Darryl Trotter Has Confidence To Reach His Goals
March 17, 2011
Kansas horizontal jumper Darryl Trotter certainly knows the ups and downs of being a Division-I student athlete, and eventually, when his time on the track is complete, he would like to help other athletes with their trials and tribulations. 
“(When I graduate from KU), I want to be a sports psychologist,” said Trotter, a junior from Las Vegas, Nev. “I’ve done sports for most of my life and I like psychology, so I would like to put the two together. I probably want to try and help other athletes while they’re participating in their sports because everybody has their highs and lows.”
Like most student-athletes who are trying to decide where to continue their athletic careers, Trotter had a tough time choosing where to go to college.
“Coach (Wayne) Pate saw me at this meet called ‘Great Southwest’ in Albuquerque, N.M., and I still wasn’t sure where I wanted to go after high school, I just wanted to impress the coaches who were at the meet. (In the triple jump), I jumped 49-05.00 ft. and Coach Pate told me he wanted me to come to Kansas.”
When watching Trotter prepare for the upcoming outdoor season, it is clear that Coach Pate’s influence has helped him. At the 2010 Kansas Relays, Trotter set a personal best in the triple jump with a leap of 15.21m (49-11.00 ft.).
Year by year, Trotter continues to improve. At the Arkansas Last Chance Meet earlier this month, he set another personal best – this time in the long jump. With a mark of 6.85m (22-05.75 ft.), it marked the second-straight year in which he has set a new personal best in the event.
When he came to Lawrence, Trotter knew he had made the right decision. He gives a lot of credit to the man who recruited him, Coach Wayne Pate.
“Working with him is hard work; it’s been a good experience. He’s actually made me a better athlete physically, so now it’s all about me putting everything together,” Trotter said of the two-time National Assistant Coach of the Year.
With the outdoor track and field season starting this weekend, Trotter already has his mind on bigger things.
“I just need to continue to be aggressive and work hard. I want to hit the 50 foot mark in the triple jump so I can be competitive at the Big 12 meet and hopefully even Nationals. I’ve been trying to reach 50 feet ever since I’ve been here. Hopefully that happens real soon,” Trotter said.
With his teammate’s help, reaching his goals should not be too much of a problem.
“The people in our group have a good type of relationship and we work hard with each other every single day, everyone is trying to get better all the time. Knowing that everyone has your back is the best thing about being on the KU track team,” Trotter explained.
The 2011 outdoor track and field season begins for Trotter and his Jayhawk teammates this Saturday at the Mayaguez Spring Classic in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.
