M Keith Peifer is a Offensive Tackler for the UAlbany football team. He is from Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, a town outside of Harrisburg. He has been playing football since he was in 4th grade. He took a year off in 8th grade, and had no intentions of playing the following year until his high school coach approached him. His eight years of playing football led him to be one of UAlbany's recruits. When asked why he chose UAlbany, Peifer said "I liked the coaches, I liked the university itself, and I got a nice little scholarship." He is glad he made this decision and plans to stay at the university for his entire football career. Peifer did not get playing time this past season because he made the decision to be a Red-Shirted Freshman. This means that the freshman sits out his first academic year, but it does not count towards the NCAA four-year eligibility that an athlete has. Peifer believes that people do this "to get more confidence, to develop as a player."
Being a Division I football player is not an easy job. The members of the team have to lift weights four times a week for an hour and a half to two hours each time. Two mornings a week, the players complete a team run which lasts about an hour. On Wednesday's the freshman football players are required to do yoga. There are also academic requirements that the athletes must meet. Each freshman must attend Study Hours for at least six hours the first semester. After the first semester, required time may range from four to eight hours, depending on the player's GPA. If the athlete earns a GPA higher than a 3.3, then he is exempt from Study Hours. The GPA requirement for Study Hours exemption drops drastically sophomore year to a 2.5. During what's left of his free time, Peifer usually takes naps, plays video games, and studies. Many people think that student athletes receive a lot of privileges, but Peifer disagrees. "Maybe early registration, so we can schedule around our practices, but that's it." When asked what the best part of UAlbany football was, Peifer didn't hesitate to say his fellow teammates. "There's some good guys on the team," stated Peifer with a look of assurance.
1 comment:
I like the idea of this interview and you give a good reason why other readers should be interested in it -- your money is paying for this guy to be here.
How did you get this interview? Do you know him or you got him to speak strictly as a stranger?
There's not as much personal about him as opposed to student atheletes in general. For example, what is his GPA and what's he studying. What other schools might he have attended?
Post a Comment