My journey: Football
Life lessons through football
Playing football has been a part of my life since the sixth grade. I am passionate about it, and it has taught me many lessons. In sixth grade I was a MPR (minimum plays required) player. This meant I played only six plays a game and only because the league required I play at least that many. I knew that once I saw that sixth snap, I would be done for the day. Some players found low self-esteem and anger in this situation, but this is how football taught me the importance and rewards of determination and hard work.
My coaches always preached that with hard work I would eventually improve and playmore. During that first offseason I took my coaches’ advice and practiced extremely hard with hopes of playing a lot more the next year. My hard work was rewarded when I was no longer a MPR player the next season. But I still was not a starter and was not playing as much as I wanted. I worked even harder the next offseason. At the start of my eighth grade season I was one of the best players on my team, and I started every game and never came off the field. I continued to work very hard every offseason up to now and am now one of the best players. My work ethic was rewarded my senior year when I was named a team captain. My coaches and teammates recognized me as a leader on the field, in the locker room, and in the classroom. I also have been named a scholar athlete by our league.
My journey through football showed me that the playing field on which you begin your journey is only as overwhelming as you allow it to be. You can work harder and continually improve until you reach your goal if you really want to succeed. Football taught me not to give up on my goals. I did not accomplish my goal of becoming a starter after my first offseason but I remained determined and focused as I worked harder and reached my goal the following season. This has shown me that it takes time and work to improve at all things, but eventually you will, as long as giving up is never an option. I realized that this is true not only in football but most any situation in life.
Determination and hard work are essential to who I am. I am proud to exhibit these qualities in the classroom, on the football field, and anywhere else in life. My football journey has given me overall confidence to try new things (like long-jumping and spelunking) because I know that if I am not good at something, I can work hard and change that fact.
Football has been my positive outlet, and my passion. Practice and play have consumed many mornings, evenings and weekends. As my journey as a football player comes to an end, the lessons it taught me will always be with me, because football turned out to be a metaphor for life in general. I will always remember that it all began with a scrawny “MPR” kid for whom minimum plays were required, but that is not how it ended. And I am the one who changed it.
