Each month the Southern Conference will feature a student-athlete from around the league in a series called the SoCon Spotlight. This will be an opportunity to get acquainted with the student-athlete in a different light. The question and answer session will focus on a student-athlete who contributes away from the field, course, mat or court through community service.
This month's SoCon Athlete Spotlight focuses on Jordan Ingman, a junior from Port Charlotte, Fla. Ingman plays defensive back for Wofford College. When he's not on the field, Ingman is a mentor to a junior high school student in Spartanburg. We sat down with Ingman recently to talk about his work as a mentor.
Tell us about the mentor program.
"The mentor program that we do here at school is very well done. Coach [Nate] Woody put it together long before I got here, and it's been so successful that it's carried on, I'm pretty sure, about 10 years now. What happens is there's 25 to 30 of us players ranging from freshmen to seniors. We're spread out throughout the county from elementary schools to middle schools. The teachers assign each player to a young man or a young woman, usually a young man that is struggling with social issues or some type of personal problems or just needs a friend. What we do is we go around to all of these schools and we either eat lunch with them or go to recess with them, it depends on the teacher and the class. We go whenever is most convenient for the teacher and just lend a helping hand wherever we can."
How did you become involved with the mentor program?
"Personally I became involved after one of our two-a-day practices my freshman year. Coach Woody made an announcement to anybody interested in helping with the mentor program and that sparked my interest and it kind of went from there."
What do you enjoy most about the program?
"The most rewarding feeling is when a teacher or a parent tells you how you've positively changed that young man or young woman's behavior or outlook. If we can influence a young man's life, help change him for the better, that's the most rewarding part of our job."
How does what you learn on the field influence your work as a mentor?
"That's very funny you ask that, because it correlates. That's why I love the game of football so much because it's like life. There are things in football you can't control. There are things in life you can't control. You get knocked down, you have injuries and you have to battle back. When we're mentoring I draw on so many football stories, because it's a demonstration of how in life you've got to battle back. You're able to use those stories to prove a point to the young man that you work with on a daily basis. The things that happen on the football field are very similar to things that happen in life; football and mentoring, they go hand in hand."
How has being a mentor impacted your play on the field?
"I don't know if it's had a direct [impact]...when I step on the field I know how very blessed we are to have this opportunity. We deal with some kids that have very tough shots. It makes you appreciate the opportunity we have to play college football."
What do you hope the students learn from you?
"I hope that they learn that sometimes things don't go your way. Sometimes you've got a tougher shot, but if you keep battling, you keep doing the right thing, even when people aren't looking, that things will work out in the end."
What have you learned from the students?
"I've seen a lot of stories that make you appreciate, like I said, what we have. Being a college athlete is something that if you don't get outside of your bubble as a college athlete, we get so wrapped up in workouts and school, you begin to not appreciate what you have. When we go to these schools, when we see these tough stories, these kids that are struggling, it makes you realize life's not so bad when you have to run extra wind sprints, or get up at 5:30 in the morning. That's the biggest influence I've seen."
What have you learned about yourself from the program?
"I've learned that I've been blessed to have very good parents, and that I shouldn't take that for granted. There are some kids out there that don't have the direction that they deserve or that they need to be successful. We try to give those kids that direction and help them be successful human beings."
Do you have any advice that you'd give incoming freshmen or other athletes about mentoring?
"Yes, take time, because this is bigger than football. This is dealing with kids lives. You can have an impact on a young man that will change his life forever. That sounds like it's not possible just by talking to them, but these kids, at times, they have nobody to look to and if you put something in their ear, give them a goal as far as maybe go to college or a certain career path, you can help influence a young man's life far after your playing days, which is very important, bigger than what we do here at school football-wise."
What are the challenges you face being an athlete as well as being a mentor and keeping up with both?
"That's time, because to be a good student here - Wofford is very challenging academically - so you've got to put a lot of hours in the library. To be a great player, you've got to put a lot of hours in the film room, the weight room, the practice field; balancing time is very difficult. I usually go on my lunch break; I'll go and eat lunch with him because sometimes that's the only time I have between a position meeting and a class. That's our biggest challenge, finding the time to meet with our young men."
Does being a student-athlete influence what you talk about with your mentee?
"We talk about time management as far as your priorities. We talk about priorities in life a lot as far as what's most important; the video game, which at the time seemed most important, but that's not going to get you the A on the test. That A on the test is going to get you the next grade. We talk about a lot of what's most important in your life, getting that in their minds as far as what they need to be focused on."
What is your favorite thing to do with your mentee?
"Play basketball; I love going to recess. We read to them, and we go to the library and eat lunch. Whenever you can get out and play basketball, throw the football around and not always harping on them but be a friend. They really appreciate that. You don't just want to always tell them what to do because that's what the teachers do, that's what the principals do. You want them to know that you're their friend, too and that you genuinely care about them."
2009-10 SoCon Spotlight Featured Student-Athletes
Appalachian State - Sam Ramirez - Basketball (view article and interview)
College of Charleston - Emily Morgan - Soccer (view article and interview)
The Citadel - Lauren Fleming - Track & Field (view article and interview)
Davidson - Bryant Barr - Basketball (view article and interview)
Elon - Steven Kinney - Soccer (view article and interview)
Furman - Jessica Preeg - Tennis (view article and interview)
Georgia Southern - Jake Ware - Baseball (view article and interview)
UNC Greensboro - Emily Akiyama - Softball (view article and interview)
Samford - Patrick Wells - Track & Field (view article and interview)
Chattanooga - Maria Juliana Loza - Golf (view article and interview)
Western Carolina - Kristen Feemster - Basketball (view article and interview)
Wofford - Jordan Ingman - Football (view article and interview)