Delight
yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
- PSALM 37:4
If
you do not get what you want, it is a sure sign that you did not seriously want
it.
- RUDYARD KIPLING
I
have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life; I have envied
a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.
- TEDDY ROOSEVELT
It has been
said that the game of football is 90% mental and 10% physical. That is quite a bold statement to make,
considering that there is not a play that goes by on the football field without
opposing players hitting each other. The
truth of the matter is that football is much more than guys just running around
and banging helmets. You have to be
focused, determined, prepared and mentally alert when taking the football
field. These characteristics are what
make football the great game it is today. Sure there are plenty of athletes we watch
play on Saturday and Sunday who seem born with more talent than they know what
to do with on the field. What many do
not know is that these same players had to practice to get where they are
today. It took preparation and
persistence to be successful in their sport.
A coach once told me I should aim to get 1% better every practice. It might not seem like a lot but the point is
that you are improving everyday at your position. If you’re not improving, you’re losing ground
on achieving your potential.
As each year
passes in college, Christian student athletes have the opportunity to mature,
not only as players on the field but also as students in the classroom. Just like it is a personal decision whether or
not to receive Christ as your personal Savior, it is also your decision whether
or not to commit yourself to scholastics and athletics. If the commitment is made to do the best of
your ability, you are well on your way to becoming successful in college. It has been said that “when you fail to
prepare for something you are preparing to fail.” Regardless of your decision in college, you
are still in the process of preparing for something good or bad.
As you develop
your potential in your sport, many student athletes receive encouragement from
family, coaches, peers and friends in high school or college. It always helps to have a solid supporting
cast that is behind you. The problem
with just having encouragement is that it will only take you so far. You have to truly believe in yourself and
have an unshakeable confidence in your abilities. Any room left for doubt will most likely lead
to eventual failure in the classroom and on the field. That is why having Christ in your life is so
monumental concerning scholastics and athletics, among other countless
reasons. Jesus is your strength and
confidence, and through Him you can achieve the potential that He has planned
for you.
There are going
to be some goals in college we set that are not achieved if you aim for the
stars. The goals I chose regarding
scholastics and athletics were the best case scenario. I’ll be the first to admit that I did not
achieve them all, but it was not without giving it everything I had. You see, it is not the unfulfilled dreams in
college that will discourage you; it is looking back on your college experience
and knowing that you had more to give, but were not willing to go the extra
mile. After college is over, it is not
possible to go back in time. Some people
do go back in their minds and play the “should of would of game” in their heads
that goes around and around in circles of regret. During my college experience I can honestly
say that I gave it everything I had, and I give Jesus all the glory and honor
for inspiring me and filling me with the Holy Spirit. By meeting God halfway, He took care of all
the other details. Let me help prepare
you to reach your God-given potential.
1ST AND 10 IN THE CLASSROOM
Good habits in life do not come naturally. They have to be worked on day in and day out
to establish a pattern of consistency that eventually becomes a daily part of
your lifestyle. Success on the playing
field largely depends on your success in the classroom. Let’s face it, if you are not making the
grades in high school or college, you might fall below eligibility and not even
get to step onto the field. Even if you
are just doing enough to get by, you still need the intelligence to understand
how the offensive or defensive schemes work to effectively play your
position.
Every student
athlete needs to develop a game plan on how to prepare to excel in the
classroom. The creation of positive
repetitive habits in the classroom are essential for getting good grades and
making the most of your education. These
habits need to be created as early as possible in your education so that they
become as routine as brushing your teeth every morning. Early in my education, I followed a simple
strategy in the classroom that was utilized throughout college. I like to call it “1st and 10 in
the Classroom.” It is so simple and
straight forward that everyone should be able to follow it. As a matter of fact, there isn’t anything I
am going to say that you haven’t already heard.
The only requirement for being able to follow this game plan is that you
have to put your good friend, Mr. Lazy, in the closet and not let him out.
All of us are
prone to feeling lazy at times. The
demands on a student athlete in high school and college are extremely fast
paced. There doesn’t seem to be a single
second to spare. For some student
athletes, it always seems that if they are going to slack off, it is in the
classroom, rather than in their sport.
For some reason, the classroom takes a back seat to sports. You would think it would be the other way
around considering we are going to be utilizing our education in the working
world for the rest of our life. Our
accomplishments on the field are fulfilling but will ultimately lead to
short-lived memories and uncomfortable bodily injuries that never heal quite
right.
The 1st
and 10 in the classroom approach I took consisted of five different steps to be
successful. The key to this approach is
that you never give yourself the chance to get behind in your classes. Just like on the football field when you have
a fresh set of downs on the offense, you can always be 1st and 10 in
the classroom if you follow these steps.
The first step consists of never missing any of your classes due to
laziness. This is obviously the hardest
step because in college, there are countless reasons you can come up with to
miss a class when you’re tired. The
problem is that the majority of these reasons are a result of being lazy. If you miss a class, you are allowing
yourself to get behind and are already increasing your chances of failure in
the classroom. During my five years of
college, I missed a total of less than three classes. My body was paying a price for my education
due to football, and I wanted to learn as much as possible.
The second step
to always having a fresh set of downs in the classroom is to sit in the front
of the class. This helps you to pay
better attention to what the teacher is communicating, reduces your chances of
falling asleep, gives you a better opportunity to get involved in class
discussions, and you become a familiar face to your teacher. During my college education, there were
countless teachers that I became good friends with as a result of sitting in
the front of the class and participating in classroom discussions. A professional student/teacher relationship
with one of my Finance professors resulted in receiving the PACAP/CBA
Scholarship: Excellence in Finance at the University of Rhode Island in 1997
and 1998 due to his high recommendation of my accomplishments in scholastics
and athletics.
The third step is
to take notes while you are attending your classes. When you actively write down what the teacher
is saying, there is a better chance that you will retain the information that
is being taught. These notes really come
in handy when studying for your tests, because good teachers go out of the way
to tell you the course material to study.
I can remember football players who would skip classes and ask other student
athletes to take their notes for them.
When you do something like that, you are just cheating yourself and not
making the most of your education.
The fourth step
is crucial to success in the classroom.
You should complete all homework assignments, papers and projects that
are assigned by your teacher. Not only
does completing this work help with your grade in the class, but it gives you
practice preparing yourself for what you will be tested on. Without completing coursework assigned by the
teacher, you are decreasing your chances of being successful in your class and
instead of being 1st and 10 you become more like 4th and
7.
The last step
should be common sense, but you might be surprised how many student athletes do
not bother doing it. It is essential
that you study for all upcoming tests.
The real key to this final step, due to tests usually being worth a good
portion of your grade, is that you start studying a couple days prior to your
test and not just the night before. Some
student athletes think that by cramming it in the night before they will
remember everything. The truth is that
some classes just have too much information to prepare this way and retention
of the material will be greater if it is done over several days.
Everyone has the
ability to follow these five steps to being successful in the classroom. There is no hiding that it is going to
require a great deal of work. The only
thing that can hold you back is being lazy.
It is so easy to do when no one is looking over your shoulder. This is an opportunity to be responsible for
your actions and mature into an adult. I
have always viewed completing these steps as short term sacrifice for long term
benefits and rewards. The more time you
invest in scholastics now, the greater you will be rewarded in your future
employment. I encourage you to give it
your best shot. When you achieve success
in the classroom and give all the glory to God, that is when you start creating
your own luck out of good old fashioned hard work. You just might be surprised at the
opportunities that come your way.
SCHOOL’S FINALLY OUT FOR THE SUMMER
The end of another year of college came to a
close after the spring semester and the completion of spring ball in 1998. The difference this time was that I was at
another college, and my situation could not have been any better. I finally had a position coach/defensive
coordinator, by the name of Coach Narduzzi, who was willing to instruct me on
the field and in the film room to help me achieve my potential at middle
linebacker. It was the first spring ball
I had participated in college as the 1st string middle
linebacker. The upcoming season at URI
would mark my last year of college football as a 5th year super
senior, and I was looking for it to be my breakout season.
After spending
the past three summers in summer school at the University of Kentucky, I
decided to head home to Cleveland for the summer after completing my first full
year at the University of Rhode Island.
The strength and conditioning program that needed to be followed during
the summer was something I felt could be completed on my own. The conditioning test I had to prepare for
consisted of enough sprints to make up a mile around a track while the lifting
exercises were built toward achieving my highest three rep max on bench, power
clean and squat.
At the end of my
spring semester, I said goodbye to my teammates and friends for the summer and
packed up my 1992 Ford Tempo to head to Cleveland at 10:00 o’clock at
night. The drive was a solid 10 plus
hours so I liked to drive through the night to avoid any traffic. I can still remember crossing over the George
Washington Bridge in New York around 2:00 a.m. and hitting a huge pothole that
made my head hit the roof of the car as the pots and pans rattled in the
backseat. Needless to say, I was more
than awake after that for the remainder of the trip.
My plans that
summer consisted of basically three things.
Prior to driving to Cleveland for the summer, I updated my resume
because I was very interested in finding a paying internship in a finance
related position. My previous work
experience consisted of an internship with an insurance company in Lexington,
KY, self-employment as a certified personal trainer, and working with my father
at a steel coil company in Maple Heights, OH.
I liked to call it an internship in operations management, which was a
very fancy way of saying that I banded coils with metal straps eight hours a
day after they were treated in acid and coated with a protective coating. The use of the words, “operations
management,” could be slightly construed as a strong play of words, but you
would be surprised how I could justify it by talking about the operations at
the facility.
The other two
things I wanted to accomplish were making a trip to Lexington, KY for about a
week to visit my good friend, Big Mike, and sticking to the strength and
conditioning program for the duration of the summer. I was really looking forward to not having to
take any classes for the first time in three years. Instead I was hoping to land a good paying
internship that would give me solid work experience in finance. The future looked bright, but in case football
at the next level did not work out, I wanted to build a solid resume in college
to make myself marketable in Corporate America after graduation.
After getting
settled at my parent’s house, it wasn’t long before I was back on the road and
heading to Lexington. I was excited to
see some old friends and tell them how the new college was treating me. It is amazing how the Lord can call you into
action even when you are on vacation.
After a couple days in Lexington with Big Mike, I found myself in a restaurant
with one of the offensive lineman for the Wildcats. He was a good friend during my time at
Kentucky and that night we talked about him receiving the Lord in his
life. He told me that he wasn’t ready to
make that kind of commitment, and that he had plenty of time to settle down. For some reason, I felt like I needed to break
through the pride and stubbornness, but that was not God’s plan that
night. All I could do was plant the seed
of faith and hope that the Lord would water it.
That night proved
to be a valuable lesson in that when we try to reach people for Christ, everyone
is at different stages in their lives. I
believe the Lord uses us to cultivate the weary and unsaved in different
ways. Some of us might plow the heart of
someone who has never heard the word of God.
Others could pick out the rocks and sticks that are holding that person
back in their life. Another person could
come along and plant the seed, and the ultimate gardener is Jesus, as He waters
the seed and allows it to grow into a believer.
Did you know that
every time an unbeliever comes to know their personal Savior, Jesus Christ,
there is rejoicing in heaven by the angels?
Another soul has just been added to the kingdom of God for
eternity. It is an awesome blessing to
be part of this process. Jesus loves us
so much that He blesses us with individual talents and allows us to utilize
them in our lives to fulfill His purpose for us. We are called to give Him all the glory and
honor in our lives.
That time in the
restaurant in Lexington would be the last time I would ever see that Wildcat
offensive lineman. You see, he thought
that he had all the time in the world to make a personal decision to receive
Christ. I wonder how many of you reading
this book feel that way. You’re young,
bright and have the whole world in front of you. That is how my friend felt when I was talking
to him. Little did he know that when he
went to Ohio State for a weekend trip, a car would slam into his 280 pound plus
frame in downtown Columbus, and a few days later, he would die in the hospital
at 22 years old. I don’t know if my
friend ever received Jesus in his heart, but I’m grateful that I can look back
and remember talking to him about my personal Savior.
On my trip back
to Cleveland, I had to prepare myself for an interview with the Vice-President
of the Treasury Department at the Sherwin-Williams Company in downtown
Cleveland. I have to give the credit to
my mom for making this possible. She met
the Vice-President of Treasury where she worked, and through small talk, shared
that her son was finishing his degree in Finance and was looking for a summer
internship. That is where the interview
came into the picture. After I called
the number on the business card that the Vice President provided, she was
impressed with what she heard on the phone.
She was eager to schedule an appointment for me to come in for an
interview at my earliest convenience.
The following week, I drove to the Sherwin-Williams Corporate
Headquarters for the interview. Before I
knew it, I was hired by Sherwin-Williams as an intern to work 40 hours a week
during the summer at $12 dollars an hour.
Pulling in $480 a week was great money for a summer job, and more
importantly, I was learning about what I wanted to pursue after college, and
adding experience to my resume in the process.
That summer flew
by, as I was working at Sherwin-Williams and preparing for the upcoming
football season in the weight room and on the track. I weighed about 225 lbs and was hoping to
keep my weight steady with preparation for the run test when I reported back to
Rhode Island. It was nice to be home and
getting to spend some quality time with my parents and brother during the
summer. It was hard being over 10 hours
away from home at college, but they supported me, because they knew how hard I
worked to start in college games as a middle linebacker. The previous season they didn’t miss a single
home game which is quite an accomplishment.
The drive to and from Rhode Island and Cleveland was over 20 hours. Some home games were back-to-back, and even
though we finished 2-9 my first season, my family was just happy to see me back
on the field, making tackles again.
Support like that is hard to come by, and I consider myself truly
blessed to have such a great family there for me during college and far
beyond.
SYMBOLISM OF THE NUMBER 40
The summer was coming to a close and the start
of my last college football season was quickly approaching. This season I would be wearing the number 40
that followed me through high school to the University of Kentucky before
having to sit out a season at the University of Rhode Island. This number went far beyond just being an
identity for me on the football field.
It was symbolic of my relationship with my personal Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, because it is one of
the most significant and important numbers used throughout the Old and New
Testament. The fact that I had the
opportunity to display that number on the field as I played my senior year was
a privilege and an honor.
Many people are
familiar with the story of Noah building the ark in Genesis before it proceeded
to rain for 40 days and 40 nights which flooded the entire earth. Only Noah, his family and the animals on the
ark were spared to multiply and continue life on earth. It would be the first and last time God would
allow such drastic devastation. His
promise to us from that day on has been the rainbow you see in the sky after it
rains. Something so beautiful that only
the very hands of God could have created it.
If we fast
forward to the New Testament there is another familiar passage in Matthew that
talks about how Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights in the
wilderness. It was during this time that
Jesus was tempted by Satan. Every time
the devil tried to get Jesus to do something that would prove to be a sin,
Jesus would quote Scripture from memory.
After the third time Satan tried to tempt Jesus, He simply replied in
Matthew 4:10, “Away with you, Satan! For
it is written, You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall
serve.” If the Son of God was not exempt
from being tempted by Satan, how much more does that make us vulnerable to the
devil’s deceit and lies? The protection
for that vulnerability can be found in 2 Timothy 3:16 where it says, “All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God
may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Jesus answered Satan with nothing but the
very inspired words of God and understood that nothing could be more powerful
or encompassing against sin and temptation.
Those are two
very familiar passages that reference the number 40 but I want to go above and
beyond those two times to show the significance of this special number. In Exodus 16:35 it says, “And the children of
Israel ate manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land; they ate
manna until they came to the border of the land of Canaan.” This proved to be so significant because God
was providing for His people in the wilderness after the Israelites crossed the
Red Sea with Moses. Although the Lord
freed His people from bondage from the Egyptians, if it wasn’t for His
provision in the wilderness they would not have survived.
The Israelites
were not without complaint as they ate manna for forty years and Moses would
talk to God alone to ask for direction and forgiveness for the Israelites sins. In Exodus 24:18 it says, “So Moses went into
the midst of the cloud and went up into the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and
forty nights.” It was during this time
that God provided Moses with the instructions to build the Ark for the
Testimony. Later in Exodus 34:28 Moses
again visited with the Lord, “So he was there with the Lord forty days and
forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the
covenant, the Ten Commandments.”
As the Israelites
continued on their journey in the wilderness to the promise land, the Lord
wanted them to spy on the people of Canaan before He would give them
victory. Numbers 13:25 says, “And they
returned from spying out the land after forty days.” After all the countless miracles the Lord
performed for the Israelites, the people still didn’t think that their God could
deliver the enemies of Canaan into their hands.
Due to their refusal to enter Canaan from a total lack of faith, the
Lord passed a harsh judgment on His people.
The judgment was in Numbers 14:33-34 that says, “And your sons shall be
shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity,
until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which
you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one
year, namely forty years, and you shall know my rejection.”
The story of
David defeating Goliath prior to becoming King of Israel is one of the best
stories of bravery every told. Prior to
David killing Goliath, 1 Samuel 17:16 says, “And the Philistine drew near and
presented himself forty days, morning and evening.” That’s right!
It took forty days of Goliath ridiculing the Israelites before David
took a bold leap of faith and had the Lord deliver the giant into his
hands. It can also be found in the Old
Testament that King Saul, David and Solomon each reigned for 40 years.
The last
reference I will use to the number 40 being used in the Bible is what I believe
is truly the greatest. Our eternal
salvation would not be possible if Jesus, the Son of God, did not die for our
sins. The one infallible thing that
secures Jesus as truly being the Son of God is that He conquered death by
rising from the grave after three days.
In Acts 1:3 the proof is delivered when it is said, “To whom He also
presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being
seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the
kingdom of God.” After Jesus died on the
cross for our sins, He not only rose from the grave but appeared before the
disciples and others for a period of forty days before transcending into heaven
to sit at the right hand of the Father.
The number 40 for
some might just be two random numbers put together on a football jersey, but to
me it was so much more. This special
number paved the way for the creation of the mystical rainbow. It helped me understand how to overcome
temptation while enabling me to become intimately familiar with the provisions
of the Lord and His very Commandments.
Number 40 helped me to take a bold leap of faith like David, and most
importantly, it showed me that Jesus is the very Son of God. When you look at the number 40 after reading
this I hope it takes on a special meaning for you as it does for me. As I prepared myself for my final college
football season, the number 40 was ready to give Jesus all the glory and honor
regardless of the outcome my senior season.
As long as I met Him halfway, I knew He would provide according to His
will for my life.
FIFTH YEAR SENIOR SEASON DEDICATED TO MY DAD
I have always respected and appreciated my dad
and the sacrifices he has made for our family.
Besides having big biceps and a passion for working out, my father has
always been an extremely hard worker.
For as long as I could remember, my dad has worked the night shift, and
usually, he would register up to 10 to 12 hours per night after overtime. There were no interior motives to working
those long hours day in and day out throughout my childhood besides providing
the best he could for his family. When
we moved to the country in Medina, OH, my dad commuted back and forth to work
almost an hour each way, so my brother and I could go to the same school. If it wasn’t for his commitment to his family
along with my mother’s love and encouragement, I can honestly say that I would
not be where I am today.
When I reached my
last year of college football, I wanted to do something special for my dad to
show how much I loved him and appreciated his dedication to his family. It is rapidly becoming a rarity in this
country to find fathers that provide for their families. The number of children growing up without
their paternal fathers is alarming due to the high divorce rate and children
born to single mothers out-of-wedlock. I
decided to write my father a card that told him that I wanted to dedicate my
senior season to him. I know it wasn’t
much but I wanted him to know that as I made tackles on that grassy field, it
was through his hard work that being at Rhode Island was even possible. I wanted him to be able to live the college
football experience through me.
My dad wasn’t
raised with just one younger brother like myself and given the chance to truly
enjoy his childhood years. Instead he
lived in a house with two brothers and four sisters. I remember hearing stories about how his
mother would bring a watermelon home from the store and if you didn’t act fast
there would be nothing left. In his
teenage years my dad lost one of his sisters to an illness that took her life,
and from a young age, he was working to help support the family. My father did not have the luxury of just
being a kid and focusing on school and sports.
I believe to this day that if my father had grown up in my circumstances
and had the support and encouragement I had, he would not only have played
college football, but would have played at the next level. I owed my senior season to him, and I was
going to make it one to remember.
RHODY DEFENSE MAKES A STATEMENT
From the very beginning of doubles my senior
year, everyone on the defensive side of the ball knew that we had the making of
a special defense. Our star defensive
end who was sidelined a year ago with a broken leg was back in the starting
lineup. The linebacker unit was stronger
and more experienced than the previous season, while the secondary was pretty
solid with many returning starters.
Practices during doubles were dominated by the first team defense, which
was encouraging on our side, but raised questions about the validity of our
offense.
A good defense
will only take a team so far if the offense isn’t capable of producing many
points. My fear was that as the season
started our offense would not be able to put up at least 21 points per
game. I remember one practice during
doubles when the offensive line coach made a statement about the tenacity of
the linebackers. Our new defensive
coordinator/linebacker coach was adamant about his linebackers attacking
downhill at the snap of the ball. That
was exactly what we did during practice and it was paying big dividends when it
came time to watch practice film. The
offensive line coach was frustrated because of the fact that his linemen
couldn’t get a block on any of the linebackers attacking downhill. Every play that was keyed as a run would have
to contend with three blitzing linebackers who were looking to fill their gap
and hit someone in a hurry.
After two weeks
of doubles it was time to get my senior season started. Our first game was against William & Mary
at our home field, and it would speak volumes of how the rest of the season
would unfold. The game started with our
starting quarterback suffering a partially separated left shoulder on the
offenses first possession. The second
string quarterback was a true freshman, and in his defense, a lack of college
experience can haunt a quarterback on the ever-present dangerous football
field, especially when you don’t have much time in the pocket to pass. Although our defense came out to play that
day, we gave up three scoring drives that resulted in touchdowns which proved
to be too much to overcome as we lost the first game of the season 13-21.
TAKING ON A LEADERSHIP ROLE
There comes a time in a student athlete’s life
where he has the opportunity to take a leadership role. What that entails is not only being accountable
for your actions on the field but also serving as an example for others to
follow. You need to be someone others
can count on when things get tough and the path is treacherous - someone who is
willing to motivate and encourage other fellow teammates, even when the
forecast is dark and cloudy with a 90% chance of rain. It is a big role to fill, but if you step up
to the plate, you’ll be a better player for it and learn a valuable life lesson
in the process.
That is the
ground that I stood on as we headed into the second game of the season against
the Richmond Spiders. I had never been
one to lead others through loud words, but rather preferred to lead through
example of my actions on the football field.
The fact was that we were already
0-1, and I felt that being vocal about the immediate future of this
football team was something that needed to be communicated to the players. We needed to practice like we were going to
win and envision ourselves doing just that on Saturday. I couldn’t let the season just go by without
knowing that I did everything I could for us to be successful.
There are a lot
of good leaders in this world that we live in, but great leaders are hard to
come by. I knew that being a good leader
would not satisfy me, because in reality being good is just doing enough to
being better than average. It means you
are working hard, but not as hard as you know you can work to be great. Giving it everything you have is what I
wanted. Having no regrets looking back
was what I envisioned for myself regardless of the outcome on the field. Being a great leader is stated best by Teddy
Roosevelt when he said,
It is not the
critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or
where the doer of deeds could have done better.
The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face
is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and
comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or
shortcoming, but who knows the great
enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who,
at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at
the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his
place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory
nor defeat.”
That is what it
means to me to be a great leader - going above and beyond the call of duty
because of the passion that burns inside of you. I encourage you to try to be the person that
Teddy Roosevelt describes in the passage above.
Whether you succeed or fail, you will be doing it with all your heart,
and in the very end, I can promise you will amazed at how lucky you get in
life. The reason luck will come your way
is because the secret of getting “lucky” in life is working hard and giving God
all the glory and honor. Luck should
really be referred to as a blessing from God because the Creator of the
Universe knows and helps guide us along our path in life by opening doors and
closing others at His appointed time.
As the second
game of the season quickly approached, I suddenly found myself being a true
leader on the practice field. If we were
going to win against Richmond it had to start with a change of attitude and effort
on the practice field. I made a point of
being more vocal in the huddles and positively encouraged the defensive players
every chance I got. It was also
important to continue to focus on getting better every practice and being open
to constructive criticism from the coaches.
After all, it is through coaching that we continue to develop our
potential at our positions. After what I
thought was a great week of practice, the team was prepared and excited for the
Richmond Spiders to come to town.
PLAYING IN THE ZONE
There comes a special time in every athlete’s
career where he has an experience in a sport that supersedes what was thought
possible in the realm of play. That
place is commonly referred to in athletics as “playing in the zone.” That is exactly where I ventured when the
Richmond Spiders came to Meade Stadium.
This game would be the highlight of my college football career and push
me to my outermost limits as a player.
It would also prove to be another time that the game of football taught
me valuable lessons about life.
This was
definitely a special day for me. During
the week leading up to the Richmond game, I was chosen to be one of the three
team captains. Early that morning before
the game, the coaching staff let me lead the chapel service for the players who
wanted to attend. The Lord was using me
to spread His word to the University of Rhode Island football players, and I
considered it an honor and privilege. To
top it off, the program guide for the game had none other than a picture of me
against Brown on the front cover.
As I suited up
for the game that day, I went through my usual pre-game routine. I modestly put on my shirt that said “I will
not be denied” as a reminder of what I had been through to get to this point in
my career. As I taped my wrists, I wrote
Philippians 4:13 on one wrist and on the other wrist I wrote “The Lord is with
me; I fear nothing.” I always had the
same head trainer tape my ankles before every game because that was also part
of the routine. I’m happy to say that I
had never been one of those players who do not wash their jock strap, socks or
undershirt for the entire season, using them as a good luck charm. I always thought that was a little on the
gross side.
Prior to the
game, I could feel a razor sharp focus coming on that I had not experienced
before. As the game started, there was
certainly an unyielding spirit that was not willing to accept failure for my
actions on the field. I believe it was
the very Holy Spirit of God who helped take me to a level of play that I had never
experienced. The Holy Spirit consumed me
as I took charge of the defense that day.
During the course
of our game against the Richmond Spiders, it literally felt like I was involved
in every play. Regardless of who came
out to block me, my opponents were merely a momentary obstacle to overcome to
get to the ball carrier or quarterback.
As the tackles I made that day mounted, the natural course of the game
was heading for overtime. It wouldn’t
take just one overtime to decide the winner of this colossal match up of stingy
defenses; it would take three.
A crucial point
in the game came for me when we were in the third overtime. My body was physically exhausted from running
from sideline to sideline. I remember
making a tackle and being so exhausted that I wasn’t sure that I could get up
off the ground. My body was extremely
overheated as I was gasping for breath to replenish my oxygen deprived and
burning lungs. At that moment, I talked
to Jesus on the football field for a momentary second. I simply said, “Jesus, if this is what it
takes to be a great player then I don’t want it.” After five years of college football, I came
to a point in my career where I couldn’t push myself any further. It felt as if I reached my limit, and I now
understood what it would take to be a great player, but my body didn‘t want any
part of it. Suddenly a peace came over
me, and it felt as if Jesus was saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll get you through
this. Trust me. I never said it would be easy but it will be
worth it”. At that second, I got back up
and kept playing with everything I had for the remainder of the game.
I wish I could
say that this awakening led to us winning our second game of the season in
triple overtime but that wasn’t the case.
The Richmond Spiders scored a touchdown in the third overtime while our
offense only kicked a field goal. It was
a devastating 14-20 loss for the team after a hard-fought battle, but someone
had to lose. Although I was disappointed
with the loss, I was pleased that every drop of sweat, ounce of energy and bit
of strength were left on that field. I
held nothing back that day as I registered a URI single game record of 19
tackles.
After the game, I
spent the afternoon with my parents and brother. We enjoyed the day together as we watched
football, talked and ate at my favorite restaurant called the China
Buffet. It was nice to get my mind off
football, but once they departed back to Cleveland for the long 10 hour drive
on Saturday night, I couldn’t help but think about the game. The next morning I drove to Narragansett
Beach and walked barefoot on the beach, thinking about how a great deal of
energy and time were wasted for another loss or was it? If I gave it everything I had, what was there
to be ashamed of in a defeat? The team
might have lost, but I viewed it as a victory for myself, due to not giving up
on the field, even when my body and mind were certainly not on the same page as
my unyielding spirit. We failed as a
team that day, but I realized that failure is inevitable in life if you want to
be successful. The important thing is to
continue to dare greatly in your pursuits, and you’ll eventually be able to
taste the ripened fruits of victory. God
wants to bless us; we just have to keep fighting and believing in
ourselves.
The URI Rams had
started the 1998 football season at 0-2.
Two close games decided by 7 points or less was all that separated us
from being undefeated. As we went to the
football meeting on Monday afternoon, it was announced to the team that I was
chosen as Defensive Player of the Week in the Atlantic 10 Conference for my 19
tackle performance in the triple overtime loss to the Richmond Spiders. It was a shock and an honor to be recognized
for my performance in a game that we lost in triple overtime. I certainly gave Jesus all the glory for this
accomplishment, because without Him, it would not have been possible. This recognition further convinced me that I
could only be limited on the field by the boundaries I had set up in my
mind. If I could tear down those
boundaries and truly trust Jesus, then His will would dictate my potential.
BEING AN AUTHENTIC AND GENUINE ROLE MODEL
There seems to be a misconception about exactly
whom student athletes are role models to in our generation. Some people think that this only applies to
the fans that are watching in the stands.
What about the younger players who are waiting for their turn to shine
on the field? It makes sense to me that
being an authentic and genuine role model to them is just as important (if not
more important) than to the fans in the stands.
After all, it is your younger teammates who are going to eventually
influence their fans in either a positive or negative manner. If we can reach out to them and show them how
important it is to play with Christ in their lives and walk on higher ground,
how much more will that be able to affect the younger generation?
On countless
occasions in the locker room, I have seen players who might say one thing but
do something completely different. I
remember at the University of Rhode Island a number of players who smoked
marijuana and didn’t care that it would hurt the team. These same players sat in team meetings and
acted as if they were on board with the rules and regulations of the team. That wasn’t sending a very good message to
the younger players right out of high school.
It would be nice if student athletes could say “What you see is what you
get.” They should not have hidden
agendas. They should actually do what
they commit themselves to in their lives.
If that could be accomplished, it would completely change the way the
world views college football athletes.
I remember
watching the Indiana Pacers and Detroit Pistons playing basketball on
television over a year ago. The reason
the game was so memorable is because of what happened at the end. There was a hard foul by the Pacers, which
resulted in a harder push from one of the Pistons. This, of course, escalated to multiple
players getting ejected from the game.
As one of the Indiana Pacers was lying on a table by the team bench, a
Detroit fan threw a cup of water from the stands onto the player. Instead of ignoring what happened, the player
decided to go into the stands to find and hit the fan who threw the cup of
water. This did not go over well with
the fans and before you knew it, there was a brawl between players and
fans. It was hard to believe, and at the
same time, I could not help but to think of what kind of message this was
sending to our younger generation. The
player for the Pacers had a decision to make.
He could have walked on higher ground and ignored what had happened, but
instead, he let his emotions get the best of him. It was an act of selfishness without thinking
about what type of ramifications there would be.
When it comes to
acting as first class role models in our society, it seems like many athletes
are satisfied flying coach or worse yet, even waiting for a standby
ticket. From allegations of steroid use
in Major League Baseball, and Track and Field, to unruly behavior on the
basketball court, players are not taking their job as role models
seriously. Athletes are blessed to be
where they are today, and instead of helping influence the younger generation
in a positive way, they continue to fall short.
I know we were born into sin and that the only perfect person is the Son
of God. However, when you are in a
position to influence others, you have to find a way to rise above the muck and
mud that tries to negatively influence you.
My question for you is: Are you willing to take a stand for what is
right by helping your teammates and positively influencing your fans?
As the third game
of my senior season neared, I wanted to be focused on winning our first game
against Northeastern, and also to positively influence our younger
players. I wanted to mentor them in the
game of football and encourage them to take advantage of their education. Challenging them to walk the straight and
narrow through a relationship with Jesus Christ while pursuing their dreams
could make all the difference in their lives.
STRIVING FOR THE TACKLE RECORD
Our team traveled to Northeastern for yet
another loss, due to failure to score enough points and too many
turnovers. We were 0-3, and our next
opponent was the Brown Bears, for the coveted Governor’s Cup. This time, the Rams would earn their first
victory of the season by winning 44-16.
As each week passed during my senior season, I wrote a journal of my
performance on the field and thoughts for improvement. After recently reading what I had written so
many years ago, one thing was evident.
Whether or not we won or lost our game, I was never satisfied with how I
played. I always thought about the plays
I could have made instead of focusing on the plays that were made. A trap that a good deal of players fall into
is thinking too much about the game film that has to be watched during
practice. What you should be doing is taking
one play at a time and learning from the previous play, but not dwelling on
it. You need to focus on the play at
hand and envision yourself being successful.
Most of all, you should enjoy being out there playing college football.
The second
victory of the season came against the Maine Bears, with a last second field
goal that propelled us to an 18-17 victory.
This was the only game of the season where I had to voluntarily leave
the game. It happened in the fourth
quarter when one of my players smashed into the side of my helmet. Something did not feel right so I went to the
sidelines. The head trainer asked me my
name, what day it was and what I had for breakfast. After successfully answering those three
questions, I told him that I could not help but to think of the board game
Candy Land and that for some crazy reason, it frightened me. That was enough proof for him to diagnose me
with a mild concussion, and I sat out the remaining minutes of the fourth
quarter as our team went on to win.
Week in and week
out, I played with all my heart and tried to motivate the team. Even though our record was not where I would
have liked it to be, I focused on the positive aspects of the season. I was leading the conference in tackles for
the second season in a row and on pace to break the single season record at URI
of 151 tackles. Our defense was ranked
second in the conference for total defense behind the Richmond Spiders. I also achieved something that very few
players get to experience in college football or the pros. The media had established a nickname for
me. Some of the greatest football
nicknames of all time that I can remember are “Broadway” Joe, “Mean” Joe
Greene, “The Blonde Bomber” and Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch. When number 40 made a tackle on the field,
the announcer wouldn’t say “Viera” but rather “The Hitman” on the tackle. That’s right, number 40 was known as Miguel
“The Hitman” Viera in the college football world.
My last senior
home game of the season was against the UMASS Minutemen, who were the #1 ranked
Division I AA team in the country. They
coincidentally went on that year to win the National Championship. Family day was scheduled during this game,
and prior to the opening kickoff, parents of the seniors were introduced to the
crowd. It was an emotional time, getting
to see my parents out there on the field.
They were so very supportive during my football career (along with my
brother), and it meant a lot to me to get to share this special moment with
them. For the past two years, they had
driven to every home game and probably racked up enough miles on the van to
drive across the country and back.
The UMASS game
was a hard fought battle, but eventually we lost, due to a lack of
offense. The real story behind this game
was what happened with :50 seconds remaining on the clock. The Minutemen were running out the clock, and
the quarterback was getting set to take a knee.
As their center (who was obviously nursing a bad leg) snapped the ball,
I ran him over like a freight train en route to the quarterback who took a knee
directly behind the center. This created
a lot of tension with the other team, and the referee ejected me from the game
for simply playing too hard. Later that
week, I read in the paper that I was ejected from the game for supposedly
spitting in the opponent’s face. That
just goes to show you how the media likes to spice up a story for the paper!
Our last game of
the season was against Brian Westbrook and the Villanova Wildcats on the road
in Philadelphia. Our record for the
season was a dismal 3-7 by this time and we had just come off a 7-9 loss to
Jerry Azumah and the New Hampshire Wildcats.
All the seniors wanted was to finish the season with a victory. All season, I had given it everything I had,
but the overall team record looked as if no one was even trying. The Villanova game proved to be no different
than the other seven losses that season as our offense only put up 15 points en
route to a season ending 15-26 loss. We
put forth so much effort, and yet, we won only one more game than the previous
season. One thing that I was proud of
that season was that I had unofficially registered 155 tackles in 11 games to
beat the previous URI single season record of 151 tackles. The reason I say unofficially is because the
Atlantic 10 Conference only credited me with 140 tackles my senior season. However, in my heart I knew the real
numbers.
After the last
game of the season, I took pictures with family, friends and coaches on the
field. It was a long journey to reach my
final collegiate game, and it felt as if I were literally graduating from
college football. I once heard the
saying “It is not the journey, but the destination, that matters.” I know there is a place for me in heaven when
my life on earth comes to an end, but until that day comes, I’m going to enjoy
every second of the journey. You have to
learn to take the good with the bad in this roller coaster ride we call
life. Even though we finished 3-8 that
season, I developed friendships that would last a lifetime and got to do the
Lord’s work through spreading the gospel to teammates and friends. I was chosen as one of four permanent
captains for the 1998 season and had earned the respect of my fellow
teammates. The question was where would
I go from here? It was going to take
another step of faith now that college football was finally over.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1) How can aiming to get 1%
better every practice make you a better athlete? What if we take this
approach to growing closer to Christ?
2) Does the saying "When you
fail to prepare you are preparing to fail" refocus your attention on the
importance of preparation?
3) Does your strength and
confidence come from Christ? How can meditating on Philippians 4:13
inspire you to do great things?
4) Have you created a game plan
for excelling in the classroom? How can the 1st and 10 in the classroom
approach help you become a better student? Which of the five steps do you
struggle with the most?
5) Would you agree the classroom
often takes a backseat to sports with student athletes? Don't you think
it should be the other way around considering your education will be utilized
for the duration of your life?
6) Why do you think pride and
stubbornness prevent individuals from receiving Christ? Do you think
people have a harder time admitting they are sinners or changing their lives to
reflect a Christ-centered life?
7) Is there a story behind your
jersey number? Is the number symbolic of a past experience or event that
makes it special?
8) Do you have a special
relationship with your father? If so, does he know how much you love and
appreciate him? If not, what steps can be taken to rebuild that
relationship?
9) Would you describe a leader as
someone who is accountable for their actions and serves as an example for
others to follow? Do you think it is important for a leader to motivate
and encourage others during a difficult time?
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