Being a student athlete, I often get asked:
“Don’t you want to go to the NFL?”
Everyday all our coaches say is you have to do this, this, and this if you want to go to the NFL. For example, we are expected to spend countless extra hours within the facility outside of our already expansive schedule, doing workouts. If you miss these “optional workouts” it is frequently brought up in progress meetings and assumptions are made about your commitment to the team. Especially because the majority of the people on my team’s dream is to make it to that level. However, I particularly struggle with this question because I answer yes every time when in reality, I am biting my tongue. I have realized however I am able to provide a perspective that most athletes never hear, and offer them insight that there are other options.
Football Is Not The Only Way
As collegiate athletes, we have for the most part all been raised in an environment where sports are the only means of our success. We get so entrapped in the idea that the only thing we are good at is based on our athletic and natural ability. It is this mindset that causes so many to miss out on the fact they are really good at something else. This has an effect on both mental, financial, and social health. When you walk around everyday basing the entirety of your confidence on how well you can perform on a field, more often than not you find yourself in a hole no matter how good of a player you are. Observationally I have noticed many of my teammates show significant declines socially and mentally when dealing with a tough time on the field. Suddenly they are not as chatty in the locker room or they suddenly start disappearing from class. From my perspective this is a direct result of piling up your worth into one area. As soon as that area (football) declines, all of the sectors you already hardly showed attention to plummet.
Personal Experience
The reason I can speak to this matter is because I am currently living it at this very moment. I have been a starting player for the university’s football team, and do not get me wrong, that is one of my proudest accomplishments in life. However, over the past year or so I have come to realize my passion for the game has depleted. In the beginning this ate me alive, and I felt like I was in an endless slump. I had no idea what I wanted to pursue after football, who my real friends were not just my teammates, and truthfully who I was.
Separation From My Environment
Being an athlete it forces you to hide behind this mask and feel urged to act the part. “Yes Sir I want to go pro”, and various other statements like this were part of my daily dialogue. Being pushed so heavily to pursue this one opportunity I felt obligated to play the part. I was lying to those around me everyday along with myself because I was not willing to tell myself the hard truth. Even slacking off in class or not participating because I would convince myself that all my effort was being put into football, and in reality I was putting minimal effort into both.
Driving Factors
Growing up in a family where my dad was a professional baseball player, my sister was the number five recruit in the country for volleyball, and my mom ran college track, I felt that this was my only path. I felt pressure from my family even though it was not really there. I finally reached a breaking point, and abruptly let my emotions out at a family dinner while they were visiting. During this conversation I expressed my feelings about the situation and told them that after my college career I simply do not have the passion inside of me to commit my entire life to pursue professional football. They were certainly surprised by my feelings, but my dad told me something that I will never forget. He said to me, “ Son, you are and always have been far more than a football player to me. You are blessed enough to be in a position where whatever passion you pursue you will find success.” This phrase sticks with me today as it sets me free from the binds that have held me down for so long.
Light At The End Of The Tunnel
Following this I began to throw things at the wall and saw what stuck. For example, my uncle has built a name for himself in medical sales, so I shadowed him for a couple weeks learning the ins and outs of the business. I made a connection in the oil and gas industry, and pursued an internship with a rising corporation, but ended up not getting the spot. While I was down about not being selected it opened up a new door that has led me to what I believe is the right fit for me. Through a mutual connection I found my way into the brokerage side of the oil and gas sector focusing on transport where I am about to start an internship. Through these ups and downs I found that earning an internship or even making a connection felt like scoring a game winning touchdown.
Success Exists Off The Field
I felt the same endorphins I would make a huge play as I would doing well in an interview. It is this feeling that I thought was strictly reserved for sports, but finding that it existed everywhere allowed me to find my passion. Not to be misinterpreted, I still give my all for my football team, as I found some of my closest friends on the team, and I do it for them. The sport of football has taught me many things that I believe are hard to find outside of this realm. For example, the art of discipline in waking up early every morning and having to function at a high capacity, persistence gained from constantly trying to learn plays translated to making sure my voice is heard, and the most important to me was the competitive spirit. In the industry I hope to pursue, you must strive to outperform those around you. However, being able to discover that there are other ways to find joy in the world outside of my sport has allowed me to be a happier person day by day. They also serve as a complement to one another. Recently finding out that I will be getting multiple surgeries and having to miss the entire season would normally send me into a spiral, but knowing I can take this time to focus on my passions allows me to wake up with a smile on my face. This also allows me to focus on building my connections, as well as preparing for my upcoming internship.
Looking at the Facts
Less than two percent of collegiate athletes make it to the professional level in their respective sport. I also believe that in order to be a part of that two percent you have to give every fiber of your being to it. So don’t get me wrong, the last thing I ever want to do is tell someone not to believe in their dreams. However, I believe all people should have the right to pursue their dreams rather than someone else’s. I see far too often someone on my team graduates and does not make it professionally then realize they have done nothing to prepare themselves for this moment. This hurts the most because there are unlimited resources and possible connections within campus and even on our own team that go completely ignored. As I said previously, chase your dreams, but when an opportunity lies in front of you, don’t be too prideful to entertain it. Find a way to escape the mentality that you must do this or this. We have all earned an opportunity to play at such a prestigious university, and I feel that sometimes we forget why we chose to go here. Simply completing enough credits to earn a degree from here will help, but I feel that is a waste of an opportunity. Take the time to explore yourself, and what your passions are. Deeper than money, deeper than status, find out what you pride yourself in and explore it. Unfortunately the best way to discover this in my experience is when you are at your lowest point. It will take a low moment that makes you question where your compass is pointed, but ultimately it will return to true north or in these terms, who you really are.