Web Threads: Brian Reinke
9/18/2024
Web Threads are in-depth, behind-the-scenes stories from those at the heart of Richmond Athletics: student-athletes, staff members, loyal supporters, and more. Web Threads gives a glimpse into the ambitions, motivations, and sacrifices of the individuals who allow Richmond to excel at the highest levels of intercollegiate athletics and academics as well as the philanthropy that supports them every step of the way. Welcome to our web.
Many students use college to reinvent themselves, but Brian Reinke entered his first year at the University of Richmond in August 2021 with no set expectations.
Sure, he knew that as a left-handed pitcher for the Spider baseball team and a student at the Robins School of Business, much of his time would be occupied by games, practices, lifting, classes, and homework. Still, he remained open to whatever new experiences might come his way.
More than three years later, those experiences include a role representing nearly 400 of his peers to a major intercollegiate athletics conference, an appearance in an Atlantic 10 championship game, and an unforgettable visit to the mountains, jungles, and waterfalls of Costa Rica. And in November, he will join other student-athlete leaders on the national stage at the NCAA Leadership Forum.
His willingness to say “yes” has led to many opportunities, as Reinke has eagerly explored the various programs, experiences, and resources available to Richmond student-athletes, many only through the generosity of a giving community that supports Spiders in so many different ways.
“ ‘Ducci [Antonio Balducci] reached out to have me come to the first SAAC meeting my freshman year,” Reinke said. Balducci ’20, ‘21, a fellow pitcher on the team, was a part of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC) leadership group and saw that Reinke would be a good choice to represent UR at the Atlantic 10 SAAC meetings.
“I remember looking at his text for a while and thinking ‘Sure, yeah. I think it will be cool,’” Reinke said. “[Being SAAC’s UR A-10 representative] has helped me come out of my shell. The people in the group are cool and you actually talk with people from other teams.
“I am a big people person,” he added. “I think being able to talk with people at the A-10 office and other student-athletes from A-10 schools and make an actual impact is fun. It’s definitely the cool part.”
As a baseball student-athlete, Reinke knows that much of the hard work to prepare for the spring championship season happens in the summer and fall. It’s early morning weightlifting sessions. It’s practicing sport visualization techniques. It’s mobility and stretching. It’s working on new grips and improving execution from last season. Before you know it, the calendar flips over and the team is running out of the dugout for games.
Student-athletes’ schedules, no matter the sport, can make it harder to participate in the University’s recommendation to study abroad. However, last fall Reinke took advantage of Richmond’s International Education EnCompass Program, embarking on a “global immersion” to Costa Rica over fall break. The flagship program provides access to international experiences for those least likely to study abroad, including student-athletes. Reinke and fellow pitcher Esteban Rodriguez only missed one fall team practice to participate in the trip.
“I saw [the trip] as an extension of what I do here, just globally, which was so awesome,” Reinke said. “Being able to introduce baseball, which has changed my life so much … while one would think that Central America might be like us [baseball minded] it’s not at all. It’s all soccer and basketball.”
Spider student-athletes gained valuable insight into the intersections of sport, sustainability, and social justice during their EnCompass visit to Costa Rica.
“That’s the point of EnCompass, right? It’s to get people that don’t have the opportunities either financially or timewise to have those experiences and gain perspective abroad,” Reinke said.
Time management is a skill that must be constantly worked on from the moment students step on campus, especially for student-athletes, and it doesn’t just stop when the school year ends. In the summer, some play baseball to continue to build experience, while others take the summer off due to load management from the spring season. A third group will intern or take classes while also playing summer ball.
“This summer was the first in a long time that I haven’t had my schedule dictated for me.” Reinke said. “[Junior year] summer is a big time to get internships, especially in the business school.”
In the fall of 2023, Reinke worked with Vicki L. Warren, an Executive in Residence at the Robins School of Business, who specializes in the technology sector to figure out how he could do both: play baseball and have an internship. He also worked with R.D. Montgomery, Associate Director of Student-Athlete Success on resume building, interview practice, and networking skills.
After Reinke pitched a heavy load of innings to help Spider baseball reach the 2024 Atlantic 10 Conference Championship final, he chose not to play on a summer ball team. Reinke instead landed a summer internship with Seed Metrics in Richmond where he served as a data engineer. In the StartUp Virginia business incubator workspace, Reinke helped merge information from outside platforms, run calculations, and track transformations to make the information easy to understand.
“I got into statistics and data tech through baseball, so it was a funny intro to the tech world.” Reinke said. “It’s been cool to have experiences within baseball and also using those technical skills in other areas, like finance.”
As he enters his senior year, Reinke feels confident in who he has become during his time at Richmond. “I’d like to think I am someone that does all the work, does everything more than they’re supposed to, and leads by example.”
Rather than a teammate, it was a high-ranking conference official who led Reinke to his next opportunity. Prior to the semester, Reinke found himself looking at a reminder to apply for the NCAA Leadership Forum from Atlantic 10 Associate Commissioner Candy Gage. With that extra nudge, Reinke applied and in November he will represent the University of Richmond and the Atlantic 10 Conference at the 2024 NCAA Leadership Forum in Charlotte.
“I am really curious to see, across all levels, what are the glaring problems that they [other student-athletes at the conference] see and to better fix those [problems] with them,” Reinke said. “Leadership, sure, but if there is anything that I can take back and implement in the last fall I have at Richmond and within the baseball team or the school in general, that would be really rewarding.”
Throughout his time at the University of Richmond, Brian Reinke has walked through many of the doors open to him, both on and off the field. He has shown a commitment to growth in every aspect of his college experience and gained skills that will carry him toward success far beyond graduation.
Reinke’s story is just one of the many student-athletes at Richmond whose lives have been impacted by the support of Spider Nation. We are grateful to the loyal supporters who make career and leadership development resources available to our 400 student-athletes and the opportunities they create for them!
