Hello faithful readers! Hope everyone has been enjoying the holiday season. We’re back at it this week, focusing on Heath Hohmann, former Football player at the University of Texas. As a senior, Heath was a First Team Academic All Big 12 selection. He was also a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta and Pi Eta Sigma Honor Societies. He earned a Bachelor of Business degree (Engineering route to Business) and graduated with a 3.85 GPA.
Heath is an awesome example of perseverance because he walked on to the team (which means he wasn’t actively recruited by UT). This can be really difficult to do, but Heath stuck with it and his hard work earned him playing time his senior year. Read on to learn more about how his experience helped get him to where he is in life today.
GamePlan: If you could sum up your college athletic experience in one word, what would it be? Heath: Exciting.
GamePlan: What is a lesson you learned while playing college athletics?
Heath: I learned time management. Having to juggle school, sports, and a job requires good time management, which takes time and effort to get good at. Mixing sports and school also teaches you what it means to work hard to be successful and knowing that you did that for yourself.
GamePlan: What is one of the hardest moments you had to get through while going through the recruiting process?
Heath: I wasn't recruited. I walked on. This was hard because I put myself out there for an opportunity I didn't know if I was good enough for. But all you can do is keep trying for what you want in life, and don't be afraid to fail. Failing is what makes the next successful opportunity feel even better.
GamePlan: 🙌Amazing advice and beautifully said!
GamePlan: What is one of the hardest moments you had to get through while playing college sports, and how did you get through it?
Heath: Injuries in sports always are a setback, but trusting the athletic training staff to get you through that injury is key. Also having personal setbacks like the death of a family member is very hard when you are so busy putting everything you have into school and sports. But being able to talk about that with my close friends and teammates helped a lot.
GamePlan: What is your favorite memory from playing college sports?
Heath: Running out of the foggy tunnel into the 100K+ fan Darrell K Royal stadium
GamePlan: I can only imagine!
GamePlan: What advice do you have for student-athletes who are trying to play at the collegiate level?
Heath: Go after the things you want in life. Don't be afraid to fail, because what you learn from that failure will help with your next opportunity and other future successes.
GamePlan: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything? If so, what would you do differently?
Heath: I would have spent more time getting to know my teammates. I spent more time and effort on school and work since I knew I wouldn't play in the NFL. But my teammates are lifelong friends that I shared a lot of time and experiences with that I'll remember forever. School comes first, but friendship and connections should be a close second.
GamePlan: What are you up to now?
Heath: I am working in project management at Intel Corporation in Austin, Texas. I still play flag football and other social sports. I travel (Europe, 3/4 of the Tennis Grand Slams so far) when I've got the money :) Buying my second house while renting out the first. Have 2 dogs and a wonderful wife, planning having kids in a year or two.
GamePlan: What role did athletics play in helping you get to where you are now?
Heath: Athletics taught me how to work hard and not accept simple answers. Also it taught me how to help push my coworkers to work toward a common goal.
Thank you, Heath! Great advice and shared experiences all student-athletes can benefit from. I'd like to point out the last thing Heath said - helping push coworkers toward a common goal. This is so important because one day you will be working with others in a non-athletic setting and the skills you learn and develop as a college athlete can help you succeed even further. Until next time!