Tomberlin chooses path of recovery

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In the very near future, the University of Maine’s Justin Tomberlin is going to have to make a major decision: whether to renounce his hockey scholarship and just play baseball, play both, or just stick with hockey.

But the significance of his decision pales compared to the decision he made a little more than a year ago.

Justin Tomberlin is a recovering alcoholic and substance abuser.

His last substance abuse was when he took his last drink on April 27, 1991. Two days later, he was in a detoxification and rehabilitation unit at the Mid-Maine Medical Center in Waterville.

Tomberlin’s abuse problem had started in high school. It resulted from a combination of things, including a history of alcoholism in his family and the pressure attached to being the son of former NFL and CFL linebacker Ray Tomberlin. His father is also in recovery.

“I always put so much pressure on myself,” said Tomberlin. “My life boiled down to how I did in my last game. The old-timers used to talk to me about how good my father was, and they told me I’d never be as good as he was. And my dad was demanding. He was a high school football coach.”

“I felt I wasn’t really playing for myself. I played to please my father. I wanted to make him proud of me instead of going out and having fun,” added Tomberlin.

He was All-State in football, baseball, and hockey at Greenway High School in Coleraine, Minn., but “I never felt that I totally fulfilled his expectations.”

His substance abuse problem reached a stage in high school where he had to have his stomach pumped for taking too many of his father’s prescription drugs.

“I was a lot more secretive about it in high school. I raided the medicine cabinet more than once,” said Tomberlin.

He earned a hockey scholarship to Maine and found himself in a different role, a role he had trouble adjusting to. All of a sudden, he was fighting for a job.

“I had never played on a team on which I wasn’t the big wheel,” said Tomberlin. “I was in and out of the lineup and not feeling too good about my play. I got depressed quite a bit. I had a tendency to hit the bottle. Instead of doing what I should have done, play harder and work harder, I kind of gave up, and I’d drown my sorrows.”

He also admitted to “getting into the wrong crowd” in the dorms and in his involvement with off-campus people. The result was Tomberlin became a walking party ready to happen.

“I didn’t think I had a problem, but, in looking back, I realize it got to be (partying) every night and every day. My priorities were totally out of whack. It was more important for me to get a drink or get high (on marijuana and prescription drugs) instead of studying and working out,” said Tomberlin.

Finally, Maine assistant hockey coach Grant Standbrook took Tomberlin to a counselor in Bangor and he was told “that I definitely needed help. I was an acute alcoholic and if I kept going at this rate, I wouldn’t be around too long.”

Tomberlin still wasn’t convinced, but he was thrown out of his dorm for alcohol-related incidents and, a month later, he talked to Associate Athletic Director for Academics Margaret Zillioux and Standbrook about getting help.

Tomberlin checked into the Seton Unit (detoxification-rehabilitation) at the Mid-Maine Medical Center and was involved in a 14-day program. When it was determined that he wasn’t ready to leave, he spent an additional 14 days there. It did the trick.

“It was hell. If I ever started drinking again, I don’t think I could go back,” said Tomberlin. “They totally broke you down so they could build you back up. I cried for the first two weeks. It was so emotional. My father and older sister (Rhaye) came out. We (Tomberlin and his father) had some issues that needed to be cleared up. I’m glad they came out.”

Justin says his relationship with his father has improved immeasurably.

“We’ve gotten along great ever since,” said Justin.

Tomberlin has been alcohol- and drug-free for more than a year now and he credits people such as Standbrook, Zillioux, hockey players Martin Mercier, Jim Montgomery, Dan Murphy, and Scott Pellerin with providing him with an important support group.

But the most important member of the support group has been his girlfriend, Megan Thomas.

“I couldn’t have done this without her,” said Tomberlin, who has also learned how to avoid situations that used to get him in trouble. He doesn’t go to many parties any more, saying it’s like “playing on railroad tracks.”

He has a new outlook on life.

“I can handle failure now. If I go 0-for-4 in a game, I don’t want to kill myself any more,” said Tomberlin, who has also made dramatic strides in improving his academic standing. “I feel good about life. I definitely have a more positive outlook. I feel a lot better about myself. And I take things one day at a time.”

Tomberlin was a redshirt in hockey this year, but hit a respectable .262 with four homers and 23 runs batted in in his first full year as a baseball player. The right fielder led the team in runs scored with 34 anplayer. The right fielder led the team in runs scored with 34 and struck out only 16 times in 149 at-bats.

Maine Coach John Winkin was so pleased with Tomberlin’s progress that he moved him into the No. 3 spot in the batting order and plans to keep him there next season.

Tomberlin loves both sports, but thinks he has a better chance of playing regularly in baseball.

“There’s no doubt that I could play both here, but I wonder if I could excel at both,” said Tomberlin, who has 18 goals and 12 assists in 61 hockey games over two seasons.

The decision Justin Tomberlin has to make concerning the tbe difficult compared to the decisions he has already made in his life.

He is an exceptional athlete as evidenced by the fact he has been able to play for two nationally reputed Division I programs.

But now, he has overcome his biggest demon: himself.

And no matter what he accomplishes as an athlete, he has already attained the most significant accomplishment of his life.