From playing eight-man football at Pinewood School to committing to the University of Rochester for Division III football, senior Arjun Ari’s journey has been exceptional, marked by hard work and perseverance.
Before Ari came to Pinewood, he was nothing like a typical football commit.
“I was your stereotypical anti-social, Dorito-eating, video game-playing nerd,” Ari said. “When I was gifted with a fresh start at Pinewood, I wanted to be a better version of myself, and I accomplished this through trying new clubs, sports, and extracurricular activities—the most memorable being football.”
Initially, Ari faced challenges when starting football at a new school. For starters, his parents didn’t fully support his dream of playing football, and it took a while until they did.
“My parents weren’t supportive at first since I tricked them into letting me play; they thought I was playing soccer, European football, and I didn’t correct them,” Ari said. “It wasn’t until they caught me carrying shoulder pads and my helmet that they confronted me and were upset.”
In addition, playing a new sport for the first time presented challenges in itself.
“I made so many mistakes during practices and games that enraged [footall coach Yong] Kim and the other coaches,” Ari said. “I remember needing to search up ‘Football for dummies’ and other tips on YouTube because I had never played football before.”
Ari soon improved on the field, and it wasn’t long before he started preparing for the college level.
“I trained everyday, which included hitting the gym, having specific football workout splits, going to my local public school to run routes, and getting some field work and conditioning,” Ari said.
Ari had several motivations to pursue college football.
“It has always been my dream to get recruited for a sport because very rarely do you see Indians playing at the collegiate level,” Ari said. “Furthermore, to do so from an eight-man football team would be an incredible achievement that would get cemented in Pinewood history.”
Ari’s recruiting process with the University of Rochester was smooth, but it still required a lot of persistence and determination.
“The University of Rochester was already a school that I was going to apply to, so I thought that it wouldn’t hurt just to shoot my shot to get recruited to play football there,” Ari said.
However, the main thing that stood out to Ari was how the football team interacted with each other and how they behaved off the field.
“When I visited Rochester and saw their team play, I loved how everyone on the team supported and cared for each other,” Ari said. “They weren’t just teammates; they were brothers.”
This brotherly culture on the Rochester team reminded Ari of his strong connection with his football teammates at Pinewood.
“Everything from overnight trips, to bus rides back from games, regardless of winning or losing, team dinners, and brutal conditioning practices were key moments,” Ari said. “I loved every second of being a part of Pinewood football.”
All of this has left Ari with a lot of knowledge and advice that he hopes to pass down to the younger athletes at Pinewood.
“At the end of the day, hard work and obsession beats talent,” Ari said. “Goals aren’t given; they are earned.”
