by Arsi Sefaj ’11
Ever since his sophomore season, before every football game,
senior tailback Jordan Farrell writes his grandfather’s name
on his gloves. His grandfather, Jack DeCoursey, was one of
Farrell’s biggest fans, and along with his parents and
grandmother, would come to every one of Farrell’s football
games. Then in August of the summer before Farrell’s
sophomore year, his grandfather passed away. Farrell has not
forgotten him.
“Writing his name on my gloves is a superstition of
mine,” said Farrell. “It reminds me that I’m not
just playing for myself. I pride myself on playing for someone
else.”
Every week, on Thursday morning, Farrell’s mother, Renee,
drives from their home in Chicago to her childhood home in Erie,
Pennsylvania. There, she stays with her mother, Vicki DeCoursey,
and Friday morning together they drive to Farrell’s football
game. The first drive takes around seven hours and the second an
additional eight. On Saturday they watch the game, then Sunday they
drive back to Erie. On Monday, Farrell’s mother makes the
drive back to Chicago. Farrell's father, Bill, works during the
week and simply flies to the games.
Nowadays it is just Farrell’s mother and grandmother that
take part in this weekly ritual, but until three summers ago, his
grandfather used to join them. Farrell takes care not to
forget.
“Last year, my aunt [Maryann Huster] was going through some
stuff that he’d left before he died and among them was a
daily planner,” said Farrell. “There was nothing
written in it except my sophomore year football schedule. He just
loved coming to see the games. I keep that planner in my locker to
remind myself that someone is always watching.”
During the fourth practice of his junior year pre-season, Jordan
Farrell took a hit from current captain Paul Rice on what seemed to
be a routine tackle. Yet, what seemed a normal collision turned out
to have significant consequences for Farrell. That play resulted in
a torn labrum and ended Farrell’s season before it had even
begun.
Initially, Farrell thought he had sprained his acromioclavicular
joint, which resides at the top of the shoulder and allows the
ability to move the arm above the head. He played through the pain
in a scrimmage against Princeton before getting an MRI for the
shoulder. The MRI revealed the tear and spelled the end of
Farrell’s 2008 football season.
“It was a very hard time in my collegiate career,”
said Farrell. “The injury affected not only the athletic part
of my college experience, but the academic part as well.”
Farrell had surgery on his shoulder right around mid-semester in
fall of 2009 and he recalls gloomily having to take midterm exams
with his left hand. Having to write quickly within the time limit
made the experience particularly difficult.
“It was annoying enough having to eat and brush my teeth
with only my left hand for four weeks,” said Farrell,
“but having to write quickly was a real challenge.”
Aside from making academics and the minutiae of routine activities
more difficult, the injury also made it tougher for Farrell to stay
in shape. It became much harder to work out appropriately and
figure out ways to eat right.
“It’s easier to eat a hamburger with one hand than a
salad,” joked Farrell.
In general, it was a very trying time period for Farrell as he
attempted to deal with the injury without football to occupy his
time and help him cope.
“I had my worst semester at Yale to date last fall,”
he said. “When I had my surgery, the combination of not being
able to sleep because of the pain and taking pain
killers—which made me very sleepy when I tried to get
down to studying—created a lot of problems for
me.”
However, Farrell was determined to work through the injury and the
rehabilitation process, with the help of the football team doctors
and trainers, the Yale disabilities office and especially his three
longtime suitemates. Without football to occupy his time, he spent
time broadening his horizons, going to his roommates’ a
cappella and theatre performances.
Farrell’s Pierson College suitemates – Daniel Kiridly,
Julio Martinez and Caleb Rhoads – have been a fixture of his
Yale experience ever since they were randomly assigned to the same
suite freshman year. He has lived with them all four years.
“It’s really lucky that we’ve gotten along so
well and stayed together all four years,” said Farrell.
“We’ve been close ever since freshman year and when I
got hurt, it was nice to have those guys to change up, because
hanging out with the football guys made me a little depressed
‘cause I couldn’t be out there playing with
them.”
“Jordan is a great guy to just hang out with,” said
his roommate Rhoads. “I couldn't have asked for a better
roommate these past four years. It was rough when he got hurt last
year, especially because it was a shoulder injury, which made it
tough for him to get to sleep and do everyday things like
write."
Farrell certainly appreciates having had his roommates there to
help him through this difficult time.
“It was nice to have them there to help with little
things,” he noted, “like carrying my tray when I was in
an arm sling, or helping me find a comfortable position to sleep
in, or covering me up in a blanket — little things that are
easy to take for granted, but things for which I am
grateful.”
Eventually, by the time spring ball came around, Farrell was
healthy enough to play again. Yet now that he had finished his
rehabilitation, Farrell had a whole new challenge to confront. Most
of the coaching staff had changed in the offseason with the hiring
of Tom Williams, Yale’s Joel E. Smilow '54 Head Coach of
Football, and Farrell had to prove himself once again.
“Coming back was also very tough because we had the new
coaching staff and I had to prove myself to them,” said
Farrell. “It was also tough because spring ball was right
around the time that I was cleared to hit again for my shoulder,
but I still don't think I was 100% at the time.”
Yet with hard work and determination, Farrell did prove himself to
coach Williams and the new staff. He committed to working hard, and
lost 20 pounds en route to getting in shape for the 2009 season.
Between spring ball and the season opener against Georgetown this
year, Farrell had won the starting job at running back.
As the starter this season, Farrell has done a good job leading
the team with 59 carries, 241 rushing yards and 3 rushing
touchdowns.
Looking ahead to the future, Farrell admits he is not exactly sure
what he wants to pursue. Since he began doing it during freshman
year of high school, Farrell has had a passion for weightlifting.
He is a psychology major and says he “really enjoys seeing
how different people function in different situations.”
Putting the two together, he sees becoming a personal trainer as a
possible career option in his future.
“What I love most about football is the offseason,”
said Farrell. “I love the weightlifting program, pushing
myself, seeing my strength gain, seeing the results of the hard
work and time put in the weight room or the track. I also love
seeing how different people work under different conditions.
It’s very interesting to see how every athlete is different
and how they each thrive in different conditions. I’d love to
design personal workout strategies for athletes to get them
motivated, to make them excel.”
In fact, Farrell already has a bit of experience in the field. For
the past three summers, he has been working out with a former
Olympic alternate in the 100-meter dash, Tim Graf, while back home
in Illinois. He has volunteered his time with him to help coach
young athletes ranging in age from third grade to seniors in high
school. Farrell wants to make use of this experience after
graduation to study for and obtain a personal trainer’s
license.
“I want to have it just to keep in my back pocket,”
said Farrell. “My dream job would be to move out to Los
Angeles and train stars and get them ready for their roles in
movies.”
