By: Alvin Wilson
Freelancer
The phrase “go hard or go home” may be the most accurate way to describe Andy Avgi, a junior athlete who has a strong desire to compete.
While most athletes’ thirst for competition and victory would be quenched by one sport, Avgi thirsts for more. And at 6’6“ and 270 lbs., Avgi is built well to play a wide variety of competitive sports.
Avgi has been playing basketball for three years at Western, and, on his final stretch toward graduation, he decided to try for football.
“When I decided to play basketball in college, I knew there would be some point in my life that I would want to play [football] again,” said Avgi.
Avgi mentioned a talk with Kevin Boss, NFL tight end and Western alumnus, that influenced his decision.
“I talked with Kevin Boss, who used to play football and basketball here, about the opportunity of playing after college,” Avgi said, “I really do want to play after college, potentially the NFL. I think that’s really what pushed me to do it.”
Although Avgi sees football in his future, he said basketball was his first passion.
“In high school I played a lot of sports, the main ones being basketball and football, and honestly I enjoyed basketball more,” he said. “I think a big part of that was that we were better in basketball than we were in football. In football we were kind of at the bottom of the pack.”
Avgi has been a competitive person for as long as he can remember. This drive for competition fuels his desire to perform to his full potential.
“When I was growing up, I was really competitive,” said Avgi. “I want to be the best at whatever I do. It’s just kind of ingrained in my brain. Whatever I’m doing, I’m going to do it to my fullest.”
Playing two sports at a time sounds like a difficult task, but Avgi is handling it well.
“It’s actually not too bad,’ he said, “Basketball season doesn’t officially start until November. Right now I’m just focused on football until football season is over. When it’s basketball season I’ll focus just on that. I’ll probably start shooting with the coach within a week or so, but it works out pretty well. “
Loyalty to the team is highly valued in sports, but Avgi said his teams understand his decision to play both sports.
“There’s always a lot of joking around, like, ‘oh come on, just play basketball,’ or, ‘just play football,’ but they know it’s in my best interest to play both. I can actually help out on both teams.”
Avgi is enjoying his experience so far, especially because it is something new.
“It’s definitely fun. I like it because it’s different. It’s something I’m not used to,” said Avgi. “It’s re-learning something I haven’t done in a while. I’ve been doing the same things in basketball, so it’s nice learning different things and things I never knew about football when I was in high school.”
