Aztec football

Warrior Wednesday: Mark Haines

/ Hunter O. Hewitt / 2 Comments

This week’s Warrior Wednesday story is on athletic trainer Mark Haines. Haines has been working with San Diego State for over 20 years, and is a huge part to the success of SDSU athletics. His friendly personality is contagious throughout the athletic center, and he is a favorite amongst men and women from all sports.

Haines grew up in East Lansing, Mich., near the campus of Michigan State. After high school, he attended Metropolitan State College in Denver, Colo. After completing general education courses, Haines was unsure of what the next chapter of his life would consist of.

One day while walking down a hallway on campus, he came across a flyer that said there was a need for athletic trainers. Intrigued by the opportunity, Haines poked his head in the door and asked for more information. He was a big fan of sports – he played several in high school – and he felt that it would be a fun thing to try.

After graduating, Haines was once again unsure of what was next for him. While working at a high school sporting event one day, he bumped into a trainer who attended Michigan State for its athletic training graduate program.

After discovering that his hometown school had the graduate program he was looking for, Haines made a call and sent in his application to become a graduate assistant. Although he was the last one to turn in his application, Haines was fortunate to receive the opportunity he was looking for.

“I called pretty late but the trainer told me to give it a shot,” Haines said. “I got lucky because a few weeks later, the person who was supposed to be the graduate assistant backed out last minute, and the trainer called me first. My application was the last one submitted, and he picked the one off the top of pile.”

Following his time at Michigan State, Haines began looking for a full-time job as an athletic trainer. He had applied for several jobs and was nearly hired at the University of Minnesota, but things did not work out. Soon after, Haines attended a small party with several other athletic trainers in the area, and he bumped into a girl who told him he should apply for a job at San Diego State.

“I bumped into a girl who was an incoming graduate assistant from San Diego, and she told me that San Diego State had a position open,” Haines said. “They had recently fired someone and needed to hire someone immediately. I got lucky that I called at the right time.”

After working primarily with the basketball team for over a decade, Haines recently transitioned to working with football. Although it’s a different sport, it hasn’t changed how he approaches his job.

“I don’t prefer one over the other, I just like working with the student-athletes,” Haines said. “I like working with young people. They are highly motivated, excited, and they have great stories. It’s just nice to be a part of that.”

Although it was a long journey that led him to San Diego State, it appears Haines has found his niche. He enjoys his job, and he feels that becoming an athletic trainer was meant to be for him.

“I think a lot of people talk about their purpose in life, and for me I guess this is my purpose,” Haines said. “There are a lot of people who have done things for me that I will never see again, and I will never be able to say thank you. I just want to pay it forward and help out these kids as much as possible.

“I’d love to tell you I was smarter than everyone else, but honestly I just got lucky. For some unknown reason I kept falling into these opportunities, and I guess that’s just life.”

Haines often calls himself lucky when he talks about his past, but he’s not the only lucky one. Every athlete at San Diego State is lucky to have Mark Haines as their athletic trainer.

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by Hunter Hewitt

GO AZTECS

Week 1 of the 2012 SDSU football season has arrived

/ Hunter O. Hewitt / 1 Comment

It’s finally here. After months of anxious anticipation, we have finally made it to the first week of the 2012 football season.

We are extremely excited for the first game. After three weeks of hitting each other and competing in training camp, we are ready to finally play against someone else. Game week has arrived.

Once you step foot inside the Fowler Athletics Center, it’s clear that it’s game week. Signs reading “Beat the Huskies” and “Game Week” can be found everywhere you turn your head. It’s a great feeling, as we have made it to the best time of the year, football season.

Week one of the football season also means the first series of stories on AztecsForLife.com. As I mentioned before, each week I will publish three stories.

First, I will publish a story on Wednesday on Mark Haines, an athletic trainer for SDSU. Haines has been with the Aztecs for over 20 years and is a huge part of our success. Check in on Wednesday to read about the dedication and hard work that he shows every day to help our football program. This is a part of the Warrior Wednesday series.

Next, I will publish a story on Thursday on Aztec legend Kyle Turley. After a stellar NFL career, the former SDSU offensive lineman has now moved on to the music scene. Stay tuned to hear about what Turley has been up since the end of his football career. This is a part of the Throwback Thursday series.

Lastly, I will publish a story on Friday on current Aztec wide receiver Dominique Sandifer. After a devastating knee injury that forced him to sit out the entire 2011 season, Sandifer is back and ready to go for his final season. He was recently voted as a team captain by his fellow teammates, and is a great leader both on and off the field. Check in on Friday to read about Sandifer and his story. This is a part of the Feature Friday series.

That’s it for now. 5 days until Washington!

One of the many signs around the Fowler Athletics Center

by Hunter Hewitt

GO AZTECS

Meet the Aztecs: Q&A with transfers Brice Butler & Ryan Katz

/ Hunter O. Hewitt / 2 Comments

The 19th and 20th (and final) in a daily series of Q&A’s with the 2012 signing class.

Although Brice Butler and Ryan Katz are new to San Diego State, both will play huge role during the 2012 season. They come from similar situations, as both graduated from their previous school and transferred to SDSU to use their final year of eligibility while beginning a graduate school program. Butler played at the University of Southern California before coming to San Diego State, while Katz played at Oregon State University.

With Katz at quarterback and Butler at wide receiver, SDSU was able to add two explosive and experienced players to an offense that lost quarterback Ryan Lindley and running back Ronnie Hillman to the NFL. Both players have been with the team since the spring semester, and they will look to have a breakout senior season for the Aztecs in 2012.

Brice Butler

Photo Credit: Ernie Anderson/SDSU Media Relations

Q: How has your experience at San Diego State been so far?
A: It’s been good. It was an experience change because San Diego is a lot more laid-back, while Los Angeles is a really fast-paced life. Being able to come down to San Diego has been great.

Q: What do you like so far about the city of San Diego?
A: Everything is accessible from San Diego State. The beach isn’t too far and nice restaurants are close by. It’s just a beautiful city.

Q: How were the offseason workouts for you?
A: I haven’t worked that hard in my life. It’s great for my last season because I have to put it all on the line. Coach Hall and these guys work really hard and it’s been benefiting me very well.

Q: What is your major and what type of career aspirations do you have outside of football?
A: I graduated with a public policy degree in real estate. Right now I’m starting a master’s program in homeland security. After football I really want to do something with football. I would love to be a reporter or analyst like Keyshawn (Johnson) or Chris Carter on ESPN. I like talking, I like the camera, I love football and I always felt like I would do something towards that.

Q: What do you like to do during your spare time?
A: I like to relax and strengthen my spiritual relationship with Christ. He has done so much for me, he has got me this far, and for me to still be alive is unexplainable to me. I also like to play video game and just kick back.

Q: Who are your favorite professional sports teams?
A: Right now I like the Thunder, that’s my team. I don’t really have a specific team in football. I like to watch and see who’s doing well each year and I enjoy watching them play.

Q: Is there any athlete that you look up to or try to model your game after?
A: I really like Calvin Johnson. He’s a bigger receiver with speed. He runs good routes, gets in and out of his cuts, makes tough catches, and for the most part he stays out of the spotlight. I also like the confidence and the moxie of Kobe Bryant.

Q: If you weren’t a football player, what sport would you be playing?
A: Basketball. I’d be in the NBA right now.

Q: What is like learning from a coach who has worked with several NFL receivers like Coach McDaniel?
A: It’s great. It’s always good to get taught by a guy who played in the NFL, especially someone who played the cornerback position. He can teach us how he looked at receivers as a corner. On top of that, he’s coached NFL receivers so he knows what he’s talking about.

Q: What are the most important things you’ve picked up from your father, being that he is a former NFL player?
A: Work ethic, never giving up, and always knowing that you can make it if you put in the work and the time. I was always around the game and he taught me to be a student of the game. You have to know film and be able to read coverage so when you are out there in the game it’s like slow motion.

Ryan Katz

Photo Credit: Ernie Anderson/SDSU Media Relations

Q: How has your experience at San Diego State been so far?
A: It’s been good, the transition took a little while, but I’m back in southern California and it’s nice to be closer to my family. I’m fitting in well with the team.

Q: What do you like so far about the city of San Diego?
A: Being from the Los Angeles area, San Diego is still a bigger city but it’s slower than Los Angeles. You still have the good weather in southern California so it’s nice.

Q: How were the offseason workouts for you?
A: They were tough. It was the hardest I’ve worked since I’ve been playing football and I think it’s good for our team to be working this hard.

Q: What is your major and what type of career aspirations do you have outside of football?
A: I graduated in the spring with a business finance degree, and I’m working on my master’s in education and sports leadership. Somewhere down the line I’d like to be a financial advisor or something in the financial field.

Q: What do you like to do during your spare time?
A: I like to go golfing. I’ve found a couple guys on the team that like to go and we went a few times this summer.

Q: Who are your favorite professional sports teams?
A: The Lakers are the team that I follow the most, and since Los Angeles doesn’t have a football team I’m a Denver Broncos fan.

Q: Is there any athlete that you look up to or try to model your game after?
A: I like Kobe Bryant because I like his determination. Even though he plays basketball, I look up to his work ethic and the way he attacks every day.

Q: If you weren’t a football player, what sport would you be playing?
A: If I could play another sport it would be basketball, that’s what I grew up loving and that’s what I follow the most other than football.

Q: What is it like learning from a former NFL MVP quarterback in Coach Brian Sipe?
A: Coach Sipe has been great. He has a lot of experience, more than the X’s and O’s, and he really relates to the position. He can go through different things that we’re seeing and since he’s actually done it all that’s a big plus.

Q: Have you also been able to learn from former Aztec quarterbacks such as Ryan Lindley and Adam Hall?
A: I’ve talked to (Ryan) Lindley a few times, he’s reached out to me and asked me how things are going. I think it’s great what he’s doing; getting picked up in the NFL. Coach Hall has let me know how things go down here and he has been a big help too.