 "Photo: Photo Courtesy of the USC Athletics Department")
Collin Crick is just a regular man.
The Gamecocks are just a regular football team.
The football on Crick's desk is just a regular football.
Or, at least, that's what one would think at first glance.
Crick began his journey as a Gamecock fan the second he was born. He was raised in South Carolina and enrolled at USC in 1993. He finished his undergraduate and graduate degrees at USC. He then began the work that led him to where he is now - USC's CHAMPS coordinator.
Crick works closely with most Carolina athletic teams, striving to help all student-athletes in the five areas that CHAMPS - Challenging Athletes' Minds for Personal Success - represents: athletic excellence, academic excellence, personal development, career development and community service. Crick works closest with the community service side of CHAMPS.
"Every student-athlete is encouraged to do 10 hours of community service a year," Crick said. "Normally they do a good bit more than that, because they'll do 10 hours in team projects where the team does something together. So, in addition to those team projects, most students tend to get involved elsewhere."
Crick does whatever he can to facilitate student-athletes in their never-ending quests to find a way to help out in the community. Crick has a list of organizations always looking for help and support from student-athletes.
One such organization is the D.A.R.E. graduation program, where a Gamecock player speaks at a local school and encourages students to lead drug-free lives. One of the events many football players look forward to is Camp Chemo, a summer camp for children with cancer undergoing chemotherapy treatments.
"Once the guys have done it once, they always want to go back and do it again," Crick said. "A lot of times things are mandatory in the athletics department. You've got to go to practice, you've got to go to class, you've got to do all these things, but with community service, it's all volunteerism. Whenever I call a student about a project, they're more than willing to work it into their schedule."
In the era of 9-to-5 jobs, commuter traffic and movies such as "Office Space," Crick is a man who is doing what he loves. Crick has dedicated his life to helping student-athletes develop into people who can enter the working world with experiences that give them a great perspective on life. He has worked at USC since he earned his graduate degree; he started out as an academic adviser and worked his way up to where he is now.
The community service aspect of Gamecock football is not something many people talk about. That's because men such as Crick and students such as those on the football team aren't about to blab about it. To them, it is just something that they should be doing.
"I think that the experiences (student-athletes) get working with young people, serving as a positive role model, is very helpful for them," Crick said. "You know, the student-athletes get as much out of it as the people they are working with. I think that's very rewarding to see."
Crick is more than just your regular 9-to-5-er. He's a man doing his part to make a difference.
The Gamecock football team is more than just that. Many of its student-athletes try to use their position to make a positive impact on those who look up to them as heroes.
As for that football on Crick's desk, after a couple football players come into his office, sign the ball and personally deliver it to a sick boy in the local children's hospital, it's going to be much more than just a regular football.
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