Jordan Newton '20 Recruiting Profile

Rhett Newton

I started playing baseball when I was 3 years old and I’m not ready to stop.  I didn’t play football or any other sport until junior high.  However, I know that playing team sports all my life has defineletly helped to shape me into the young man I am today.

I played varsity baseball and football all four year of high school.  To make the team you need to have a ton of heart and a lot of “want to” to give your best performance every single day –as much in practice as in the game.  Being part of a team helps to build character as well as athletic skills.  You have to learn to trust your team mates and to be trustworthy of them.  Being part of a team has also taught me to be a leader by example.  I’m not a big talker, but I set an example by showing how to do something.  Being co-captain of my varsity baseball and football teams the last 3 years of high school allowed me to set an example for those around me.  Thanks to my coaches I have always been taught to act classy and not boast when we win or whine when we lose.  I feel like that is a skill that I can carry over into all aspects of my life.

The second game of this season of football I broke my ring finger when I was tackling a kid.  I kept playing with a broken finger as we went three rounds deep into the playoffs this year.  I didn’t know it was broke and even though it hurt, I knew my team needed me and I wanted to finish strong.  That type of toughness I learned through playing sports.  I have ADHD and school was a challenge for me early on.  Even though I struggled in the classroom, I always did well on the field because baseball came easier to me than school did.  Once I was in high school, I knew I couldn’t play if I didn’t pass, so it was great motivation to help me focus in the classroom.

I’m never going to be the biggest guy on the field and I’m ok with that.  When people first see me they always underestimate me and I have learned to use that to my advantage and the advantage of my team.  It makes me fast, quick, and agile in ways that big guys will never be.  My grandpa told me long ago that “it’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, it’s the size of the fight in the dog”.  I have played with that in my heart for as long as I remember and made it a point to prove him right.  I never quit and I play lights out until the umpires call the game.