The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a lot of what happens in college sports to end - games, practices and workouts. However, the 'student' focus of student-athletes has stayed just as consistent.
Salt Lake Community College's student-athletes have long treated their academic focus with vigor, posting numerous classroom achievements and earning corresponding rewards. With the retirement last year of longtime SLCC Women's Basketball coach Betsy Specketer, the department found the namesake for an award that focuses on four core attributes it wanted to recognize - scholarship, integrity, passion for being a student-athlete and advocacy for others. In the second year of the award, SLCC Men's Basketball player Asa McCord was named as the 2019-20 recipient of the 'Betsy Specketer Bruin Achievement Award' as a celebration of his career with Salt Lake.
McCord, who recently committed to continuing his student-athlete career at Utah Valley University, helped lead Salt Lake to a No. 4 overall seed in the 2020 NJCAA National Tournament, prior to the tourney being canceled due to COVID-19. The Westlake High product was part of a 2019-20 Bruins squad that went 29-4 overall, going undefeated in Scenic West Athletic Conference play.
The graduating sophomore said winning the award named after the SLCC coaching legend is gratifying.
"In my two years at SLCC, I was blessed to be surrounded by a lot of high-quality people who have taught me a lot and improved my life," he said. "I feel honored that the same people who taught me so much respect me enough to give me an award like this."
Kyle Taylor, McCord's coach with SLCC Men's Basketball, said McCord is deserving of the recognition. "I am thrilled for Asa to be the recipient of this award," he said. "Asa has been a wonderful role model and student athlete at SLCC for the past two years and is very deserving of this honor. Not only is Asa one of the most competitive and hardest-playing athletes I have ever seen but he is also a man of great integrity and a straight-A student. Asa's passion for basketball is rivaled only by his passion for life, his family, his wife and his teammates."
Specketer, the award's namesake, said McCord represents the qualities that are synonymous with SLCC Athletics and its student-athletes. "I was so pleased to hear that Asa McCord has been announced as this year's 'Betsy Specketer Bruin Achievement Award' recipient," she said. "With guidance from an amazing staff, SLCC student-athletes truly do strive to meet the selection criteria of 'Integrity, Passion, Scholarship, and Advocacy for Others', but none more so this year than Asa. In addition, he's a great example of the junior college dream - stay focused in the classroom, improve your game and end up with a scholarship to a four-year institution. Asa's hard work and commitment helped him to realize that dream. My personal best to him as he continues his journey."
Salt Lake Community College's student-athletes have long treated their academic focus with vigor, posting numerous classroom achievements and earning corresponding rewards. With the retirement last year of longtime SLCC Women's Basketball coach Betsy Specketer, the department found the namesake for an award that focuses on four core attributes it wanted to recognize - scholarship, integrity, passion for being a student-athlete and advocacy for others. In the second year of the award, SLCC Men's Basketball player Asa McCord was named as the 2019-20 recipient of the 'Betsy Specketer Bruin Achievement Award' as a celebration of his career with Salt Lake.
McCord, who recently committed to continuing his student-athlete career at Utah Valley University, helped lead Salt Lake to a No. 4 overall seed in the 2020 NJCAA National Tournament, prior to the tourney being canceled due to COVID-19. The Westlake High product was part of a 2019-20 Bruins squad that went 29-4 overall, going undefeated in Scenic West Athletic Conference play.
The graduating sophomore said winning the award named after the SLCC coaching legend is gratifying.
"In my two years at SLCC, I was blessed to be surrounded by a lot of high-quality people who have taught me a lot and improved my life," he said. "I feel honored that the same people who taught me so much respect me enough to give me an award like this."
Kyle Taylor, McCord's coach with SLCC Men's Basketball, said McCord is deserving of the recognition. "I am thrilled for Asa to be the recipient of this award," he said. "Asa has been a wonderful role model and student athlete at SLCC for the past two years and is very deserving of this honor. Not only is Asa one of the most competitive and hardest-playing athletes I have ever seen but he is also a man of great integrity and a straight-A student. Asa's passion for basketball is rivaled only by his passion for life, his family, his wife and his teammates."
Specketer, the award's namesake, said McCord represents the qualities that are synonymous with SLCC Athletics and its student-athletes. "I was so pleased to hear that Asa McCord has been announced as this year's 'Betsy Specketer Bruin Achievement Award' recipient," she said. "With guidance from an amazing staff, SLCC student-athletes truly do strive to meet the selection criteria of 'Integrity, Passion, Scholarship, and Advocacy for Others', but none more so this year than Asa. In addition, he's a great example of the junior college dream - stay focused in the classroom, improve your game and end up with a scholarship to a four-year institution. Asa's hard work and commitment helped him to realize that dream. My personal best to him as he continues his journey."
