Prove Yourself Right
By Joey Slackman
From a young age, my household was never allowed to use the word “can’t” in our vocabulary. This instilled a strong work ethic in my sister and I, allowing us to develop the confidence that we could achieve anything we wanted to in life. Being determined to strive for greatness, always give our best effort, and never telling people that we “cannot” do something were values that our parents taught us from the beginning. These rules have stuck with me since and are always at the center of my mind when I prepare for my next challenge in life.
In 2018, I committed to the University of Pennsylvania wrestling team. At the time, this was the culmination of my efforts on the mat and in the classroom for my entire young adult life. I cared equally about my athletic and academic successes and had my collegiate career planned out in my head. After winning a high school state championship in New York, I had planned on becoming an all-American/National champion collegiate wrestler while also maintaining a high GPA at an Ivy League school. While I had lofty goals, I never allowed myself to use that negative word, just as my parents had told me for my entire life.
from the time I arrived at Penn in September of 2019, it felt like adversity hit me daily. After earning the starting job in my weight class, my freshman season was cut short when I suffered a torn ACL and meniscus in one of my first matches of the season. The next year and a half set my career on an entirely different trajectory that I couldn’t have predicted.
After the injury, the COVID pandemic struck, allowing me to take a year off from school while the Ivy League had canceled sports for the 2020-2021 school year along with announcing that classes would be entirely online. This year was tumultuous, as I was trying to explore professional opportunities while I was away from school and progress with rehab on my knee along with suffering another injury as I tore my right pectoral after being cleared from the ACL recovery. This almost 2-year period from my initial injury to the second surgery, to eventually returning to school and sports changed my career in many ways. It allowed me to reassess my career goals and find my true purpose in life.
Growing up, football was the first sport I ever played and took seriously. I had dreams of playing in front of huge crowds for a major college team and then the NFL, just like most kids. However, when I got to high school, my wrestling prowess and recruiting had outgrown my love for football and allowed me to get to Penn. By the time my gap year had come while at Penn, the idea of walking onto the football team at Penn along with continuing wrestling had popped into my head. When speaking with the support system around me, the same types of messages were given then just as they were when I was a child: you can do whatever you set your mind to.
By the fall of 2021, I had finally returned to play after both surgeries and was about to begin my first team activities with football after walking onto the team. Admittedly, I was nervous for the challenge ahead, but also excited for a fresh start to my collegiate athletic career. I quickly proved that I belonged on the field throughout the preseason practices and earned playing time throughout the season.
Over the next two years, I saw immense growth in my game. In 2022, I earned All-Ivy honorable mention honors in my first year as a starter. I then had a breakout campaign in 2023, becoming the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year and an FCS All-American. While we did not win an Ivy League championship, which eats at me often, I achieved the goals that I had set for myself when I first transitioned to football during my time away from school.
Upon my graduation from Penn in December, I transferred to the University of Florida for my final year of eligibility. I find myself on the same journey, albeit at a new stop, with the same thoughts in mind. The same message that was drilled into my brain from childhood is what keeps me going each day. It’s what has gotten me from an Ivy League wrestler to an SEC football player, and it’s what will allow me to achieve anything I set my mind to in life. Never allowing myself to say that I cannot do something is why I succeed, and the reason why I rise above adversity.