The 2019 Rams Reflect is the third in a series of annual collections. Senior captains and representatives of Suffolk teams have been invited to contribute viewpoints based on personal experience from both their senior seasons and full varsity careers at Suffolk.
For a complete listing of past and present Rams’ Reflections, click here.
Connor Troio | Hometown: Shrewsbury, Mass. | Economics
Looking back on the time spent being an athlete at Suffolk University, I have realized all of the true friendships and life lessons I have gained in the last three years. The transition from being a transfer student was made much easier by the friendships and experiences with the baseball team my sophomore year. Being able to lift weights at Ridgeway, practice and then play with your close friends is a great experience that I will miss in the real world. There are a lot of life lessons that are taught through college athletics, especially about hard work and dealing with adversity. In my three years at Suffolk, everyone in the program was dedicated to working towards the bigger goals such as being GNAC champions and winning NCAA regional games. The winning culture is great for striving towards bigger goals and passing on standards of success and work ethic to new players in the program.
Some of my favorite memories of being a part of the program were winning two GNAC titles and playing in Florida over spring break, and spending the week with teammates. These are memories that I will never forget and am glad I was able to be a part of the program at this time. Now looking back on my experience, I do not care about particular statistics in games, but rather the positive experiences shared with my teammates and coaches. Going out and working with and competing on the field with my friends is something I will miss for the rest of my life. Whether it was in fall ball or training in the winter before Florida, it was a competitive and great environment to be a part of. Being a part of a competitive environment will help make everyone around you a better player and person.
I would like to thank Coach Del Prete, Coach O’Brien, and Coach Jacobson for helping me improve as a player and taking a chance on me three years ago. They do a great job of creating a competitive environment that helps players improve and be the best that they can be. I would like to thank all of my teammates from the past tree years for providing great support and friendship to me that I will never forget. I thoroughly enjoyed my time being an athlete at Suffolk because it gave me an opportunity to also prioritize academics and live in Boston which is exactly what I wanted when I transferred to Suffolk. I am extremely grateful for the experiences and opportunities that were provided to me for being an athlete at Suffolk University. The friendships and life lessons that I obtained while at Suffolk University will last with me for the rest of my life.