Southworth puts student in student-athlete

May 10th 12:21 pm | Van Williams    

People like to throw around the term student-athlete in college circles, but in reality most athletes are in school to get a bachelor's in sports.

Not Eric Southworth, though.

In his third season with the men's basketball team at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, the Unalaska High School graduate is a 6-foot-3 mechanical engineering student who puts the student in student-athlete.

He just happens to have a nice jump shot, too.

His focus is academics, though, because like the NCAA commercial says: "There are 380,000 NCAA student-athletes, and just about all of them will be going pro in something other than sports."

Southworth, 21, has gone as far as skipping practice in favor of studying for midterms, something most college athletes wouldn't do.

It didn't come without scrutiny, though. In fact, many of his teammates questioned his decision.

But he didn't.

"Once the GPA starts dropping it's a slippery slope," he said.

Southworth is on schedule to graduate in four years, a rarity at NYU-Poly. But it hasn't been as easy as 1-2-3.

"The whole curriculum that we follow is pretty similar to MIT. It's rigorous," he said. "People are always dropping out. I literally spend four days a week, a solid six hours each night in the library."

He knows what's at stake.

"I got a scholarship to go to school, so I've got it better than a lot of kids," he said. "I count my blessings and work my ass off. I definitely learned how to appreciate what I have."

Southworth got his work ethic and drive from his parents, Audrey and Skip. He said they still motivate him to this day.

"Both my parents are blue collar, longshoreman in Dutch Harbor," he said proudly. "I know they work their asses off and if I'm not doing the same I'm not doing my job."

His strong foundation helped him survive a grueling rookie season that eats up and spits out 18-year-olds like Jaws.

Just take his freshman orientation.

"They told us, 'Look to your left and look to your right. By the time you graduate either the two people next to you will be gone, or you will be.' "

Welcome to college, eh?

The odds are even worse for basketball players.

"It's so hard to keep players on the team," he said. "Most freshmen play the first half of the first semester and then they are ineligible. A lot of kids can't handle it. They don't realize the work load."

Southworth experienced it firsthand and it about broke him, demanding every ounce of focus, sweat and sacrifice he could muster.

First he had to adjust to moving to New York City from Dutch Harbor.

"At first I didn't like it," he said.

Then he had to adjust to the demanding NYU-Poly curriculum.

"I just stayed in my room," he said of his social life. "I had friends who got sucked into partying. Now all those kids are gone."

On top of that he had to adjust to college basketball.

"Time management is probably the most important thing I've learned," he said with a laugh. "There's a T-shirt that reads "Train, study, eat, sleep ... train, study, eat, sleep.' That's pretty much it.

"It got to the point where I realized I couldn't get any work done during the day so I would have to wake up two hours earlier just to get it done."

Today, he is more acclimated to his surroundings - the people, the subways, the city life.

Still, he barely leaves campus.

"I don't have a life ... it's depressing," Southworth said, laughing it off. "It's New York City. Everything is alive and everybody wants to go out and party. I don't have time. It kind of sucks, but every day is a new experience.

"I'm just trying to go with the flow."

 

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Van Williams can be reached at vwilliams@alaskanewspapers.com