Gus Goerzen, the 6-5 guard on the UBCO Heat men's basketball team, is finding ways to develop his professional skills while giving back to the athletic community on campus. While working towards his degree in science and striving for athletic success, Goerzen also works as a Peer Mentor, providing leadership and guidance for new student-athletes.
As someone who has been in the athletic community for years, Goerzen took a moment to recognize those who have helped him along his journey and taught him valuable lessons which he now passes on to other athletes.
"Being an athlete, you have a lot of mentors through coaching and older teammates, I've had some really good coaches that taught me how to be a good leader, how to communicate. My first year, too, being on the men's basketball team some of the older guys on the team were definitely mentors for me, just giving me little tips about how to manage your time, how to deal with sports and school."
Goerzen has taken the lessons from the mentors he has had which have contributed to his character and athletic ability and is now paying it forward through the Peer Mentorship program which allows him to assist first-year student-athletes in their transition to university life.
"I help them reach out to services like tutoring on campus and the learning strategist, Dr. Stephanie Jury, and kind of help them find their way. Whatever problems they might be having, I'll give them advice on time management, or how to talk to their professors: anything that goes with being a first-year student-athlete."
The Roberts Creek, B.C., product included that he "likes to work with athletes, people who are like-minded," and saw the position as "a good opportunity to work on my leadership skills". Beyond that, he noted the value of his experience, stating "any time you try to teach other people about something, you learn it more yourself too. So, a lot of the things like time management and managing stress levels, through giving people advice and teaching that, I've reinforced that for myself."
While the second-year science student noted various aspects of his role that are greatly valuable to both the athletic community at UBCO and to his own personal growth, Goerzen mentioned one specific experience which was particularly priceless to him.
Recently, Goerzen had the opportunity to present in front of some potential cross-country recruits where he was able to share his personal experience and give "an idea of what it's really like to be a student athlete. There were a lot of things I tried to mention that I didn't know coming in which can help them make a good decision about which university they want to go to and whether sports and school is something they can manage."
The ability to balance the professional, athletic, and academic areas of life can be a difficult skill to master, but Goerzen has a different, and wise, outlook on life and managing responsibilities:
"I'm really passionate about my sport and I do pretty well in school too, so it never really feels like a burden. I think being busy isn't necessarily a bad thing unless those things are taking away from each other or stressing you out. I think most of the battle is managing your mental health. So, I enjoy all the things I'm doing, and I actually feel more fulfilled and happier when I've got a lot going on and I feel like I'm productive."
Outside of his work as a Peer Mentor and his academic studies, Goerzen has big dreams for his future as an athlete and for the Heat basketball program.
"For me personally, my dream has always been to play professional basketball so, this is only my second year of eligibility, and obviously that's a bit of a long ways away but I'm just trying to get better every year, help turn this program into a winning team, and be the best player I can be."
The Heat have yet to play a game in the new year but after an 81-73 win in their final game before the break, Goerzen and the Heat squad are confident in their ability to carry the momentum into their remaining games this season.
"We've definitely done a lot of growing as a team. We're a new team, we've got a lot of new faces, transfers, trying to figure out our chemistry. We made some changes in the way we practice and the way we communicate, and if we can keep that up and keep setting new standards, then we can push that momentum through the new year for sure. We've had a slow start, but we've still got big goals, we think we can be the best team in the conference still, it's a pretty wide-open field. We're trying to win it all."
- Written by Seyara Campbell
