We work a job, even just a summer job, for a paycheck that we will get sooner rather than later, right? The last few weeks, I’ve seen many fans on social media say they’re ready for September. They’re ready for JMU Football. They know they’re wishing their summer away, but the payoff is FOOTBALL. I find myself at times doing the same thing. I am starting my summer prep so when players report to camp, I have a head start on some of their backgrounds, but in doing this I find myself wishing for the start of the year too. So, for us, fans and broadcasters alike, we’re ready.
But as we wish away the summer months, think about this, for players, football, basketball and many others, this isn’t summer. It’s part of the routine, part of the process, part of the job of being a student athlete. You see, most, if not all these players, aren’t sitting back wishing for fall. They are going to work. They’re in class. That’s right class over the summer, working toward their degree. And then there’s the training. Getting their bodies ready for the work that awaits in the fall. The student athlete “summer job” is important for another reason. Chemistry. Not the class, but the connection. The connection that teams have that make them a team, hopefully a championship team. The newest players, incoming freshman and transfers, are bonding with teammates, and getting to know their coaches.
Speaking of coaches, they have an important summer job too. They’re working feverishly to evaluate the next incoming class at summer camps. For JMU, most likely the next incoming class won’t be as big as others in recent history because the Dukes are still a “pretty young” team overall. If a small class turns out to be the case, making the right offers to the right players is even more important. The Dukes Coaching staff has set a high bar of expectation and have yielded a high return on those expectations. That is why these coaches can make offers to FBS caliber kids that will, at the very least give considerable thought to joining the Dukes. It’s already happened, twice. Defensive Back Dorian Davis from Shelby N.C. and Running Back C.J. Jackson from Richmond Va. have both given verbal commitments for the class of ’19. Each of them had FBS offers but liked what they saw in Harrisonburg. If you look at the twitter trail of most of the young men who say they’ve been offered by JMU, you’ll see FBS schools, including Power 5 programs, after these kids as well. It’s no accident that JMU can be attractive to high caliber kids, It’s INTENTIONAL.
That’s the word Athletic Director Jeff Bourne recently used in describing the overall success of the athletic department, and it’s a great word to describe the summer efforts of a lot of coaches and student athletes, they’re putting in the time to be in position to compete for championships again. No one knows better than them that work done now, yields a payoff later. So, remember as we’re wishing summer away, this isn’t summer for everyone. It’s time to go to work.
