Behind the Balance: Destin Moore ’27 — Keydet Football

Virginia Military Institute’s cadet-athletes have to juggle cadet life, heavy academic course loads, and their NCAA Division I sport. Committed to both academic and athletic pursuits, balancing their rigorous schedule in both sports and school requires a certain level of commitment and discipline. Behind the Balance is a series that focuses on those cadet-athletes and how they handle the hurdles of the day-to-day. 

Virginia Military Institute offered a path to success, Destin Moore ’27 explained. The psychology major from Georgia wasn’t familiar with VMI at first, but after talking to several football coaches, he was inspired.  

“I really fell in love with the culture they were trying to build and what the school offered,” he said. “I don’t like to fail. So, I know the challenge wasn’t something people look for … normally people take the easy route. To know that I could be amongst the few that got through this — it was desirable to me.”

Moore isn’t a stranger to a packed schedule. As a dual sport athlete, his entire year is figuring out how to balance his schedule with both football and track and field.  

“I try to configure my schedule, I try to have a middle block where I can have two classes and then I’ll have a dead period after lunch so I could do any homework that I need to do, or do any homework that I’ve just received to get ahead,” he said. 

This became a challenge last spring when Moore was participating in the SoCon Track and Field Championships. He went directly from football practice to track practice. For the championship, he placed second, pushing him into the finals the following day.  

“I came right off the track, with my track jersey and my compression shorts, and I ran from the Corps Physical Training Facility to the football field,” he recounted. “I got done with that the football practice, went to sleep and had to wake up at 8 a.m. to run in the championship.” 

Cadet-athletes at VMI not only have their responsibilities with their selected sport but cadet duties on top of that. Cadets are also required to take physical fitness classes twice a week, participate in ROTC all four years, prepare for room and uniform inspections, practice for parade, guard duty, and more. 

He explained that coming to VMI and being a cadet-athlete, he had to change his mindset. He couldn’t look at the tasks he had to accomplish as something he had to do, but instead something he got to do.  

“If I didn’t, I probably wouldn’t have competed like I did or did it at all. Since I wanted to do it, I had to find a way,” he said.  

It’s all about prioritizing. He figures out the thing he’s least enthusiastic about and finishes that first, allowing him to do the things he wants to do. He said that’s something that will transfer to what he can accomplish later in life.  

“If that’s me waking up for my job at seven in the morning, like I have done for BRC [breakfast roll call], I can get my whole schedule done, have everything planned out, do what I need to do. So, in two months, I can go on vacation or something.”

Moore plays wide receiver, point return and kick return. But he wasn’t one for paying much attention to football when he was on the field in his younger days.  

“I was always one of those kids who was at practice, but wasn’t in the practices,” he stated. “I’d be crisscross applesauce on the floor, playing with the dandelion grass.” 

He said that he got bored with that and started to put in more effort.  

“I was always pretty fast, so I would run. And the coaches saw that one day, and they were like, let’s see what this guy can do,” Moore said. “I ended up playing and being slightly good at it.” 

He started to take it more seriously in his sophomore year of high school and decided he wanted to go to college for it.  

As for the stressful times at VMI, Moore leans on his friends and teammates. 

“Within my friend group, we try to motivate each other and hold each other accountable, whether that be in football or in school, because being at VMI we can have the hardest workers. We need to control what we can control and be the best at it,” he explained. 

The way Moore accomplishes this is by not looking at the big picture. He needs to take it piece-by-piece.  

“You can’t eat a sandwich all in one bite. You have to take it bite-by-bite. Break it off. Have little sections. Complete that section. Reward yourself forward so you can do the next thing.”