was his family and the circle that
surrounded him. Bill Roth evolved with him,
but not me. Coach always remained gracious
to me, and I cherished that time with him, but
timing never always gives us everything that
we desire.
Meanwhile, I have that chance with Justin
Fuente and his family. Our Tech Talk LIVE!
desk generally gets occupied by one of his
three young daughters during commercial
breaks. His wife, Jenny, attends on a weekly
basis. When we talk off the record, we engaged
in honest conversations regarding the future.
That goes for football, but even more so in
regard to family and adapting to the lives we
now lead. Many steps remain for both of us,
and that is exciting.
Double down that sentiment when it comes
to Buzz Williams. I often hear, ‘Wouldn’t it be
great to work with Coach K, Roy Williams, or
insert name of any future hall of fame coach?’
I always say, ‘I’ll take Buzz.’
with
Jon
Laaser
Timing is Everything