MATT VOLZ
Assistant Sports Editor
Whether it be Bo Jackson playing in both the NFL’s Pro Bowl and the MLB’s All-Star Game or Deion Sanders playing in an NFL game and a World Series game on the same day, we’ve seen athletes shine in multiple sports before.
But at Fredonia State, Sam Jackson may be one of a kind.
He certainly is one-of-a-kind to each of the club teams he’s on.
Jackson, a freshman from Rochester, N.Y., is currently a member of three different club sports: Rugby, Ultimate Frisbee and Soccer.
How’s that for keeping yourself busy?
“It’s pretty hectic, actually,” Jackson says. “It’s just for fun, it keeps me into the motion.”
As a former high school football player, Jackson says it would have been weird to be at college and not compete in sports. “I’m just a natural-born athlete… I like to compete,” he says.
He says that his days sometimes differ in how busy they are. “I have days where I have classes starting at 11:00 and I don’t get out until 8:30, and then I’m going straight to practice,” he says.
On Thursdays, however, Jackson says he doesn’t have classes, so he takes the day as a rest day to recover his body from playing three sports.
Bouncing back and forth and making enough time for all sports is sometimes a balancing act as Jackson says he will sometimes have multiple practices on the same day. “On Thursdays, we have rugby from 8-10 and I also have Frisbee from 7-9, so I usually try to get to Frisbee for a good hour or hour and a half and then show up to rugby for the rest of the time.”
That’s a sentiment echoed by Brandon Jeanotte, the captain of Fredonia State’s ultimate fFrisbee club team.
“I’ve never seen anyone like Sam,” Jeanotte says. “He is like an engine. He does like three practices in one day, and he’ll be packing up in the last 5 minutes of our practice to get ready for rugby practice.”
Jeanotte says that from the first time he met Jackson, he knew the importance of having him on the team. “He immediately came in and everyone saw his athleticism, and it was just crazy because he said he was a part of rugby and rugby used to be a rival club of ultimate fFrisbee.”
Jeanotte also speaks to the level of confidence that Jackson routinely carries himself with.
“He just brings so much confidence to not only himself, but everyone around him. He got the nickname “King” for a reason,” he says.
Jeanotte says that Jackson has the same level of confidence on the field as he does off of it. “I’d say he’s this confident person on the field, and in his day-to-day life he’s pretty confident too. He’s always smiling… Even when our team is losing a game he’s never putting his head down at all, he’s rising to the challenge.”
As the so-called “King”, Jackson once wore a blanket in the fashion of a cape during a game in the cold and hail, Jeanotte says.
Contrary to what the nickname might suggest, Jackson carries himself with humbleness, according to rugby teammate Isiah Goodrich. “He possesses a modest opinion of his self image and importance while understanding he is not ‘too good’ for others,” Goodrich says.
Goodrich also talks about Jackson’s work ethic and how that applies not only to his sports, but his studies. “For him to balance so much activity on his plate effectively showcases his ambition to succeed in every aspect,” Goodrich says.
Goodrich sums up Jackson’s personality by saying, “The passion and compassion he has for sports and those surrounding him is truly unmatched and helps portray all characteristics you would wish to have within your community, club, or school.”
With all the responsibilities Jackson takes on, it wouldn’t necessarily be surprising to see three club sports be too much of a hassle.
In this case, however, it appears to be the opposite.
Both Jackson and Jeanotte believe that the freshman’s involvement has provided somewhat of a mental escape from all the stresses and hardships of being a college student.
“He posts on his Snapchat all the work he’s dealing with, so I feel like club sports for him and people in general is like an escape from all this workload. Some people are always thinking about how competitive it is, how you have to put your mind to it. For him, it’s like a mental escape… It’s where he can be himself,” Jeanotte says.
Jackson also believes that club sports have provided him with the motivation he’s needed to keep moving forward at times. “I caught the flu last semester and I just wanted to go home, but it was worth it being here with all the sports… I didn’t feel like I was here not doing anything,” he says.
Many college students may be able to relate to Jackson in the sense that he uses his main outlet to get through the stresses of college life.
Most of them probably don’t play three different sports, though.