Pressure of sports helped firefighter

SANDY -- Sandy City firefighter Mike Goff knows what it feels like to be under pressure.

Whether it be a car accident, a suicide attempt or a dangerous fire, the rookie firefighter and his teammates often face situations where their actions determine whether somebody lives or dies.

That kind of pressure is tough on any firefighter, but especially so for someone in his first year on the job; but while the outcome was never as critical as what he faces every day in his occupation, Goff learned how to handle pressure situations relatively early in life.

Goff is a former high school and collegiate baseball star who regularly found himself in situations on the field where his performance was critical to the outcome of the game.

"I remember one game in particular," recalls Goff. "I was a sophomore in high school and we were playing in a state tournament game. The game came down to the final innings and I was playing third base. They had put some runners in scoring position and I remember thinking to myself, please don't hit it to me. I did not want to be the one who messed things up for my team."

As fate would have it, the ball was hit to Goff and he made an error that cost his team two runs.

"I told myself from that moment on that I would never let fear or intimidation control me again," said Goff. "I got to the point where I was craving the ball in critical moments of a game or I would pray that I would be the one at the plate when the game was on the line."

That mentality has carried on with Goff into his new career. It had to since he has had some big boots to fill having his father Randy Goff, a 22-year veteran with Sandy fire, as his predecessor.

Goff also says that lessons he learned about being a team player, and staying focused while an All Conference player at the University of Utah have also helped in his career as a firefighter.

He says, "Anybody who has played sports, at any level, can take valuable lessons he or she has learned on the field of play and apply those lessons to their life situations."

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