A View From The Bench
There was a great article on T-Nation today from Jim Wendler that really hit home. Wendler went into depth about his experience as a walk-on football player, something I’m very familiar with. Successfully walking on to a Division-I program will always be one of the defining achievements of my life, and from start to finish the process taught me countless life lessons. For simplicity’s sake I narrowed it down to the Top 3, so here you go:
1.) Believe in yourself. As my high school football career came to a close, I was surrounded by people in my community who felt I was delusional/crazy/naive to think I could play football at any college, let alone a Division-I program. On many occasions they had no problem telling me this to my face, and I still vividly remember the blank stares I’d get in return when voicing my intentions to some coaches, teachers, family friends, and neighbors. Despite the steady barrage of negativity, I maintained an unwavering belief that I still hadn’t reached my true athletic potential, and if I continued to bust my ass I just knew I could play at the next level.
2.) Life ain’t fair. Yes I successfully walked on. Yes I even managed to play in a handful of games. But life isn’t a Disney movie. I never started, I never earned a scholarship, and my last season was an up and down emotional roller coaster filled with inconsistency, where I’d be with the scout team one week, traveling with the varsity the next 2, then back down w/ the scouts for the following 3, a cycle that continued for the entire year. While this was incredibly difficult to go through at the time, it directly led to the next lesson…
3.) You still have to take the shot. This was hands down the most valuable thing I learned: just because something doesn’t go your way it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. While the lack of playing time and no scholarship offer really hurt back then, I can say now without a doubt the experience made me a better person, better coach, and better athlete. You cannot let the possibility of failing stop you from starting something. I promise that for every single thing you do accomplish in life there will be countless missed goals/objectives/attempts along the way that are valuable learning opportunities. Those struggles may suck while you’re in the moment, but you have to learn how to fail forward, constantly moving in a positive direction, even if it’s 1 inch at a time. Despite how difficult things were at times, through all of the challenges, I will forever be grateful to Coach Sonny Lubick and the rest of the Colorado State University staff for giving me the opportunity to prove myself, and I will always be proud of my years as a Ram.
