Story by Josh House \u2022 Staff Reporter<\/p>\n
Photos by Jon Shapley \u2022 Video Editor<\/p>\n
Trey Gowan knows exactly what he wants \u2014 to be a leader on and off the basketball court \u2014 and he’s doing everything in his power to make it happen.<\/p>\n
Gowan hones his leadership skills at Austin Community College as a member of the Student Government Association (SGA) He represents and works on behalf of his fellow students as the Rio Grande Campus senator.<\/p>\n
SGA Vice President Carlos Charles said Gowan shown leadership through service by volunteering to organize and run an upcoming charity event that involves collecting socks for the needy.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe said, \u2018I want to collect socks. I\u2019ll handle the business and all that stuff. \u201d\u2019 Charles said as he recalled his conversation with Gowan. \u201cHe\u2019s always making sure he gets school work done, [too]. \u201c[He\u2019s] actually being a physical leader as well; leading by example.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gowan\u2019s affinity for leadership is also reflected in his passion for basketball.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really want to walk on at the University of Texas (UT) and be a leader on the basketball team … and wear burnt orange,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Gowan didn\u2019t say he wanted to make a name for himself by putting up big numbers or getting highlight reels. He said his goal is first and foremost to become a leader. This line of thought is reflected in his choice of role models.<\/p>\n
Gowan said he looks up to professional basketball players Larry Bird and Tim Duncan. The two players are known not only for their production on the court, but for their tough mentalities and \u201cno-diva\u201d attitudes.<\/p>\n
Although Gowan is inspired by Bird and Duncan, his goal of playing Division I basketball began when he was a child and was shaped by his mother, Michelle Kirby, who played basketball in high school and went on to play Division I at Clemson University on a full scholarship.<\/p>\n
Gowan credits his mother with giving him his start in basketball.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started playing when I was really young. My mom used to put me outside with the dirt and the ball,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mother and son spent hours on the court together and were very competitive. \u201cIn eighth grade Trey was about the same height as me \u2014 6 feet 1. By the time he was in 10th grade he was 6 feet 7 and started dunking on me,\u201d Kirby said. \u201cTrey has a really big heart and when he does something, he does it will full thrust.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kirby said her son is training hard to prepare for the UT tryouts, a process that Gowan admitted would be challenging. However, he said he\u2019s definitely up for the challenge.<\/p>\n
Gowan said his training regimen includes bulking up on a protein-heavy diet, working hard at practice and training at the gym four times a day and said he believes that hard work beats talent, when talent doesn\u2019t work hard.<\/p>\n
Chris Braden, manager of the Train 4 The Game fitness center where Gowan works out, said that Gowan works his butt off and trains hard and diligently.<\/p>\n
As Gowan focuses on physical preparation, he still remains dedicated to his studies and and responsibilities to SGA. He said he\u2019s focused on being successful on and off the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just putting in my all and going hard all day,\u201d he said. \u201cHard work beats talent, when talent doesn\u2019t work hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Discipline and leadership are traits that Gowan said he developed while in the Air Force.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it takes a lot of hard work,\u201d he said, \u201cand if I keep it up, I think I got a real shot at it.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Story by Josh House \u2022 Staff Reporter Photos by Jon Shapley \u2022 Video Editor Trey Gowan knows exactly what he wants \u2014 to be a leader on and off the basketball court \u2014 and he’s doing everything in his power to make it happen. Gowan hones his leadership skills at Austin Community College as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4015,"featured_media":302,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4015"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.austincc.edu\/accent\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}