Drake Made allows former student-athletes to, in their own words, describe how their experience as a student-athlete prepared them to excel in their postgraduate pursuits. From lessons learned in competition and the classroom, these Bulldogs examine and detail how Drake equipped them for future success and reflection upon those lessons learned.
In this Drake Made, John Hugunin outlines how his experience as a football student-athlete molded him personally and continues to mold future generations. Hugunin, a two-time team captain, was a member of the team from 2011-15 and the 2015 team's MVP as well as Drake's Howlett Award Winner as the top male student-athlete. That same season, he earned All-America honors after leading the nation in forced fumbles with nine and finishing 20th nationally in tackles with 116. He graduated as a four-time All-PFL selection, including two first-team honors and is Drake's all-time leader in tackles with 417 career tackles. Hugunin graduated with a degree in education and returned to Oswego (Ill.) High School to serve as a science teacher at his Alma Mater. He is also the school's assistant football coach and strength & conditioning coach.
My life consists of a cycle of learning and teaching. I am blessed to find myself in a career that allows me to do both daily.
Teaching and coaching has given me an avenue to inspire kids to get into their cycle of learning and teaching. This avenue doesn't happen without Drake University. More specifically, this doesn't happen without the experiences and people it exposed me to. As I reflect on my time there, Drake football's
FIVE PROGRAM GOALS interwoven into almost everything I learned.
One of my teaching mentors, Dr. Jerrid Kruse of the Drake School of Education, drilled into our heads that students learn best through experience. In the classroom, I try to provide a variety of experiences that challenge my kids to reach for
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE.
When applied to life, a similar point can be made. Experiences shape who we become. We learn from them, grow from them, and are hopefully better because of them. Notice I didn't say strictly positive experiences. Just like learning in a classroom, learning in life requires all sorts of experiences, both easy and challenging. Drake provided me more experiences than I could have ever imagined and helped me become an
IMPACT MAN in the lives of my students, players, and family.
From the moment we stepped foot on campus, Coach Creighton challenged us to
BE OUR BEST. I gave every fiber of myself to be the best for our team. I tried to be the best leader, teammate and linebacker I could – because those guys deserved that. As a result of many people being their best, we were able to set records and win championships.
I learned that being your best doesn't come without challenge though. It's a path you must choose. No matter the mountain you try to conquer, there will be late nights, lonely times, pain and sacrifice – but it's all worth it once you see the view from the top. Drake University not only challenged me to be my best but gave me the tools to get there.
One of the most important lessons I learned at Drake was about people. Knowing people, and how you can help them is arguably one of the greatest gifts or skills that you can have. Teaching and coaching are "people-first" professions. To me, this means the most critical part of my job is the people I do it for. My goal as an educator is to use science and sports to help develop people who can make a difference. But if my kids don't know I love them like family, the material I'm trying to teach them is irrelevant.
I think that is what I miss most about Drake – being part of that
FAMILY. There is nothing that replaces that bond and those who have experienced it would agree. I hope my teammates knew that I gave them everything I had to help us accomplish our goals. I hope that is my legacy with the Drake football family. Without Drake, I don't learn that life is about the people you share it with. I hope my family – my Drake family – and my Oswego High School family realize that they are the best parts of my life.
Speaking of family, arguably the most important lesson at Drake came from my dad. I remember him telling me that football is a game, and games are supposed to be
FUN… so have a blast while you're playing. But I didn't fully realize how fun playing football was until I had a knee injury my junior year. Not being to suit up, be in the huddle, and play football broke my heart. While I only missed two games, they were the only two I missed in my entire football career. Realizing that the game I love could be taken away in an instant, I vowed never to take it for granted again.
More importantly, it taught me to stress that to my players, and realize that their time in this game is fleeting. Words will never do it justice, but playing football at Drake was the most fun I have ever had. The games, practices, road trips, the late-night food runs, and 6 a.m. lifts with Ryno [strength & conditioning coach
Ryan Martin] are some of the best times I've ever had in my life. I wish I could do them all again.
To sum things up, you go to college to get an education. An education in life. Drake did it all.
There were times when I was on top of the world and times where it seemed like my world was falling apart. But these highs and lows mold you. They change you, hopefully for the better. Most importantly, the teacher in me has used these experiences to provide teaching opportunities to help teach and prepare my kids for life – the hardest, most fulfilling and most important test they will ever take.
To the countless people who made my journey at Drake special – thank you. I'm grateful for all of you and what I was able to learn from you.
Hopefully, you learned something from me as well.
- John Hugunin
