Fitness and desire key to success of walk-ons
Jamee Jackson
Mesa Legend
“Walk-ons are important for the entire make-up of the team.” Those are the words of John Mulhern, the director of sports at MCC. Staying in shape and feeling good after a brutal practice full of conditioning can be attained, even by those who aren’t recruited to college sports teams.
To do so one can attend walk-on tryouts. Every sport has tryouts for walk-ons, as they can be a critical part of a team. Though it may not be something one should try after years of no exercise.
When asked if he thought it was harder to be a walk-on than to have tried to get a scholarship, MCC linebacker James Vaifale said, “I believe it was harder for me to walk on than to get a scholarship because you have to train regularly and work out on your own to try and get a spot on the team that is not guaranteed.”
He also mentioned tryouts being pretty easy because specific tests were given beforehand.
A person on scholarship will already have had eyes on them pushing them to work out and train, but a walk-on doesn’t have eyes on them so they have to push themselves to train. If one didn’t get a scholarship, Vaifale’s advice is that “walk-ons are an important part of a college team because it gives those people without a scholarship an opportunity, and also pushes those with scholarships to work even harder.” Contact a coach if interested in playing collegiate sports. They will be able to set up a meeting and also provide information about open gym times, during the seasons of whichever sport one wishes to play. A physical is a requirement to participate in any sports. A student-athlete must also be enrolled full-time (12+ credits) to participate in an NJCAA sport.
