Hitchcock on sports, family, dedication

I recently had the opportunity to sit down and chat with junior elementary education major Trevor Hitchcock. Trevor, for you who do not know him (like me, before this interview), is an exceedingly personable guy and a remarkable athlete. He is a national contender in the 35-pound weight throw. He is closing in on national records, and is striving to improve on his amazing first place hurl of 61’ 2.25” at the indoor championships last month. He also revealed himself as a bright and family-oriented individual with a keen sense of humor.Darrell: What made you get up one day and decide you wanted to throw a big, heavy object as far as you could?

Trevor: Well, when I was in high school I threw the shot and discus. I kind of picked up on it on my own. My coach at the time said just go on out and try it. For a couple of years, I was throwing the discus the wrong way. I was throwing it backwards, so it was coming off backwards. I moved to Falconer and Lucian Lodestro, who was my coach, showed me a couple of things I could do differently. When I was in eighth grade, and when I started high school, he really started working on me. And every day we just worked on little things here and there, so by the time I was a senior, I had gone to the state championships two years in a row.

D: You threw it backwards? How could you do that?

T: Well, the discus comes off the front of your finger, and I was throwing it so it was coming off my pinky finger. So it wasn’t going as far. Once I changed that I picked up about 50 feet.

D: Wow! Have you always been a big boy? In eighth grade, how big did you think you were?

T: In eighth grade, I was about 6’1”. In my freshman year of high school, I weighed about 170 pounds. And my football coach at the time said if I wanted to play varsity ball, I’d have to gain weight. I was too, but too skinny. So between my freshman and sophomore years, I gained 50 pounds. I weighed 220. I kind of fluctuated around there. Now I weigh 260, but I’m 6-5 and a half.

D: How did you put on 50 pounds?

T: Well, my parents built our home. My father’s a carpenter and he built it from the ground up. He did all the plumbing, electricity and everything. I think the experience I had with him, working on a house every day during the summer, put a lot of muscle on me. It bulked me up a lot. I know a lot about building houses now as well.

D: Are you on a strict diet?

T: I try to stay away from fatty foods. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.

D: Are there a certain number of carbohydrates you try to get each day?

T: Before a meet, I will load up on carbohydrates. There are certain drinks I have called “carbo-load” and this tremendous amount of carbs just keeps the energy there, so at the end of the meet, I’ll still have energy left.

D: Do you eat a lot of meat?

T: I eat lean meat and chicken. Some days I splurge and eat fatty stuff. Around nationals this year, I ate a humongous prime rib, but hey, I had just won the championships.

D: How about exercise? Are you on a real strict program?

T: Yeah, I work out four days a week for two hours. I’m not trying to be a body-builder. I’m trying to be a powerful thrower. I don’t want to look like Arnold Schwarzeneggar, but I’d like to be as big as he is.

D: What makes you the best thrower in the nation, at least in Division III?

T: I’m very dedicated to my sport. On the off days, when I’m not throwing outside, I’m in the weight room and I’m doing spins. I’ll go down the hallway in my dorm, and I’ll just spin, to get my tight spins. And a lot of power work in the weight room.

And a really good coach. Coach Ulrich is the best coach I’ve ever met. He’s unbelievable. He knows about every event in track and field. He knows the exact techniques. I’ve only been throwing a hammer since I was a freshman in college, and two years later I’m a national champion.

D: That’s amazing. What about your actual technique when you are throwing? What do you try to emphasize?

T: Low, tight spins are the main things and a big explosion at the end.

D: Why did you come to Fredonia?

T: When in was in high school, my big three sports were football, track and basketball. I was recruited by a lot of Division I schools for football. I almost went to the University of Connecticut on a football scholarship. And then the track scholarships came in. The University of Virginia was the biggest one.

My parents have been divorced for a couple of years and I’m very close to my mother. Whenever something needs to be done, I’m always there for her. And I only live a half an hour away, so I think the main thing that affected my decision to go to Fredonia was money. I mean I had the scholarships, but round-trip travel to and from school is not covered by scholarship. It’s knowing that whenever my mom needs something, I can be there for her. Fredonia has an excellent track program and a great academic program. It was one of the best I had seen in Division III.

D: What is the difference between Division III and I in terms of talent?

T: If you look at the rankings at the end of the year, the top thrower in D-I was 71’9” which is exactly 10’ from what I threw. And each individual event in D-1 track has its own coach. Coach Ulrich works with all the athletes.

D: Not to mention money.

T: Exactly, money as well. They have a lot of money to spend.

D: Tell me a bit about your competitions. I understand you took first place in the Division III NCAAs. What was that experience like for you?

T: Well, I had been there last year, I was very nervous, and I choked. My goal this year was to be ranked number one at some point in the year. I didn’t expect to win. Once I threw the big one in SUNYACs this year, I thought, “maybe I can do this,” and when I got to the nationals, I knew a lot of the throwers from the year before. When they saw me they said, “Hey guy. How you doing?”

The night before the competition at the hotel, we were sitting around the pool comparing notes on throwing and stuff, so it took a lot of pressure off, and I was real calm the next day.

But once the guy said, “start warming up,” game faces came on, nobody talked to each other, walkmans came on. It was very intense. The second place kid was right behind me the whole meet, so he was pushing me. That gave me the edge to say, “Hey, you’re not going to beat me. I’m here to win this one.”

D: How about the moment you realized you were ranked first in the country?

T: When the second place kid threw his sixth throw, and I had one to go, I turned to my coach and the guys from my team sitting over there, and I threw my hands up in the air, and all this adrenaline came to me. I didn’t even know how far my last throw went. I just went in, did my spin and threw it. I walked over to the guys and everybody just started hugging me. It was the best feeling in the world.

D: Was your mom there to see it?

T: No, but as soon as I was done, I ran to the phone and called her. She was screaming on the phone. I couldn’t believe it.

D: What is your goal now? You’re a junior and you’ve pretty much done all you could hope to do. What’s left for you to tackle?

T: My goal now is to become All-American outdoor as well. I’ve got the hammer and disc outdoor and defending my title indoor as well. I’ll try to put on weight and try to break the national record. That’s the one I want. I was only a quarter of an inch off last year.

D: Wow, a quarter of an inch. Is there any career for you in track and field once you get out of college, or is that just about it?

T: It depends on what happens this coming year. If I can get a hammer throw at 240 feet, I could possibly get a chance to throw at the Olympic tryouts. That would be the biggest thrill of my life.

D: That would be a great accomplishment. What other interests do you have other than your sports interests?

T: Well, I love working with my car. I bought a brand new car this year and I’m trying to sport it up a bit. I’m going to be a teacher, so it would be something to do over the summer, just for fun… have a little car to fix up and drive it around on Sundays with my family.

D: You’re going to be a teacher?

T: Yeah, I start student teaching next year, so it’s going to be a hectic year. It’ll be fun, though. I love kids.

D: What gets you by in Fredonia?

T: It’s a small area. I know a lot of people. I work downtown on weekends at Sunny’s as a bouncer. So I know everybody that goes to Sunny’s. I love being here. It’s fun. It’s a nice place to grow up in.

D: What are your plans, goals, dreams?

T: I’d like to try out for the Olympics some day. I’d like yo go south, maybe to Virginia and raise a family. I’d love to coach some day, just in a small town, with a good team and try to pick up where a lot of good coaches left off and put what I know from them into the kids I work with.

D: Do you still talk to your high school coach a lot?

T: Yes, he came to most of my meets this year, and when he didn’t, I’d give him a call and let him know how I did. This year when I became an All-American, Coach Ulrich got me three certificates, and I’m going to present one of them to him at the end of the year when I go back to see him. He’s never had an athlete go as far as I have, so a lot of his work was put into me. I’d like to present that to him as a thank you for all the work he did for me.

I would like to wish Trevor the best of luck, and applaud the rewards he has enjoyed from his hard training and dedication. Keep an eye out for Trevor next year as one of the finest athletes this college has to offer pushes himself to the next level of excellence.