Voltz at peace with difficult decision to step away
August 23, 2016 | Football, Mike Lucas
Senior lineman takes long view in electing to end playing career for Badgers
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BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — As part of his "soul-searching" — a word that he said was an apt description of his deliberation over the last few days — Wisconsin offensive lineman Dan Voltz had to reach a peace of mind with his decision to give up football and walk away from the game that he loved.
"It was something that I thought about for a long time and deliberated back and forth," stressed Voltz, a fifth-year senior from Barrington, Illinois. "I just firmly believe when you make a decision in life, you've got to be 100 percent behind it.
"And that's where I am now. I'm really at peace with my decision. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter and seeing what it brings."
Asked Tuesday if there was a seminal moment when the big picture crystallized and it all made sense, Voltz said, "It was definitely a personal thing. I knew both sides of the argument — keep playing or hang it up. And, basically, in my mind, I was going through the pros and cons of both situations."
After thoroughly considering every option and the potential ramifications, after consulting with others with trusted opinions, Voltz revealed, "It just clicked one day. I realized that playing football wasn't in my best interests. And that was after many days of deliberation."
It was more than the physical demands, it was the consequences.
"It kind of forced me to think about this stuff," he said.
And the more he thought about it, the more he grasped the magnitude of his decision.
"It alters my day-to-day life," he said. "What I do from now on is going to be drastically different from what I've done for the past four years. It took a lot of thought. But with big decisions like this if you put the right thought into it, the right decision is going to come to you eventually."
Once he made up his mind, and he was at peace with the decision, he shared the news with his girlfriend, his mom and dad, his head coach (Paul Chryst) and his position coach (Joe Rudolph).
"My parents were upset that this chapter of my life came to an end," he said. "They know how much football means to me. It has given me the opportunity to come here (Wisconsin) — to go to school here and play football here. For that to come to an end is sad."
But they wanted what was best for their son in the long run.
"And what makes me happy," Voltz said. "That's all they care about."
Telling is teammates was emotionally challenging, especially his fellow offensive linemen.
"It was something that I never imagined I would be doing," said Voltz, who started 27 of 32 career games. "It was definitely hard because I love all of those guys. I love playing with them and working with them. And I know they respect what I bring to the table, too.
"It was hard to give them the bad news. But I reassured them I'm still here. I'm not going to be out on the field. But I'm here in every other facet of the game. I'm going to do what I can to make sure this group has a great year."
Voltz missed the final five games of the 2015 season after injuring his knee (a torn ACL) at Illinois. Although he didn't practice last spring, he made news by volunteering to shift from center to guard to make room for Michael Deiter, who had done a solid job as his replacement.
"He (Deiter) is growing into one of our best players," Voltz said, "and that next step is to be that leader, to be that consistent player that guys can rally around."
Voltz was planning on being the leader of the O-line.
"My mindset all summer," he said of his rehab, "was that I was going to play."
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Last week, Voltz wore his red No. 70 jersey to practice. No pads, no helmet. He did little more than watch what was going on, mostly from behind the offensive huddle. He couldn't put a number on how many snaps he had taken through the first two weeks of camp. His action was limited.
"I still have some room to go (physically), we'll see how things progress," he said then. "It's a matter of getting your confidence back at this point. When you sit out so long, it's gaining back the confidence in knowing that you can make the blocks that you're capable of. That's what it comes down to."
Confidence? He was concerned about his confidence? How could that be for someone who had been projected as a first-team All-American by Phil Steele going into the season?
"Even though I've started a good amount of games, it still has been a long time since I've played," Voltz cautioned. "People say it's like riding a bike. But football is not an easy game. It's not like riding a bike.
"You can't just jump back on and expect to be right where you were. It takes time and it takes a lot of reps. That's what I'm working on right now."
When pressed Tuesday on those words, he conceded, "It's exactly why I said it. Confidence was something I was dealing with throughout fall camp. There's the physical side of it, how you feel physically. And then there's the mental side. They're equally as important.
"If both of those things aren't working together then that's when you have to kind of step back and think about, 'Am I putting myself in a good position to stay safe while playing this game?' Confidence was a big challenge for me in this camp and it factored into the decision that I made."
In this vein, Voltz also said, "Anytime you deal with an injury, even a small injury, you're going to lose a little bit of confidence. And the key to that is being able to get that confidence back. That's a big part of the rehab process — getting back on the field and feeling comfortable playing football."
Voltz has dealt with significant injuries and fought back in the past. But he was now confronted by a "culmination of things I've been dealing with for a couple of years." And that left some doubt. The penalty for any degree of uncertainty can be severe, too.
"Playing football while having those thoughts in your head is not a good thing," he said. "It's such a physical game and when you're not there mentally, you're really putting yourself in a bad position to get hurt again and you're putting your teammates in a bad position also."
Long-term concerns were another element of his soul-searching.
"It's a selfish decision. But rightly so," Voltz said. "You have to make the best decision for yourself in the end, especially when it comes to your physical health because that's something that sticks with you for the rest of your life. It's something I thought about a lot in making this decision.
"I'm 22 years old and I have a lot of life to live. I look forward to just being healthy and having a productive life after football."
When Voltz practiced, he split reps with Micah Kapoi, who started 10 games as a redshirt freshman. "He's doing a really good job, I've been really impressed," Voltz said. "I think he has taken a big step from the level that he was playing at last year."
Jon Dietzen, a redshirt freshman, will compete for playing time with Kapoi at left guard.
"That was part of what made the decision a little bit easier for me," Voltz said, "is having confidence that we have other guys who are going to be able to get the job done, whether it's Micah Kapoi or Jon Dietzen, whomever, I feel confident we're not going to skip a beat."
Armed with his undergraduate degree in kinesiology, Voltz will continue to pursue his master's. He has three semesters left, which really is the good news, he suggested, because he doesn't have to leave the campus or his family, his football family, a very important step during his transition.
"I'm really interested in coaching," Voltz said. "Strength and conditioning is what I'm really passionate about. I've already talked to Ross (Kolodziej, the UW football strength coach) and I plan on getting involved in the weight room in some capacity to complement what I'm doing on the field.
"At this point, I have a career to think about and there are so many good opportunities here to get experience doing what I see myself doing one day. I'm going to try and be all over the place and get the most out of this as I can."
Voltz made that point to his brothers on the offensive line.
"I made it clear that I was going to remain a big part of the program," he reiterated. "My role is just going to shift from playing to helping in other ways … I'm not going to fade away from that group. I'm going to be a big part of what they do. I'm going to be around them as much as I can."
