Not very often can a student at a university play in a collegiate sport for their school, but how often can one say they played four sports collegiately?
Senior Rayce Houser is exercise science major at Pacific University, who is currently a member of the Boxer swim team. Over the course of his first three years at Pacific, Houser participated in varsity football, baseball, golf and now swimming.
Houser came into college with the intent to focus on his academics as he began Pacific’s rigorous exercise science program. However, he was given the opportunity to play on the football team after being recruited out of high school and according to Houser, football played a minor role in his decision to come to Pacific.
After his first year with the football team, his high school baseball coach emailed Houser convincing him to try out for the baseball team as well, since football and baseball do not conflict in season with each other. After a few practices, Houser was informed that he earned a spot on the team. But, his tenure with the team was short lived.
“Unfortunately, some things didn’t plan out quite right so I ended up now playing baseball subsequent years,” Houser said.
After his second year of football came to an end, Houser decided to email the golf coach, Richard Warren, to see if there was an opportunity to play on the team. Despite never competing on the golf team in high school, Houser decided to give it a shot.
“Golf was always something I did for leisure during the spring and summer months,” Houser said. Coach Warren decided to give him a chance after seeing him play. Houser participated on the team for the second half of the golf season (Spring) and was also on the roster for his junior year while still playing
on the football team.
When his senior year came around, Houser decided to leave the golf and football teams with the intent to focus on his academics and his senior research project and grad school applications.
That changed when swim coach Alec Webster approached Houser as their team was in need of male swimmers. Webster heard he swam when he was younger so presented Houser with the opportunity to try out.
“I was a little resistant at first and wasn’t really interested,” Houser said. “One day I observed a practice and figured I might as well give it a shot. Honestly, it was one of the best decisions I have ever made.”
Houser has built quite the resume at Pacific and is something he greatly cherishes. He has built relationships with many players and coaches that have made the hard work worthwhile for him and he has been given the full collegiate experience that not everyone can get.
“The experience has been awesome!” Houser said. “If someone would have told me I would have played four collegiate sports, I would have said he/she is crazy.”
What is next for Houser is unknown, but if a team is in need, there is no doubt Houser could always be a possibility.
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