By: KSU Sports Information
“Hands up in the air because the sky is the limit. Can you see me up there? The sky is the limit, the sky is the limit.” These are the last words that Reggie Lewis hears as he solely prepares for a track meet. Before the spectators’ cheers and before the coaches’ yells, Lewis goes to a place all for himself to concentrate on what is important. Lewis looks at his very first gold medal that he keeps with him at all times and focuses on all the reasons why he runs and what it means to him. He does not run for his own acclamation, but he runs for reasons bigger than himself.
When Reggie Lewis was first getting his feet wet in the world of sports, he began with football like his older brother. As he got older and entered middle school, Lewis began to play basketball, and in high school he also became a valued golf player. He played one year of baseball and three years of golf and basketball for his high school in Albany, Ga. It doesn’t take a sports enthusiast to realize that Lewis is a very well rounded athlete.
“My heart was with basketball, but golf was much more fun. I had more control of what was happening,” Lewis says about his sport of predilection. He has excelled in every sport he has participated in; he was offered scholarships for two of three, but chose to take an entirely different route. He had an immense passion for sports, but one incident changed everything.
During Reggie’s junior year of high school, his older brother Dexter passed away and Lewis says, “Sports lost all their meaning to me.” He explains how his brother was always the one who made him better at sports and played everything alongside him with passion for the game, so when his brother was gone, “I didn’t want to do anything,” Lewis said.
His spirits were lifted as he transferred high schools for his senior year. As baseball and golf were coming to a close, Lewis decided he would take a spontaneous attempt at track and field. He auditioned for the long jump, but when the coach tested out his running legs against the already solidified team, he left them all in awe of his undisclosed talent. The coach, understandably, pulled him from jumping and made him a sprinter.
“I knew I was fast, I just didn’t know how fast I really was,” Lewis remembers his first attempts at racing with his older brother. His father ran track and he would also recall lightheartedly racing with his brother for fun. The coach first started him out in running long distances, but Lewis made it clear that his “body wasn’t made for long distance running.” He knew then that he was a born sprinter, so his drive for running grew with every meet. He won the gold medal for his first 100 meter dash and keeps the medal to remind him of his goals to continually improve.
When Lewis thinks about why he began running track he immediately goes back to thoughts of his brother. “When I run, I am running to him,” he explains his vision as he sprints down the track. He also says that it gives his family something to be proud of. “I’m doing well in track and with my grades, so they are very supportive.” With a slight chuckle and a big grin on his face that exposes an inner gracious personality, Reggie says, “I can always hear my grandparents cheering me on, as they are always louder than anyone else in the crowd.”
Lewis himself has always been his teams’ biggest cheerleader as well. During a recent trip to the Atlantic Sun Conference Indoor Championship, he was injured after a record-breaking long jump that won him first place and gave the Owls and early edge. Even though he was unable to compete in day two of the conference, Lewis cheered his team on all the way to the A-Sun Conference Championship.
His coaches have also been an influencing power within his athletic career. His high school coach, Coach Calhoun, is still in contact with Lewis and always encouraged him to push himself. He goes to his coaches after every meet and eagerly inquires on what he can improve on and absorbs all of the advice they give him. He constantly wants to learn more about the sport that he excels in so he can be the best possible. Lewis remembers telling his coach, “I don’t like running, I just like running fast!” And he has definitely proved his sprinting skills throughout his freshman year here at Kennesaw State University.
His first meet as a college freshman consisted of Reggie breaking two KSU records and coming in second place for another. At his second meet he broke his own record and he says, “I had to find myself. I couldn’t go left or right, so the only way I had to go was up.” Lewis gives credit for his success to his drive to improve and his faith in God. He is happy and humble that he “is good at something I never thought I would be good at.”
Lewis maintains an ambitious outlook for his future in track as he aims to try out for the Olympics in April. In the more near future, he wants to continue to run track all four years of college for Kennesaw and help build the programs reputation on a national level. How does he prepare for all of this success? He focuses on his family and his brother. Lewis relaxes before a meet and listens to the gospel music that he grew up listening to. Lewis says there are three things that he must have with him at all times: the Bible, his gold medal and a picture of his brother.
“You either live in the moment or let time pass you. I only have 10 seconds to do what I need to do, and since I’ve had my brother taken away from me, I don’t have that time now. I have to do it now ‘cause I’ll never get it back,” as Lewis shares what life has taught him. He thinks of this every time he prepares for a meet. He also prays Psalm 23, thanking God for all he has been blessed with and prays predominantly for his family. Reggie Lewis is a talented and rising young athlete, but when he runs he does not simply run for self-satisfaction. He runs for passion, family pride and the loving memory of his lost brother.
