Notes of my interview with Lorenzo Guess from Michigan State athletics caps off the busiest month I have had in this mentorship. At just over 15 minutes, this is pretty much right in the middle of the three interviews I did in terms of length, though due to the sheer volume of our conversation, I guess for lack of a better word, the transcription process took almost as long as for Nathan McCarter. Lorenzo’s story is that he has been with the Spartans since 2012 and is an associate coach in strength and conditioning plus the director of player enrichment. So he not only gets the players ready for the game, Lorenzo gets them ready for a future beyond sport. The latter, he said, has been a topic of discussion with his players amid the pandemic and questions about whether there will even be a college football season later this year.
“Getting an MBA helped me come up with different plans to help the guys be more successful after college and help me think of ‘how can I lead a program, how can I lead a company?’ by taking the different courses,” Lorenzo told me. He came across Tiffin University because his now-wife had accepted a graduate position with its track and field team. Here’s the kicker: Lorenzo is now going for his doctorate in education from the United States Sports Academy with an emphasis in Sports Management. His dissertation is on developing student-athletes for future success. Well, he is certainly in the right position for that at the moment.