University Southern California Trojans
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High Jump
/ Track & Field
Photo by: John McGillen/USC Athletics
Getting To Know Earnest Sears
May 17, 2018 | Track & Field, Features
Freshman high jumper Earnest Sears has burst onto the scene in 2018, capturing the Pac-12 high jump title and ranking sixth on USC's all-time list in the event. With the NCAA West Regional and NCAA Championships on the horizon, he still has things he would like to accomplish this season. I had a chance to catch up with Sears after practice the other day and ask him about his first season at USC.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about what inspired your decision to come to USC?
ES: USC had always been one of my favorite schools growing up, so when I got the opportunity to come here and be a part of the track and field program it was like a no-brainer.
Q: You played basketball in high school, how tough was it to sort of decide between track and basketball when making your college decision?
ES: It was actually really hard because I love basketball - I played it for about 15 years. Changing sports so early in my career and also transitioning to college just for track was really difficult. It was tough, but I think it was a great decision I made.
Q: How about the transition between high school and college athletics- has that been tough for you in your freshman season?
ES: It was definitely tough for the first couple of months because you're getting used to a new schedule. It's also a lot more demanding and you have to be on your A-game pretty much every day. Getting used to the new culture here at USC was tough, but once I did get accustomed to it it's been a lot smoother.
Q: How about being a student-athlete? Has it been tough to balance your schoolwork and your athletics?
ES: Yeah it has been a little difficult, but USC provides us with a lot of ways to make sure we're on top of our grades. The program is really centered around the athletes, making sure our work is getting done on time and things like that has helped a lot.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about your relationship with some of the upperclassmen,such as Randall Cunningham who also participates in high jump?
ES: Yeah, I have really good relationships with a lot of the upperclassmen. Randall for sure is one of my role models here at USC. He's sort of taken me under his wing and showed me the ropes in my freshman season. He's looked out for me a lot this year so definitely a special shoutout to him.
Q: How about your coaches? What have they done to help you prepare for the Pac-12 Championships and just the season in general?
ES: The coaches preach about being in the moment and preparing both mentally and physically, and they've taught us a lot about not taking anything for granted, especially in athletics. They've definitely been a great help to us all year.
Q: Just a couple of days ago you won the high jump in the Pac-12 championships- what does that mean to you and how does it feel to have such a big win as a freshman?
ES: It was definitely a great win to have as a freshman and it was one of my main objectives this year to win this high jump event. Being able to go out and do it in the fashion I did it in was even better- it was a really competitive event with a lot of great athletes, so it was a great feeling to finally have a big win like that.
Q: Do you have any personal goals for the rest of the season or have you already accomplished some of the goals you had for this year?
ES: Yeah, I've accomplished some of my goals, but I still have a lot more I want to reach. I definitely want to make it to nationals and when I'm there my goal is to score or even win the event. I just need to keep preparing and getting better every day and hopefully I'll get there.
Q: Do you have any pre-meet rituals? Any songs you listen to or meals you eat or anything like that?
ES: I usually eat the usual hotel breakfast before meets. I do the same routine of getting treatment with the physical trainers at certain times before my meets. I don't really listen to the same songs always but I do listen to the same genres, usually hip-hop, and some of the same artists before I go out like Kendrick, J Cole and Lil Uzi but that's about it for pre-game rituals.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about what inspired your decision to come to USC?
ES: USC had always been one of my favorite schools growing up, so when I got the opportunity to come here and be a part of the track and field program it was like a no-brainer.
Q: You played basketball in high school, how tough was it to sort of decide between track and basketball when making your college decision?
ES: It was actually really hard because I love basketball - I played it for about 15 years. Changing sports so early in my career and also transitioning to college just for track was really difficult. It was tough, but I think it was a great decision I made.
Q: How about the transition between high school and college athletics- has that been tough for you in your freshman season?
ES: It was definitely tough for the first couple of months because you're getting used to a new schedule. It's also a lot more demanding and you have to be on your A-game pretty much every day. Getting used to the new culture here at USC was tough, but once I did get accustomed to it it's been a lot smoother.
Q: How about being a student-athlete? Has it been tough to balance your schoolwork and your athletics?
ES: Yeah it has been a little difficult, but USC provides us with a lot of ways to make sure we're on top of our grades. The program is really centered around the athletes, making sure our work is getting done on time and things like that has helped a lot.
Q: Can you talk a little bit about your relationship with some of the upperclassmen,such as Randall Cunningham who also participates in high jump?
ES: Yeah, I have really good relationships with a lot of the upperclassmen. Randall for sure is one of my role models here at USC. He's sort of taken me under his wing and showed me the ropes in my freshman season. He's looked out for me a lot this year so definitely a special shoutout to him.
Q: How about your coaches? What have they done to help you prepare for the Pac-12 Championships and just the season in general?
ES: The coaches preach about being in the moment and preparing both mentally and physically, and they've taught us a lot about not taking anything for granted, especially in athletics. They've definitely been a great help to us all year.
Q: Just a couple of days ago you won the high jump in the Pac-12 championships- what does that mean to you and how does it feel to have such a big win as a freshman?
ES: It was definitely a great win to have as a freshman and it was one of my main objectives this year to win this high jump event. Being able to go out and do it in the fashion I did it in was even better- it was a really competitive event with a lot of great athletes, so it was a great feeling to finally have a big win like that.
Q: Do you have any personal goals for the rest of the season or have you already accomplished some of the goals you had for this year?
ES: Yeah, I've accomplished some of my goals, but I still have a lot more I want to reach. I definitely want to make it to nationals and when I'm there my goal is to score or even win the event. I just need to keep preparing and getting better every day and hopefully I'll get there.
Q: Do you have any pre-meet rituals? Any songs you listen to or meals you eat or anything like that?
ES: I usually eat the usual hotel breakfast before meets. I do the same routine of getting treatment with the physical trainers at certain times before my meets. I don't really listen to the same songs always but I do listen to the same genres, usually hip-hop, and some of the same artists before I go out like Kendrick, J Cole and Lil Uzi but that's about it for pre-game rituals.
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