Family Wisdom Guides Suter

Victory.

It’s what every athlete strives for. From little league to the major leagues, it’s the ultimate goal of anyone who steps onto a field, court, or rink.

For Brent Suter, victory is something he’s experienced his entire life.

The sophomore was a four-year letterwinner in both basketball and baseball at powerhouse Moeller High in Cincinnati. During Brent’s four years at the school, his basketball team won the conference title four times, won a state championship, and went 85-5. His baseball team won three conference titles and made a state final four, with Brent being named to the All-League and All-City teams.

“We were so used to winning, and being so much more talented than the other teams that even if we didn’t play our best, we knew we could still pull out a victory,” Brent recalls.

This dominance is a common thread in the Suter family. Brent’s father, Mike, won a football national championship in 1982 at Penn State. His mother, Shirley, was a state swimming champion in high school.

Having parents who know how to win had a major impact on Brent’s childhood, inspiring him to reach the high level of achievement that his parents attained.

“Seeing their work ethic really influenced me,” Brent says. “My mom still swims a bunch of laps [and] my dad goes to the gym a lot."

Yet despite their athletic achievements, the Suters always stressed that to be a winner, Brent would need to act like one. That meant showing commitment to his sport and giving one-hundred percent every time he stepped out onto the field.

“I think the biggest thing that we’ve probably taught Brent in terms of being a winner is preparation, working hard, giving it everything you’ve got,” Mike explains. “It’s not just the game. It’s what you’ve got to do to prepare.”

The lesson paid off, as Brent has displayed an unwavering commitment to his passion for baseball ever since he was a child.

“What set him apart is he just loved the game and worked hard at it,” Mike says. “He always wanted to throw a baseball, hit a baseball ... it wasn’t work for him, it was something he really enjoyed.”

Brent distinctly remembers a story from seventh-grade basketball, in which he was playing point guard and didn’t take a shot the entire game, even passing up wide-open lay-ups in order to give his teammates the ball. After the game, his parents brought him into a room which had a sign that read, “A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.”

“They were saying that if you have the talents God gave you, you should use them,” Brent explains. “You should grab the bull by the horns and take risks. Moments like that really helped me along.”

But for all the individual successes of the Suter family, Mike and Shirley made sure to teach their son that coming out on top wasn’t always the most important result.

“It was more about really being the best I could be, taking risks, working hard,” Brent says. “The focus wasn’t always on winning, it was on doing things the right way.”

In fact, the family of champions always made sure that their son knew there would always be a winner and loser in life. As a result, Brent grew up well aware that, despite his successes, he must always be prepared for a turning of the tide.

“You don’t want to go through your whole life winning,” Brent says. “Because then if something bad happens down the road, you can fall into some type of depression if you’ve never dealt with failure before and can’t see the silver lining in the clouds.”

Though Brent had his parents to teach him this method, Mike had to learn it the hard way. Playing Alabama during the 1982 season, Mike accidentally blocked his own team’s punt late in the fourth quarter, when he backed into the punter and the ball hit off his head.  The play cost the Nittany Lions—who were down by just three points—the game, as the Crimson Tide recovered the fumble and went on to win 42-21.

It was a humiliating moment for Mike, who was called “the loneliest man in college football” by ESPN’s Chris Berman. Ironically, the error occurred when he had just started to get an increase in playing time. Despite the fact that Mike was a key contributor on the team that went on to win 12 consecutive games and the national championship, it was that one moment which people always remembered.

It taught Mike about the unpredictability of sports, how any athlete can be defined by one moment instead of an entire career, no matter how unfair that may be.

“Joe Paterno always said ‘you’re never as good as you think you are when you win, and you’re never as bad as you think you are when you lose.’” Mike says.

It was a message he took to heart and passed on to his son, who also used it for comfort.

When Brent had a similar moment in middle school basketball, giving up a steal that cost his team the game, it was this message of keeping your head up that prevented Brent from getting too down on himself.

Just like his dad, Brent’s team ended up winning the championship that year, and Brent, just like his father, had learned how to accept failure.

It’s a lesson that Brent still holds in great importance today. As an outfielder and pitcher for the Harvard baseball team, which has struggled early in the season with a 3-10 start, Brent is on the other side of the win column for the first time.

But thanks to his parents, the kid who had always won is able to deal with losing.

“It’s an adjustment period right now, but I feel as if it will definitely be a good thing for me in the long run,” Brent says.

Just as he learned about how to deal with the rough patches from Mike’s miscue, Shirley’s advice has helped him fight through the team’s early-season struggles as well.

“My mom told me stories about some of the swimming practices that were just the most brutal things,” Brent says. “Not many people could get through them, but she did, which helps me.”

Despite his team’s woes, Brent continues to work hard, even though playing two positions is no easy feat.

“I’m definitely going through an adjustment period, both mentally and physically right now,” he says. “This year I’m learning new things. I haven’t hit for two-plus years so it definitely feels kind of new being up at the plate.”

After starting nine games as a freshman last season, Brent led the Crimson in wins, strikeouts, and ERA. This season, having to readjust to being an everyday player, he has struggled both at the plate and on the mound.

“It’s a challenge, but it’s making me look inside myself,” Brent says. “It’s definitely a test of my character.”

After a lifetime of triumph, there’s no reason to believe Brent won’t pass that test with flying colors.