In the ring with Trey Jordan
2/19/2007 12:00:00 AM
Feb. 19, 2007
By Kailey Delinger, Media Relations Student Assistant
With four track meets and six months of being a Horned Frog behind him, Trey Jordan's attitude is approaching cockiness. And his coaches don't mind at all.
Jordan, a freshman thrower for TCU's track and field team, has already made a name for himself by winning the shot put at both the Arkansas Invitational and the Wes Kittley Invitational.
But the 19-year-old's coaches say they see something else in him that makes him stand out.
"He kind of has an air of confidence about him, almost a cockiness," throws coach John Kenneson said. "But that is something you need to have at this level...That's his strength."
Even Jordan himself acknowledges the conceit with which he approaches his sport.
"That's just the way I've always been," the Troy, Texas, native said. "I was brought up to always think that you're going to win, to expect that you're just going to go in there and do what you want to do."
An outgrowth of that confidence seems to be Jordan's ability to compete without overanalyzing what he is doing.
In that respect, Kenneson said, the three-time Texas state champion's age and inexperience are advantageous.
"The bad part of being young is you're going to make mistakes," Kenneson said. "And the positive side is that you just jump in there and mix it up, and you don't overanalyze and paralyze yourself. He's got that kind of approach."
A brief conversation with Jordan can demonstrate that. His simple, straightforward demeanor is obvious at the outset.
When asked how he can approach his sport with such apparent complacency, Jordan considered his answer and grinned.
"I'm a real blunt person when it comes to how I am around people and I guess that kind of carries over to athletics," he said. "I don't really think about what I say before I say it and I don't really think about what I do before I do it."
But Jordan's transition from high school to college hasn't just been characterized by winning and confidence boosts.
Kenneson said Jordan is still learning a new throwing technique that was introduced to him this year and at times, the process has been frustrating. While the thrower has made advances in improving his technique, his coach said he still has to battle inconsistency and reverting to the high school mentality of "grabbing it and chunking it."
Jordan himself, however, downplayed the difficulties of the athletic transition he has made and cited his new academic experience as the more trying of the two.
"I underestimated how hard the whole going to class everyday and study hall for so many hours is," the pre-major said. "It just takes a lot bigger toll on your body."
But neither Jordan nor his coaches doubt his ability to survive the freshman transition period and succeed at his sport.
Jordan said he hopes to take third in the Mountain West Conference this season and Kenneson has his sights set on an appearance at the NCAA regional meet.
"If he can contribute at a high level at the Mountain West meet and can be an NCAA regional qualifier as a freshman," Kenneson said, "that is a tremendous freshman year.
Players Mentioned
