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Football alumni help student-athletes learn about transition to professional life
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Football alumni help student-athletes learn about transition to professional life

by Brad Muller, Director of Content

Gamecock CEO’s summer huddle series continued last week with a pair of former Gamecock football players coming back to chat via Zoom conference with current student-athletes about professionalism and making the transition from college to the next phase of life. Patrick DiMarco (2007-10) and Boomer Foster (1991-94) were on hand to pay it forward and share their experiences.

“I’ve had a number of people throughout my career that have given me hand-ups, not handouts,” Foster said. “They’ve been there for me to lean on. I’d like to make a difference in someone’s life. So many people have done that for me over years.”

“I look at myself as a servant leader. I think leadership is all about serving others.”

“My dad told me when I was in third or fourth grade that if you want to be great, you need to be a leader and not a follower,” said DiMarco. “That has stuck with me my whole life. There are different types of leaders out there. I’m more of a lead-by-example, do the right things, kind of guy.

“Wherever you go, don’t lose who you are. Be yourself. I wish I would have pushed myself harder in college and networked and met people. The network at the University of South Carolina is incredible. I just started to get involved with the Alumni Association, and I’m like, wow, there are a lot of successful people all over the world.”

Gamecock CEO is South Carolina’s student-athlete development program.

For the current student-athletes, seeing those that understood the challenges of managing a difficult schedule made their words of advice more meaningful.
Henry_Micaiah_19-20
Micaiah  Henry

“I thought it was very interesting,” said rising senior swimmer Caroline Spence, who is studying public health with a minor in psychology. “They offered some really good advice. It was very inspiring. They were able to explain things to me in ways that were valuable and didn’t go over my head.”

“Seeing that it can be done is big,” said men’s basketball graduate student Micaiah Henry, who is earning a master’s in finance. “Being able to pick these people’s brains and have these interactions with them, we can pick up what they’ve learned and run with it. It definitely helps to see that there are people who have come before us to pave the way and show us how things are done.”

Foster went to law school after earning his undergraduate degree. He worked as a lawyer until 2005, when he joined the family real estate firm, Long and Foster, which is based out of Washington, D.C., and operates in several states.

Patrick DiMarco is prepping for his tenth year in the NFL and has spent the last three seasons with the Buffalo Bills. While very few student-athletes will play their sport professionally, DiMarco does understand the uncertainty they can face at any time in starting their careers after college.

“I was with four teams in six years. I was cut four times. It’s been a rollercoaster ride,” DiMarco said.  “Ten years in the NFL is a long time. I’m about to be done probably in the next year or so. So, I’m going to be transitioning out and about to be going through a lot of the same things that recent graduates are.

“The sporting world is very different than the normal business world. A lot of it is opportunity, and honestly, some of it is dumb luck. I was an undrafted free agent coming out of college. It was a strange journey going from being undrafted, getting hurt and missing my entire first year. When opportunity arises, answer the door and give it all you’ve got. That’s what has gotten me to where I am. As soon as you’ve proven yourself, it’s finding little nuances to continue to work on. Your craft is never really fully developed on whatever aspect of life you’re in. There is always room for improvement. If you stay the same, you’re going to get worse.”

“Every single day, you should push yourself to be uncomfortable and learn something new.”
– Boomer  Foster


The former Gamecocks noted that one key to navigating life after college is to apply the skills that helped them succeed as a student-athlete and to take their time before making certain decisions.

“You should be slow to hire and quick to fire,” Foster said. “When it comes to opportunities, you should be slow to make a decision because you need to be sure of your decision. Once the decision is made, you commit yourself to it, and you go after it. One of the things an attorney told me early on is you’re not always going to be the smartest person in the court room, but you can always outwork the person you’re going against. I’ve always been the first one to show up and the last one to leave. If you can apply a work ethic that’s significant with the fire in your belly to a plan, you’re way more effective than going at it like a bull in a china shop.

“You don’t know what you don’t know a lot of times. So, finding good people that you can lean on is important. You have to have people in your life that are going to keep you on track. You always have to be learning. Every single day, you should push yourself to be uncomfortable and learn something new. If you do that and don’t be complacent, success is going to follow. If you’re a college athlete, you know what hard work is. That’s one of the great things I took from the University of South Carolina. You learn how to work hard, and you apply that.”

“When other opportunities arise, like investment opportunities or community service opportunities, I think the best thing is to surround yourself with good people,” DiMarco said. “My wife is way smarter than me, so I bounce a lot of stuff off her. Then you can go with your gut, but also do your due diligence. Do your research. Talk to people that are smarter than you or have experience. At the end of the day, you have to be comfortable with your decision. Take your time and make an informed decision.”

“As far as applying what we learned as athletes, bringing that same fire, intensity, and perseverance and applying that to our next jobs as professionals is important,” Henry said. “Pat in the NFL showed how you can work from the bottom and get to the top. “It’s all about the journey for me. I’m not rushing anything. It will be nice to apply what I’ve learned.”
Caroline Spence, 2019-20 head shot
Caroline  Spence

“It was cool how they both talked about having a certain person, whether it was a pastor, mentor or a confidant they can go to monthly to check in with,” Spence said. “It was good to hear that adults in their 30s or 40s still prioritize with their mental health.”

The Gamecocks also delved into developing a brand, whether it’s personal or a business brand.

“Anytime you think about corporate branding, you have to think about who your audience is,” Foster said. “You have to think about who you are as a company, and who your audience is, and then everything you do has to be around building that brand. We talk about being a company of trust, family and excellence. If you don’t have trust, you don’t have anything. Trust is about character and integrity. It’s also about competency. We don’t stand for people stepping out of line.

“It takes a long time to build a brand, and you have to work really hard to get there. The rub is that it doesn’t take very much time to ruin it.”

Foster detailed how a bar fight in Five Points near the end of his collegiate career sullied his reputation as he was preparing to leave school. The former Gamecocks also told the student-athletes to expect adversity throughout their lives, and how those bumps in the road can move your forward.

“Getting hurt my rookie year was kind of a blessing in disguise,” DiMarco said. “I came back to South Carolina to reset, and that’s when the relationship with my girlfriend, who’s now my wife, really developed. Everything happens for a reason. Athletes in general are problem solvers. You’re having to react to something all the time.”

“Mindset is really important,” Foster said. “If you think positively, good things happen to you. We all have ups and downs. I get kicked in the stomach every single day. When you walk away from something feeling like a failure, you have to change your mindset. The one way to true failure in life is quitting. I was raised by guys who say, ‘we don’t quit.’ It’s not easy. It’s a decision, too. I have to make a decision every day to attack things in a positive manner.”

“No matter what sport it is, our schedules in college are similar in that they are very time demanding,” Spence said. “It was cool to hear stories about these people being successful outside of college. That’s something my friends and I talk about a lot. It’s cool to see how it works out for other people who have been there.”