Collegiate Alum Turns Lesson Learned into Position Earned

 

Ben, whose father graduated from U.Va., is a long time fan and grew up attending Cavalier basketball games. He says as soon as he heard about the opportunity he knew he should go for it. He believed he had the right foundation for the position, thanks to his experiences at Collegiate of having to endure a year of working hard to earn his way onto the Collegiate varsity basketball team.

 

During Ben’s junior year, he tried out for the varsity basketball team, and while he made the team, he served as a Blackshirt, instead of as a starting player.

 

Blackshirting players was a concept that was only around for about two years in collegiate athletics, according to Collegiate Boys’ Basketball Head Coach Alex Peavey.

 

“[It’s] an unorthodox approach to tryouts, and it’s the idea that sometimes a junior doesn’t make the team, but we might need them a year later,” said Coach Peavey. “It allows a player to be a part of the team, and still be able to play [limited amounts of] basketball, and tryout again for the next [year].”

 

Peavey says it was obvious Ben was not satisfied about being a Blackshirt, but he knew Ben was going to fight. Sure enough, Ben made the game roster his senior year and started a game towards the end of the season.

 

Ben acknowledges that not making it on the game roster was definitely motivation to work harder, and it turns out that his new position at U.Va. is similar to the tasks he had to complete as a Collegiate Blackshirt player.

 

“I probably wouldn’t have had the same appreciation for it, if I hadn’t had that experience at Collegiate,” Ben said.

When he interviewed for the manager position, Ben mentioned the Collegiate basketball program’s four cornerstones, which are similar to U.Va.’s pillars. Collegiate’s cornerstones include Compassion, Character, Courage and Seven - a numeral used by the Iroquois nation to represent the seven generations behind you that are impacted by every decision made.

 

At U.Va., “One of Coach Bennett’s five pillars is servanthood, and you learn to be a servant,” Ben said. “I was definitely a servant my junior year at Collegiate and I think that’s something that they really appreciated.”

 

Coach Peavey considers Buell’s position as manager a one-of-a-kind opportunity and is excited to see where the position will land him four years from now.

 

“He’s the poster child, I believe, of our four cornerstones and their five pillars,” said Coach Peavey. “You want to know what qualities Ben Buell has? Look at our cornerstones, look at their five pillars and you’ve described Ben Buell, and that’s why they hired him.”