Lewiston Times

 From Harlem, N.Y. to Lewiston, Maine with some key stops in between, Bates football senior linebacker and captain, Tony Hooks, has experienced a lifetime of learning. Starting with his first exposure to the sport of football as a youngster in New York City, the politics major has never been averse to change or unfamiliarity. Well, maybe there was that one time, when he was a little boy …

"My cousin was playing football and my mom thought it would be a good idea to throw me into the sport to give me an activity to do after school," said Hooks. "So, I started playing football when I was six years old. And I didn't like it at all at first. I thought it was awful. I didn't really want to play. I told my mom that I wanted to quit and then she was kind of like, 'I paid for it already. You're going to stick this out through the season.' I told my coach that I had asthma just so I wouldn't have to run at the end of practice!"

"The next year, my mom was like, 'Maybe you should give it another try?' And I don't know why I ended up doing it, but the second year I went back, I  loved it!"

From that point forward, Tony couldn't imagine a childhood without football. 

"Football for me became a brotherhood and a bond. I was able to really connect with other guys. It's not natural to want to run and hit other people. And I think that once you get over that hump in football, it becomes really awesome. And I think that's why I've loved playing it and that's why I continued playing it throughout most of my life."

Football was hardly the only positive experience for Tony during his youth as a resident in this cultural mecca of Upper Manhattan.

"(Growing up in Harlem) was awesome. I really enjoyed my childhood. I was exposed to so many different kinds of things and people; there's just so much going on and it's also a big epicenter of Black culture, which I thought was a really cool experience to grow up in.Having that childhood experience in a place that's so rich with culture and Back history has done wonders for my life and I'm still very grateful for that opportunity."

Prior to entering high school, Tony and his family (he is the second oldest of four siblings) relocated to New Rochelle, N.Y. , a suburb about 30 minutes north of the city. Change for anyone, especially a teenager, can be tough, but Tony took the move in stride.

"Harlem, it's a big center of Black culture in the heart of the city, and New Rochelle is very much a suburb. It's completely opposite in that regard. But I enjoyed the differences in both. And I'm appreciative of my opportunity to live both in the city and in the suburbs."

One thing that stayed constant throughout was Hooks' love for football. I even intensified. In fact, Tony began making major life decisions around the sport, including attending prep school out of state.

"I had the opportunity to attend Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island. I was exposed to so many different kinds of people, people with very different backgrounds from mine. People who grew up in the suburbs their whole life, people who grew up in Japan. It was just a really cool experience for me to open up and be exposed to new things. That opened up my mind and I was able to see that there were other things outside of football, and made me think about other interests of mine. I began to explore those things when I got to prep school."

Interests that included playing college football -and the world of finance.

"At first, I started looking at Ivy (League) schools. I wanted to go to the best academic school I could. I was talking to schools, going to camps. As the process moved on, I realized that the NESCAC was where I was getting interest. So, I was like, okay, I'm going to take this opportunity to explore and figure out which one is the right fit for me."

And why Bates?

"I went on a couple visits to some other NESCAC schools. When I came to Bates, I felt at home."

"What I noticed about Bates compared to other NESCAC schools was that even though they lost the game the day I visited, there was just amazing fan support. The crowd was going crazy the whole time. I wanted to be in a place where people really had a passion for football."

And that support certainly has been felt by Tony throughout his years on campus.

"People genuinely care about who you are as a person here at Bates. They care about your personal development and I wanted to be in that environment. My head coach in high school (Al Brown), he used to coach lacrosse back in the day at Bates. He kind of gave me a little nudge and told me how great of a place it was. So at that point, I was pretty much sold."

Hooks has been impressed with new head coach, Matt Coyne, and his staff.

"These guys bring a lot of energy every day to practice, they truly care. They spend a lot of time in our office trying to figure out the best ways to put our team in the best positions. And it's just nice having younger coaches who have been in your shoes not too long ago, understand exactly what you're going through. Being able to talk to them about problems on the field, off the field, things of that nature, has been awesome. Being able to form a close bond with those guys has been unreal." 

Tony has enjoyed tremendous success on the gridiron with the garnet and white. A First Team All-NESCAC selection at linebacker a year ago, he was also the program's nominee for the Cliff Harris Award, which goes to the nation's best small college defensive player, after collecting 4.5 sacks and leading the conference with 92 tackles. 

The NESCAC All-Academic Team member is also hitting his stride in the classroom. Nominated this fall for the William V. Campbell Trophy, referred to as the "Academic Heisman", Tony has turned his interest in finance into a job upon graduation.

"The past few summers I've interned with Fidelity Investments in Boston.  After my sophomore year, I participated in a program called The Diverse Investor Student Experience. It taught us about the different asset classes within finance, taught us about the different roles that they had within the company. I was fortunate enough to get the return offer to come back this past summer to do equity research. From there I received a return offer to go back after I graduate."

Tony, who has served as president of the Bates College Investment Club, is very excited to work in Massachusetts' capital city.

"The tempo is definitely not as fast as New York where everyone's constantly going and moving and on the hustle. Going to prep school in Rhode Island and college here in Maine, it's been kind of a more laid back, slower lifestyle. I think that I'm going to really enjoy being in Boston. It's a beautiful city and I love New England, so that's why I ultimately made the decision."

Focusing on political economy in the classroom, it hasn't only been his teammates and coaches that have proven to be influential to Tony. His professors have also made quite an impact on the scholar-athlete.

"I've taken four or five classes with Dr. (Cassandra) Shepherd (Visiting Assistant Professor of American Studies) and they've all been awesome. She's been instrumental in my understanding of Black culture and history and Black liberation in this country. For my thesis, I am blending information from my classes with Dr. Shepherd with many of the topics from my classes with Dr. (Alyssa) Grahame (Visiting Assistant Professor of Politics)."

In his final season of college football, Tony was asked to reflect on his time in the NESCAC, especially the Bobcats' storied rivalry with in-state foe, Bowdoin College, which continues tonight under the lights of historic Garcelon Field.

"Oh, it's unreal! My freshman year was the first ever home game under the lights that we'd had here at Bates, and that was just awesome. "When we beat them, our fans stormed the field and it was incredible. It was a really great feeling."

As for the overall support of Bates football?

"I think student-athletes from the other teams, non-athletes, professors, faculty, EVERYONE, has always embraced the football team. "I think that's very unique to Bates. I have friends at all the other NESCAC schools and that experience isn't true everywhere."

Tony is also very conscious of the legacy he wishes to leave behind.

"Being a senior captain, my desire is to leave the legacy of someone who embodied what it truly means to be a Bates football player. Which is hard work, putting your head down, and really buying into the program and trusting Coach Coyne's philosophy, which is 'process over outcome'."

With enormous success throughout this journey of his, Tony is well aware that he could not have done it without the love and support of so many.

"I am so grateful for everyone who's been a part of me getting to this point in my life, and have been a part of my experience at Bates."

The pleasure has been all ours, Tony. 

Original source can be found here