One of the most valuable lectures that I received in college was not given by any formal college professor, or during any formal class. Instead it was given to me three weeks before my first college class ever began. It was given by a man that I would spend the next four years referring to as coach.
As a scared college freshmen walking into my first team meeting I would quickly learn that everything I knew about football was wrong. The game that I learned in high school about power and speed would quickly be replaced with planning, practice, teamwork, compassion and patience. This new style of play would push my fellow teammates and me to not only be better athletes but to simply be better people in every way possible.
Having struggled to earn a varsity letter in high school I had a vast knowledge of what adversity was, but it was in this lecture that I learned that the next four years of my life would be spent simply trying to reach a new level of play and excellence.
Statistically speaking an incoming freshmen class usual starts with 100 to 180 players on the first day of camp, by the time camp is over 20 - 40 players will already be gone, by the time a freshman's first year is over 30 to 60 players will not report back to camp. With injuries, scholastic struggles and other personal reasons affecting players lives a typical senior class of football players will only consist of 8 - 30 players. This is to say that a typical football team only retains 20% of its freshmen for all 4 to 5 years of eligibility.
Knowing this it makes me extremely proud to say I played all four years of college football, and graduated on time.
It also makes me wonder what it is that makes 20% of us successful with so much adversity to overcome.
It was one of the 80% who didn't make it all four years who sparked the lecture that I will never forget. As our team attempted to fill out a questionnaire it was the abrupt yell of "are you kidding me, you come to a meeting to work and didn't bring a pen." that taught me the importance of being prepared. My coaches screams of frustration and disappointment drove him to detail the amount of effort that goes into preparing yourself for success.
It always perplexed me how mad it made coach when we forgot a pen but it was not until I was in a professional setting that I began to understand what he was trying to convey. Be prepared, for any situation. It amazes me that in a professional environment the number of people who are unprepared for meetings, miscellaneous tasks even new developments in their job.
I have come to learn that it is easier to stay prepared for different situations than it is to recover from unprepared situations. Understanding every part of your trade is invaluable. It improves your ability to speak about the parts you know and how they interact with the parts others know.
Simply put, bringing a pen makes you more prepared to cash a check than the next guy.
As a scared college freshmen walking into my first team meeting I would quickly learn that everything I knew about football was wrong. The game that I learned in high school about power and speed would quickly be replaced with planning, practice, teamwork, compassion and patience. This new style of play would push my fellow teammates and me to not only be better athletes but to simply be better people in every way possible.
Having struggled to earn a varsity letter in high school I had a vast knowledge of what adversity was, but it was in this lecture that I learned that the next four years of my life would be spent simply trying to reach a new level of play and excellence.
Statistically speaking an incoming freshmen class usual starts with 100 to 180 players on the first day of camp, by the time camp is over 20 - 40 players will already be gone, by the time a freshman's first year is over 30 to 60 players will not report back to camp. With injuries, scholastic struggles and other personal reasons affecting players lives a typical senior class of football players will only consist of 8 - 30 players. This is to say that a typical football team only retains 20% of its freshmen for all 4 to 5 years of eligibility.
Knowing this it makes me extremely proud to say I played all four years of college football, and graduated on time.
It also makes me wonder what it is that makes 20% of us successful with so much adversity to overcome.
It was one of the 80% who didn't make it all four years who sparked the lecture that I will never forget. As our team attempted to fill out a questionnaire it was the abrupt yell of "are you kidding me, you come to a meeting to work and didn't bring a pen." that taught me the importance of being prepared. My coaches screams of frustration and disappointment drove him to detail the amount of effort that goes into preparing yourself for success.
It always perplexed me how mad it made coach when we forgot a pen but it was not until I was in a professional setting that I began to understand what he was trying to convey. Be prepared, for any situation. It amazes me that in a professional environment the number of people who are unprepared for meetings, miscellaneous tasks even new developments in their job.
I have come to learn that it is easier to stay prepared for different situations than it is to recover from unprepared situations. Understanding every part of your trade is invaluable. It improves your ability to speak about the parts you know and how they interact with the parts others know.
Simply put, bringing a pen makes you more prepared to cash a check than the next guy.
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