Sideline Stories: John Rex, Bates ’21, All American Track and Field
Potential is defined as having or showing the capacity to become or develop into something in the future. More personally, potential is defined as a word I heard my entire life. I was raised in a family of Renaissance people: as a kid, I competed in athletics, read books, played instruments, performed in all capacities, and, much to my mother’s dismay, dirtied the kitchen with cooking experiments from time to time. I was fortunate to have parents who encouraged me to dip my toes into just about anything and everything I desired. Did the array of activities in my adolescent years cloud any type of focus or passion? Sure it did. In hindsight, I wouldn’t change a thing, and that would manifest into a life-changing onset of focus in my college years for I was not prepared, but all the more blessed to have experienced.
After attending nine years of Catholic grammar school and four years of prep school, I made the decision to attend Bates College with a half-hearted inclination to participate on the track and field team. My first day of move-in, I found myself face to face with a man who was larger than life – someone who I would later refer to me as my captain, teammate, friend, and brother, Dire. His infectious energy persuaded me to stick around for the fall semester of training. After a few practices, he wasn’t slow to tell me I would be the next all-American thrower in line after him. At the time I was dumbfounded by those lofty claims.
Dire led by example, urging me not to give up in pursuing track and field and a degree in economics. I had not yet understood his sentiment as a first-year, but over the course of the year, I accomplished athletic feats. I fought through the difficulty of my classes, and I became a better all-around student and athlete because of it, and because of him. By the end of my first year, I could begin to see what was possible in the realm of my potential, but I could not have done it without the likes of Dire, Al Fereshetian, my coach, and Julieta Yung, my thesis advisor.
Fast forward to graduation, and I wasn’t there to hear my name called or receive my diploma and economics thesis prize. Rather, I was on a podium holding an All-America award gazing out towards the stadium, teary-eyed by the presence of my family and coach in the stands – the people who unwaveringly loved and supported me in my endeavors. My life was changed forever.
It’s merely impossible to describe such a pivotal experience in so few words, but what I can say is that winning matters, competing matters, and loving one another, above all, matters. I think when people say winning doesn’t matter they think of clout and trophies, and that is not winning by any means. Winning is reaching new levels of your potential through experience and learning – something that is so crucial to endure in any capacity. Dire was aware he could not prepare me for the mental and physical labor attached to the manifestation of his claim, but conquering your potential with passion is truly a life-changing experience. I am grateful to have had such a drastically uniquely and shaping experience in college.
