The typical collegiate athlete focuses on two things: athletics and academics. Within the Cal Poly football team, you can find two unique players who have another responsibility. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Redshirt seniors and defensive linemen Ethan Rodgriguez and Mason Barbour have entered the world of fatherhood while also balancing football and their education. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a challenge, but I think football has definitely helped with the time management,\u201d Barbour said. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Both athletes have had their fair share of time in football as they have spent the last five years becoming standouts on the team. In the 2024-2025 season, Rodriguez earned an All-Big Sky Honorable Mention after tying for second on the team in sacks (3) and tackles for loss (9.5). Barbour notched 13 solo tackles and six assisted tackles. He also recorded 2.5 tackles for loss and had a season high three tackles against Montana.<\/p>\n
However, they are both fairly new to the life of fatherhood. Rodriguez\u2019s daughter turned two in September while Barbour is fresh to fatherhood with a four-and-a-half-month-old daughter. They have had to learn how to adapt to this new, unpredictable lifestyle. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy wife and I had no knowledge, but nobody does when they have their first kid,\u201d Barbour said. \u201cYou learn as you go.\u201d<\/p>\n
As these athletes navigate through bringing a child into this world on top of school and athletics, it can seem like a fast-paced rollercoaster. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s sacrifices and you can\u2019t do certain things,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cYou got to stay disciplined and mature a lot faster than others at my age. \u00a0<\/p>\n
This season, the team has traveled to four away games ranging from San Diego to Montana, meaning that the athletes are away from their families for an extended period. On top of travelling for games, Rodriguez\u2019s family lives a few hours away, adding onto the hardships. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy girlfriend is back home doing her nursing program, and I\u2019m up here playing football and doing school,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cI just go down whenever I have any free time or whenever I can but it\u2019s definitely challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodriguez is a bioresource and agricultural engineering major, and Barbour is studying civil engineering. These majors require intense time commitments that add to the athletes\u2019 responsibilities. \u00a0<\/p>\n
With Cal Poly being on the quarter system, schedules change quickly and often. This allows certain times of the year to be less hectic while others include packed schedules. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWith football starting so early in the morning, having class until 6:00 p.m. two days a week this quarter and then getting home and giving my wife a break, it\u2019s been tough,\u201d Barbour said.<\/p>\n
Football has been a key part of their parental journeys. The demanding athletics schedule has given the players a glimpse into what to expect during fatherhood. Being part of the team has also taught the players to prioritize time management and stay on top of their schedules. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything is so scheduled,\u201d Barbour said. \u201cOur new Teamworks app has our full schedule, everything down to a T. So that really helps with being able to manage and work around that.\u201d<\/p>\n
These athletes are not alone when it comes to navigating these challenges. A pivotal role of parenthood for these two is leaning on those around them. Whether it is on or off the field, these athletes know who to turn to.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving that support system of my friends, the team and my wife helps,\u201d Barbour said. \u201cMy girlfriend and I both have big families that are very supportive and very helpful so that helps out a lot,\u201d Rodriguez said.<\/p>\n
Despite the time commitment that comes with football and academics, both athletes have fully immersed themselves in the world of fatherhood and focusing on their children. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a family to provide for, I have a larger purpose now,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cIt\u2019s a different feeling, it\u2019s just a good feeling,\u201d Barbour added.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The typical collegiate athlete focuses on two things: athletics and academics. Within the Cal Poly football team, you…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":218976,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[563],"tags":[64,63,596,85],"class_list":["post-218975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-football","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=218975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/218975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/218976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=218975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=218975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=218975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}