Lane Watson runs his race during IMPACT
Lane Watson, a third-year member of the Troy track and field team, spent his summer running. Instead of running on a track or course, though, he spent it running on stage during IMPACT sessions.
“Lots and lots of caffeine,” Watson said, with a laugh, about staying energized for the sessions. “Don’t tell my coach that-- but lots of caffeine.”
IMPACT is Troy’s version of freshmen orientation. In the sessions, 14 handpicked IMPACT leaders spend two days showing freshmen around campus, teaching them the basics and helping them get ready for their first year in cardinal.
Watson, a Fairhope, Alabama, native, was one of those IMPACT leaders over the summer. He alsowas balancing his offseason training for the upcoming cross-country season.
“[Balancing] it was tough,” Watson said. “We didn’t start sessions until 8 a.m. or 9 a.m., but I had to get up around 5:30 a.m. to get in a seven-to-eight-mile run.
“Then, the full sessions on Monday and Thursday went until midnight. Then, the next morning, I didn’t want to get up, but some days I had to, or I had to run in the afternoon.
“It was definitely a struggle.”
Getting involved as an IMPACT leader was something Watson had aspiration for since freshman year, with his own IMPACT leaders leaving a big impression on him.
“I had a bunch of mentors when I came into college, and my IMPACT leaders were a big part in that,” Watson said. “They were telling me motivation that I could hold all these positions no matter how much I had to balance.
“I’ve only got four years to try and pack in as much as I can.”
With all the talk of mentors and mentoring, Watson knew he had to do the same for his groups. Watson was one of two leaders for the blue group, nicknamed the “Wave Runners,” and students from his “Wave Runners” still see him around.
“[I run into them] all the time,” Watson said with a laugh. “It’s been so great seeing all the students that I got to meet over the summer and see how they’re doing.
“I wanted that opportunity [to be a role model] so bad, because my IMPACT leader did so much for me and the school did so much for me.”
Watson is one of 13 members on the cross-country team and is on scholarship with the university. That scholarship, the investment the school has put into Watson, makes him so much more eager to give back to the school he loves.
“I felt like I owed the school something,” Watson said. “Something other than athletics, so when the applications came out, I was like, ‘I’m going to wing it and go from there.’
“It was honestly one of the best opportunities I’ve ever been given here, other than my offer.”
During the summer, Watson was a member of a 14-person IMPACT leader team. Watson’s preparation for cross country races transitioned into the same preparation for IMPACT sessions.
“The community part plays a big role,” Watson said. “You want to look in the mirror at the end of the day and know, ‘Did I do enough? Did I eat enough? Did I get enough sleep?’
“It’s the same thing for IMPACT. ‘Did I do the job correctly? Was I intentional with my students?’ The one thing that keeps you going through both those things is the community.”
A lot of parallels can be drawn from the life of an athlete and the life of an IMPACT leader with the early mornings, late nights, discipline and having to rally the team. For Watson, it was just a transition from one team to another.
In Troy’s first meet of the season, Watson was the third highest finishing Trojan, finishing the JSU Foothills Invitational 23rd and helping the men's team capture a fifth-place finish.
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