At the Wesley Village Community Center in Wilmore, former University of Kentucky basketball player and local favorite Jarrod Polson held court recently. He brought four years of NCAA jewelry (including two Final Four rings and a National Championship ring) for fans to view; he posed with fans, signed autographs, gave a short speech about the substance of his autobiography Living Beyond the Dream, and answered a few questions from those who came to see the hometown boy.
The book is a memoir covering Polson’s life from a toddler to present. If you are looking for a “tell-all,” this isn’t the book for you. The book is an inspirational work from a very faith-driven young man.
While he builds his platform to the public off of his success as “local kid makes it big as a Kentucky Wildcat,” his years at UK are only a fraction of the story. The glue that holds his story together is, without a doubt, his Christian faith. It provides the reader with answers to questions about choices he has made throughout his life thus far.
The book has been a success. Recently, it was No. 1 in the sports biography section and ranked in the top 10 of the sports category overall. For a kid from a small town such as Wilmore, Kentucky, numbers like those are just one more aspect of living his dream.
Before the fans came rolling in on this night, Jarrod and I sat down for a few minutes to talk about events in his life since our last conversation when his jersey was retired at West Jessamine High School in 2012.
Wayne Stacy – So since we talked last you went out on the poster and ball tour, meeting fans and signing autographs; how did that evolve into a decision to write a book?
Jarrod Polson – Well, the poster tour was a lot of fun for me. I also was able to spend some time with Jeff Shephard and Cameron Mills; we talked about the success of their books, and they encouraged me to take the time to write my own. So I got together with my brother, and we started taking it seriously. It took about eigiht months to write, and here we are.
Wayne – Without giving anything away to the reader, tell me what the book is about?
Jarrod – It’s a life’s journey book. It isn’t all about UK, it starts when I am very young and follows me all the way through. It’s about being the underdog; how I was able to achieve my dream against all odds. My story told from my perspective allows the reader to take that journey with me.
Wayne – You are a very faith-oriented person; it’s no secret. How big of a role does your faith play in the book?
Jarrod – The book definitely isn’t just about basketball as I said. I make my faith known throughout the book, especially the last few chapters. This book is truly my testimony, and truly that is what I am more excited about is to spread my Christian story, more so than the story of basketball in my life.
Wayne – When we talked last, you had recently returned from mission work overseas. I asked you then if you had future designs on a basketball career here or in Europe. Are you finished with basketball?
Jarrod – Yeah, I think I am finished with basketball as a career. Basketball is always going to play a role in my life. I just returned from a mission trip to the Dominican Republic. I created a lot of new relationships there through the basketball program they have established for the inner-city kids there. So I am definitely done with basketball professionally, but I will still use basketball as a platform to reach out with my faith to those who need it.
Wayne – Bobby Perry has been a friend and a fixture in our lives since he became a coach at West Jessamine Middle School. Have you thought about coaching? About starting off at the middle or high school level and continuing with basketball in that fashion?
Jarrod – Yeah, I don’t think coaching is a path I am looking at right now. But I think following that path Bobby has started could be interesting to me later on; I wouldn’t rule it out for sure.
Wayne – Where’s “next”? I asked you that the last time too, and you told me you didn’t have a clue; so where is next now?
Jarrod – Man, you know I remember that…and I truly am a “moment-to-moment” type person. For now, this is next. I have several dates lined up for the book tour over the coming months, speaking at different locations, at different churches. I have a few side jobs I am involved in, like the Kentucky Non-Profit Fund, which is a nonprofit resourcing company, I am doing some things with Remix Education, which is a educational assembly promotion. We go to different schools and talk about different subjects, and beyond that, I am just into a lot of random things right now, and I kind of like it.
Wayne – OK, lets talk about the program. How did you view this season from outside, as a success? 40-0 is an impossible task, 38-1 was very special. Did you expect the team to go 40-0?
Jarrod – Yeah, I thought we were going all the way to 40-0. You can’t call this season a failure, but you can’t call it a success either; because success at Kentucky is a National Championship.
Wayne – Seven players have declared; were there any surprises there for you in who decided to go?
Jarrod – I thought all seven were gonna go; I was a little hesitant on maybe Booker. But I think they are all ready. And at the end of the day when they can go, they need to go, especially if they are first-round selections.
Wayne – So in closing, you have several more stops on the book tour. Next stop is Versailles Baptist Church on Sunday, and then Joseph-Beth at Lexington Green on the 13th. But besides personal appearances, where else can the book be purchased?
Jarrod – I am building several relationships with individual stores, and Amazon.com is carrying the print version as well as the digital version for the Kindle, and Barnes and Noble as well for the Nook. the presale at Amazon has gone very well so far, and the Big Blue Nation has really stepped up to support the book.
Jarrod Polson’s story isn’t just important because he played for the University of Kentucky, or because he won a national championship while he was there. His story is important because he is able to share that story in an inspiring fashion. Although Jarrod would never stand up and say “look at me, this is what I have done,” his story allows him to give guidance and inspiration to others in hopes that they might one day have someone look at them and say “look at him/her, look at what he/she accomplished.”
Note: Right before I sent this to my editor, I learned that Jarrod also will be featured on the 700 Club soon.
Wayne Stacy is the “consummate vagabond,” which may be what makes him a great photographer. A former military man himself, he is third-generation child of a family dedicated to military service. He has traveled the world as a military dependent and in his own service to his country. While Stacy has always been an artisan, it wasn’t until he was injured on his job as a Master Electrician in 2002 and could not use his hand for more than three years that he rediscovered his love for photography. He is an on-call photographer for KyForward, is helping build KyForward’s photo archives as well as writes travel pieces. Email him at wayne@kyforward.com and see his website here.