Gavin Batdorff '21 Recruiting Profile

My personal goals are to attend a university that will allow me to have many different experiences. Personally, I know that my strengths are science and math, however I have not finalized my decision as to what exactly I want to do. I have interests in engineering and medicine.

To let you know a little bit about me and why I would be an excellent recruit, I have to include my family.  I am fortunate to have a family that has modeled how to be driven in life and work. They have taught me that you must work hard and put in the long hours to reach your dreams. They have instilled in me that if you want something bad enough you will have to not only work hard, but also learn to make changes, accept advice, adjust to new situations and sometime fail.  I believe this has made me the coachable athlete that I am.  My family has provided me with many different experiences that has helped me to become a well-rounded and accepting individual. They have allowed me to experience many different sports and supported my journey to focus on Golf and Archery. I believing having the multiple sport experiences since I was young has allowed me to identify my true passion as well as make me a better athlete. 

I have also experienced life altering events that have made the greatest impact on the person I have become.  My parents divorced when I was young and my mother made it a point to teach me to never use that as an excuse, in fact she taught me that my life was as full as I made it. When she remarried she brought another strong male into my life that has ensured I have had experiences that keep me well rounded as well as has taught me how to present myself in corporate and social situations.  I believe every individual, coach, family friend have taught me to be comfortable in all situations.

More recently our family dealt with an accident that almost took my grandfather away from us.  My grandfather is an amazing man who has taught us that hard work pays off and without personal connections you will go nowhere.  He was born to a poor farming family and never went to college but took chances and became successful in the steel manufacturing industry.  He has always made it a point to teach us how to work hard and be humble. Seven years ago he was involved in a horrific accident that altered him physically, he had to have one leg rebuilt and the other was amputated. We watched him never complain and reassured us all he would be up in no time, swimming, farming and attending all of our events. He did just that and I had the amazing experience of being there the entire (short) journey.  His dedication to life and family was the reason he was up and moving within two months.  He showed me that family comes first, that even if we are in pain we must follow through with our commitments and that nothing will slow him down.  I strive to be like my grandfather, he is my mentor and continues to set the bar high. 

As an athlete I have always taken the leadership role and been a team player. I enjoy lifting others up and pushing them to succeed.  I have had the fortunate experience of older classmates taking me under their wings.  I believe that my experiences as a catcher for our schools baseball team,  a competitive archer with my club archery team, and more recently a golfer for the high school, I offer a diverse experience and outlook toward sports. I know that I would be an asset to your team not only as an athlete but also as a leader. Though my goal is to play golf in college, I am grounded in that my education is the primary goal. My mother is a school administrator and curriculum leader with multiple masters and licenses, and was also a collegiate athlete.  She has shown me the importance of balance and organization.  Again, I feel that the experiences, athletically, in life and academically make me an excellent recruit.