June 26, 2009

In a USF Summer Baseball Blog special edition, senior outfielder Zach Kim reminisces about his time at USF and lets us in on his future plans.

Zach Kim

What are some of your best memories from USF?

It's hard for me to really narrow down a few specific instances but I know for a fact that my best memories all have something to do with baseball. Being a college athlete requires a player to sacrifice what many would call "the college experience", so I don't have the typical stories you might hear at a 10-year reunion. What I do have is an experience that will last a lifetime. I was a member of the first and only USF baseball team to play in the NCAA tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska. I remember coming out of the dugout before our game against Nebraska and being able to feel the ground shudder under the roar of Nebraska fans. Our fans were outnumbered roughly 100-to-1, yet at games end, our little section behind our dugout could be heard through Haymarket Park. Words can't describe the rush felt by every player. Being a part of this team has also brought me some of my closest friends who I will have for the rest of my life. Working with them on and off the field has created many of my best memories.

What will you miss the most?

I could sit here and say that I'm going to miss the roar of the crowd and the rush from stealing bases... and it would be the truth... but that's not what I'm really going to miss when I look back on my time at USF. In being a member of the baseball team for five seasons, I have had the opportunity to mature, both as a player and a person. I'm going to miss working through challenges with coaches and teammates. I'm going to miss traveling on the road with my closest friends. Most of all, I'm going to miss being a part of a group of guys brought together by a game to represent an entire university and an entire way of life.

Baseball has been dubbed by many as "The Great Equalizer" for its constant failures. In playing this game, I have a new approach to the rest of my life. I am more driven to attack my life and all its challenges with a relentless mentality that enables me to take risks, accept failure, and achieve success in a way that would otherwise not be possible.

What are some things you have learned from coaches, professors, teammates, and/or friends while playing here that you will take with you into your next endeavor?

The coaching staff at USF is doing more than developing baseball players. They are developing people. I have become a better baseball player in my five years here, but more importantly, I have become a better human being. When a player comes to USF, they are going to be treated as an adult whether they like it or not. In being held to a standard of excellence on and off the field, I have been molded into the person I am today. It is not asked that players carry themselves in a certain way at USF... It's expected.

How do you feel having spent your entire collegiate career at USF?

I don't know what it would have been like to go to more than one institution, much less play baseball in two different programs. I have loved every minute spent at USF. When I was looking at schools to attend, baseball was a big factor in my decision. But I didn't look at schools for the right reasons. I was drawn to the big name schools with the best facilities and the biggest reputations. I had been talking to U.C. Berkeley about playing baseball when USF contacted me. I didn't really give USF the time of day until Cal fell through. Had I done my homework and kept in touch with USF, my decision would have been much easier and it would have been made much sooner! USF has been the perfect fit for me. I love the school, the education and the baseball program. I can't imagine spending college in another place.

What's next for you?

The MLB draft didn't go as I had hoped so it's time for me to go a different direction with my life. In a conversation I had with Coach Giarratano after the draft, coach told me "Baseball is a funny thing. It's a great game that you keep with you your entire life, but it never ends on your terms. Even if you play professionally, it doesn't end when you're ready to be done with it". I believe those words completely, and it is for that reason that I have made the decision to move on. I feel there is no better time for me to walk away from the game. I had a good senior year and I spent it with a group of guys I wouldn't trade for any "signing bonus".

Currently, I am studying for my LSAT exams before I apply to Law school. I expect to rejoin former teammate Tavo Hall in Munich, Germany for a spring of European ball before I return and begin my graduate studies. That's the tentative plan, but life's a funny thing... I expect a few more curve balls to come my way before it's all said and done.

Any advice to your former teammates?

You're a part of something special. It's something that most people will never experience. Enjoy your time as a player and as a student. USF is a program unlike any other in the country. You're a part of a program that is bigger than any one person, but at the same time is never too large for any one individual to make a difference. Make the difference or become the difference... and enjoy the process of doing it.

Go Dons!