Tennessee Vols: Zakai Zeigler quote that every athlete in the country should hear
Mike Wilson of the Knoxville News Sentinel wrote a tremendous story this week about Tennessee Vols freshman guard Zakai Zeigler that every UT fan should read. It's a great story about an overlooked kid who didn't have many opportunities. But he worked extremely hard, hid in train cars so he'd have a place to sleep […]
Mike Wilson of the Knoxville News Sentinel wrote a tremendous story this week about Tennessee Vols freshman guard Zakai Zeigler that every UT fan should read.
It's a great story about an overlooked kid who didn't have many opportunities. But he worked extremely hard, hid in train cars so he'd have a place to sleep while playing basketball hours away from his home, and ultimately landed at the University of Tennessee.
There's a quote from Zeigler in Wilson's story that stood out to me. And I think it's something every athlete in the country — maybe every person — should hear.
“I looked at what the end goal was and knew what I wanted to do in the long run,” Zeigler said. “I said, ‘I know this is going to bother me right now, but in the end this is going to help me.’”
We live in an instant gratification world these days. Everyone wants a six-figure job out of college. Athletes want to start as true freshmen or rookies.
It feels like most people don't want to put in the work that it takes to get to the top. They just want to be at the top.
Zeigler, however, knew at a young age what he wanted. And he knew he'd have to work hard and be in some uncomfortable situations. But that didn't deter him.
He went all-in on his goals — even when it was difficult. And now he's playing basketball at an SEC program (something that very, very few high school basketball players will ever have the opportunity to do).
Zeigler is special — on and off the court.
And I know a lot of people — myself included — that could learn a lot from the young New York native.
Vol fans should be extremely proud that Zeigler is playing in Knoxville and representing Tennessee. He's everything that's right about college sports.
Featured image via Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
