My sophomore year the Reinhardt football team went 13-1. We were conference champions and lost to St. Francis in the semi-finals. This was a fun but tough year for me because I was expected to be in the starting rotation. One week before the first game, our team got an All-American transfer; a previous NFL prospect who ended up replacing my spot in the starting rotation. This was another time that I had to dig deep and stay true to my vision since in my head I felt like quitting. Because I was not in the starting rotation, I had to find a way to make myself useful to make the travel team.
Due to my size and strength, I was put in a special package for goal line or short yardage situations. My only job was to "kick out" the last man on the line of scrimmage to create a lane for the running back to score. I did this every game, and never missed a block. This one block to make took up every fiber of my existence on the team, and I embraced the role with a positive attitude. Every week I practiced like a starter with the intent to play if anybody ever got hurt, which never happened.
Once again, I felt like I was not doing enough. I knew I had the potential to be a starter for the team, but it did not happen that year. Every day I had thoughts of quitting, but I never mentioned it to anybody but myself. On the outside, I was a team player ready to help any way that I could, but on the inside, I felt like a loser who did not work hard enough. This was another stepping stone in my understanding of patience, and sticking to my vision no matter what.
After losing our final game in the semi-finals, I went to the gym and started a new job the next day. I would wake up every morning and train, then head to a local business to load Christmas trees and firewood into customers cars for the holidays. I was in "grind-mode" where I did not want to hang out with friends or family. All I wanted to do was perfect my craft and put work in everyday. This attitude set the tone for my life at the time heading into the second semester of my sophomore year.
Due to my size and strength, I was put in a special package for goal line or short yardage situations. My only job was to "kick out" the last man on the line of scrimmage to create a lane for the running back to score. I did this every game, and never missed a block. This one block to make took up every fiber of my existence on the team, and I embraced the role with a positive attitude. Every week I practiced like a starter with the intent to play if anybody ever got hurt, which never happened.
Once again, I felt like I was not doing enough. I knew I had the potential to be a starter for the team, but it did not happen that year. Every day I had thoughts of quitting, but I never mentioned it to anybody but myself. On the outside, I was a team player ready to help any way that I could, but on the inside, I felt like a loser who did not work hard enough. This was another stepping stone in my understanding of patience, and sticking to my vision no matter what.
After losing our final game in the semi-finals, I went to the gym and started a new job the next day. I would wake up every morning and train, then head to a local business to load Christmas trees and firewood into customers cars for the holidays. I was in "grind-mode" where I did not want to hang out with friends or family. All I wanted to do was perfect my craft and put work in everyday. This attitude set the tone for my life at the time heading into the second semester of my sophomore year.
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