the king

Playing college athletics at the division 1 level is a dream shared by many. Many work hard and push themselves to be the best they can be to make that dream come true. Here at Eastview high school there is a young man is getting prepared for his dream to come true. He is 6’5’’ and weighs is in the neighborhood of 280 pounds. He is a gifted young man in the classroom and on the gridiron. He has been voted to all state teams as well as all conference teams. His name is Sean Marben.

Sean has been a division 1 prospect ever since his sophomore year. While many of us were still trying to lean the game Sean was beginning to plan his future after high school. He received numerous letters in the mail from various schools all telling him they same message “We want you to be part of our 2010 football team.” Each week he would get a few new letters, from schools all over the United states.

It was not until his junior year that he started to look into all the schools and the offers that he had in front of him. “I just felt so overwhelmed, I had no idea where I wanted to go to school, all I knew was I wanted to go somewhere that was strong academically as well as having a good football team.” Sean had offers from nine division 1 schools after his junior season, some were partial scholarships but the bulk of them were full rides.

When he was not practicing he was dedicating most of his time going on college visits throughout the country, when he would come back from his trips he either didn’t like the football program or the academics the school offered. There were many factors that had to be perfect for Sean to go to a certain school “The most important factor a school must have is rewound academics, along with good football facilities, free apparel from the school, the location of the school and whether or not I will be given a job right after I graduate.”

There was one school however that stood out amongst every school. The school is located in Maryland, Annapolis to be exact. Sean Marben had chosen to attend the Naval Academy for school. “I never saw myself attending a military school but it is the perfect fit.” The Naval Academy is a great school that produces some of the United States finest students and soldiers.

There is a lot that goes onto becoming a college athlete, they are not just born gifted at their sport. Sean Marben has put hundreds of hours on the practice field and in the weight room to become one of the state’s best offensive linemen. Everyone who knows him would talk about what great work ethic he has and the leadership skills that he has.

Division 1 football is a totally different game then High Scholl football; everything happens faster, everyone is much bigger and faster. “I am preparing the best I can for college football the best I can by following the workout regiment the Navy sent me along with eating better.” It will be a very big transition from high school to college but he feels that he can make the switch by staying on top of his goals.

Football is only half of the reason Sean Marben has decided to attend the Naval Academy. The Naval Academy is known for an Ivy League education, Navy is one of the most difficult schools to be accepted into. Each year they only accept around 5% of the applicants who apply. On average over 100,000 applications are sent into the Naval Academy’s admissions offices each year and only 5,000 students are accepted. They strive to get the very best of the best who will be determined to become the best student they can be and be the best soldier they can be.

The Naval Academy is different from most universities in the country because if you attend their school for longer than two years you are required to serve in the navy for an additional five years after graduation. So while many are just working on their majors Sean will be completing his major and learning about the type of job he will want to have while serving his six additional years. Sean has selected three jobs that he has interest in doing during his five years “I plan to get a career in engineering, so I am thinking about becoming a submarine commander, Navy Seal, Or an Aviator. Mainly a submarine commander because you get a education on nuclear engineering so once I am out of the navy I can get a nuclear engineering job somewhere and make a ton of money.” These are just a few of the jobs Sean has to select from that go along with his engineering career.

Although Sean is focused on his career after the Navy he is still very excited about the four years he will be spending on the Navy campus. Sean will be attending the Naval Academy Prep School his first year of college. He will be a red shirt freshman for the football team. This means that he will still have four years of college illegibility, so he freshmen year will not go to waste if he does not get a chance to play. “I am excited about going to the Prep School, it will give me a chance to get used to what the Navy is like, and it will also give me the leadership stills needed to become a better football player and a better soldier”.

The Prep school mainly consists of young men and women who have been kicked out of the Naval Academy for breaking some sort of rules, or for the people who have issues that need to be resolved before they can become a soldier. But there is a large amount of students who attend the prep school who are in the same situation Sean will be in. So this will help him get to know people that are also athletes, mainly football players so he can build friendships with others on the team.

Most importantly Sean Marben is attending the Naval academy because of the brother hood of all those who attend the school. “The people I meet in school may be the people I go to war with, so I will learn to trust every one of them even if I do not get along with them because one of those men or women may save my life some day.” Being part of the Navy does not end when you are graduated, what those men and women laearn and the experiences that they share will stay with them for the rest of their life. They will be reminded everyday that they fought for this country.

Sean is prepared for everything the Navy brings because he feels that the Naval academy is where he belongs. But he does hope that we will not be in a state of war while he is serving.