St. John's University Athletics
Leading by Example
1/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Jan. 10, 2005
Queens, NY - By Daniel F. Ford
Kenny There is a baseball field somewhere waiting to be played upon.
The grass is neatly groomed; the infield dirt is perfectly swept.
Overhead is a cloudless blue sky; the chance of rain is miles from thought.
The air is crisp and a slight breeze ruffles the American flag in centerfield.
In short, it's perfect baseball weather.
However, today is Sunday, and one St. John's University baseball player can be found on an entirely different field of play.
"Attending church weekly is one of the Ten Commandments," Ken Devenney, a junior outfielder for the Red Storm, said. "Mass is important to me because it is a time that I can reach out to God and thank him for all my blessings and pray for things that are important to me."
Devenney, who batted .338 with three home runs and 17 RBI during the 2004 season, does not fit the mold of the typical-student athlete.
The Philadelphia native not only prides himself on his religious nature, but is able to balance baseball practice, school, and a part time job.
"College is all about time management - ever since high school I've had the routine of school, practice, dinner, homework, and finally bed during the week," Devenney explained. "I try my best to keep that because when it comes to being productive and successful routine is essential for consistency."
Devenney, an education major who carries a 3.84 grade-point average, also finds time to set up community service visits for his team. While he admits that his limited amount of time and the awkwardness of being from another community make service in New York City tough for him, it doesn't stop him from doing his part.
"Community service is good because as the person giving the service you see results in your participation," Devenney said. "A lot of people do community service because it makes them feel good about themselves and they feel as if they were higher and mightier than the people they are servicing.
"What I really get out of community service is developing friendships and the experience of tolerating diversity."
"Kenny," as his friends call him, traces his religious roots back to his grandparents, whom attend mass daily. As a kid, he'd be taken to church by his father or grandfather and some of his earliest memories are of him and his brother getting in trouble for goofing off in church.
"Whether I was at church or not, church has always been an influence on me," Kenny said. "When I was old enough to take responsibility, I made it a conscious effort to participate in my religion."
His faith also translates into success on the baseball field, where Devenney is able to utilize a keen focus developed by prayer.
"When I pray, I brainstorm on everything that is important to me and I concentrate on why it is important to me and what I need," he said. "There is a difference between wanting and needing.
"On the field, I know I need to perform. Slowing the game down and focusing helps me to succeed because if you play the game too fast you can make mistakes that cost you the game."
It would seem to some that Devenney is living the ideal life, combining his love for the game and life with his love for God. However, Kenny has faced adversity throughout his life and his road to St. John's and success has not been an easy one.
His parents were forced into marriage at a young age when Kenny's mother found out she was pregnant with him. His brother Keith followed a year later. The young parents would separate soon after, unable to overcome the difficulties of raising a family with no college education and blue-collar jobs. With Kenny's father living three miles away, his mother had no choice but to sign him and his brother up for sports so she could work and not have to worry about a babysitter.
"So while there was no advanced support, my parents unknowingly put Keith and me on track to be successful athletes," Kenny said of his youth.
The athletic gene ran in the family. Kenny's father was a trained boxer in high school and one of the top Philadelphia amateurs, at times asked to spar with professional champions.
"When he took care of us, we always played sports," Kenny said. "Obviously having a family stopped his career, but to this day people that know the Devenney name recall how my father, or my Uncle John, helped them in unfair fights against bullies." (His uncle was also a talented boxer and football star, but lost his scholarship because of a criminal record).
As a youth, Kenny was actually more interested in football than in baseball. His father especially pushed his son in football because a number of his friends coached and had kids that played.
"Football came naturally to me; I loved getting physical and being athletically and psychically better than my opponents," Kenny said of his gridiron play. "Baseball is more skill and less athleticism is demanded."
Kenny was even able to get a football scholarship to the William Penn Charter School, a prestigious Philadelphia private high school. From the start of his freshman year at William Penn, Kennyy knew he was going to be able to play ball at the college level.
"I started at quarterback for the varsity team as a freshman and succeeded; it was the same deal with baseball," he said. "I knew I was going to play in college and so did my teammates, coaches, family, and friends...the only question was which sport."
As it turns out, the recruitment process was a difficult one. "Tons of letters came in, as well as some phone calls, but I was unaware of the process," he explained. "I thought top schools would come to me with scholarships."
Devenney's problem was confounded further by the fact that he was going for both football and baseball, something that turned off many big name schools.
Davidson College in North Carolina, however, was one school that was willing to take a chance on the high school star because of his grades and potential.
"They had so much to offer," said Devenney. "Two sports, Top 10 in the country in education, and a full scholarship."
Davidson wasn't without fault. Since his grades weren't the required 4.0 and 1300 SAT, they told Devenney the only way he would get accepted is if he applied early. Once he signed, schools he was really interested in made him numerous offers, many of which were very good. However, he was now in a binding contract with Davidson and was forced to turn all of them down.
Going into his freshman year, Kenny thought he would play football to "keep the dream alive" and become a standout in baseball and sign a professional contract after his junior year. Things did not go as planned and for the first time in his athletic career, Devenney was facing failure.
"I went from being a professional player to a bum at Davidson," said Devenney. "Football left my body too bulky and beat up and missing fall baseball left me unprepared for college pitching. In the end, my freshman year was a bust.
"I was a standout in football before a season ending injury, I was an embarrassment in baseball, and school was too hard with everything that was going on," said Kenny.
Devenney finished his freshman year with a 2.58 GPA, which was good enough for tops on the baseball team, but wasn't getting the respect from teachers that he had received at William Penn. Professors held it against him that he played athletics and didn't acknowledge or encourage his hard work.
Enter Kenny's saving grace, St. Johns Head Coach Ed Blankmeyer. Blankmeyer pulled the right strings and was able to get the money he needed to transfer out of a bad situation.
"He is the reason I'm here and he gave me a chance," said Devenney. "The success I have had is because of him."
Devenney credits the coaching staff for creating a system that prides itself on winning and making him a better, more complete player.
"The instruction is unimaginable and the coach's ability to break our style of play down so that faults can be seen and improvements can be made is top of the line," said Kenny. "Our program's success is a reflection of their hard work."
St. John's also gave Devenney the education that he was looking for, one in which teachers supported and encouraged his intelligence.
"I was always kind of intelligent, but my work ethic helped me get good grades," said Kenny. "It all depended on how well my teachers received me."
After redshirting his first year, Devenney became an integral part of the St. John's 2004 run to the Big East Tournament and Stanford Regional.
A year that saw the Red Storm drop only one Big East weekend series, accompanied by numerous come from behind victories, the sweetest moment for Devenney came against rival Rutgers, a game in which he smacked his first collegiate home run.
The home run wasn't the memory, however. The real memory for Kenny was giving the actual home run ball to his father, who had seen all of his big home runs in person, for Father's Day.
"My father has been a roofer for 20 years and has 20 more to go to support his family," Kenny said. "Due to his job and financial and family restrictions, he hasn't seen me play here at St. John's and within the last four years he has only seen me play a dozen times.
"From age 12 to 18 he didn't miss a game and was always visible to me. Giving him that ball was special."
Now that he is completely healthy for the first time in a long time, Devenney hopes to become a full time starter in the Red Storm's attempt at a second straight birth in the Big East Tournament and beyond.
"I don't believe I should be a captain, but I want to be an influential person the team looks to," Kenny said. "I want to lead by example on and off the field."
Off the field is where Kenny may end up making his biggest impact. While he still has hopes of being drafted, he plans to finish his degree and become a Pre-Calculus or Algebra teacher and return to his native Philly to teach and coach sports.
Devenney secretly hopes to take over the head coaching job at his alma mater and one day become athletic director to make improvements on the facilities and prepare high school athletes better for collegiate athletics.
"I'm hoping to marry a Roxborough girl and start a family- I love kids," said Kenny. "The life of a bachelor doesn't do anything for me."
Even though Devenney is a shining example of what a student-athlete should be and is a stark contradiction to the "dumb jock" stereotype, Kenny does have one thing in common with the rest of the athletic world; his love for the game and his unwillingness to give that game up.
"I am still shooting to get drafted or signed, but if not, I know I gave my best shot and that's more than anyone from home ever did," Kenny said. "I can't just give it up. I'll play as long as I can."
Dan Ford is a junior at St. John's. He works in the St. John's Equipment Room and is the Head Manager for the Red Storm baseball team.
