Do you really want to Play?
That is a question that you have to ask yourself when training gets tougher. When you have your first practice ever on a Sunday, when you have your first morning run at 6am during your freshman year of college, when you are in training camp for 2 weeks straight. You have to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself “Do I really want to do this?” The players that can answer “Yes” to that question and have the mindset it takes, are and will be successful playing college football.
Why do you play?
When I was a freshman in college football training camp, back when freshman reported to camp before the upper classmen, I’ll admit that it was tough. I remember being at dinner with the whole freshman class and we all were talking. And we went around the table answering the question “why are we here” I was somewhat surprised when 3 players said the same exact answer to that question. “I am here to play football, I play football for the opportunities that it presents me with; people I meet and the doors it opens.” Now grant it those are all true things that happen as a result of playing football. But not the sole reason to be playing college football.
However in my personal opinion I see to many players that play for all the wrong reasons. “my dad played here, my dad is a coach, the coach knows my dad, I needed a scholarship, or my family members tell me I’m good.” Those are the wrong reasons to play the game. Those reasons all point towards another person, but you are the one playing.
It used to bother me with all the politics in sports as far as someone getting playing time because their dad played at that school, or he donates to the booster club. Well it’s a booster club somebody let me know when it becomes the pay for playing time club… The reason it doesn’t bother me as much is because now you see more players being exposed. They get into trouble off the field, their emotions on the field shows it. They eventually become a cancer to the team and it results in their release. I think my college head coach said it best “You don’t want to be here.” It was kind of funny, but he was just exposing the player(s) who were playing for all the “wrong reasons”.
Bottom line if you are playing football because of someone else and you don’t have the love or the desire to play the game of football, you are being selfish and untrue to yourself.
Time well spent
You spend to much time with football not to love the game. If you are in high school; you spend a lot of time finding scholarship information, looking for advice and speaking with coaches and scouts. If you are in college you spend a lot of time working out, studying playbooks, watching film and having meetings. So much hard work, time and effort goes into preparing to be the best you can be on that field. How can you not have love for the game. And I tell people that play with that uncertainty, “you have to ask yourself that question.” My senior year in high school a lot of players didn’t come out for the team, I was worried because our numbers were so low but at the same time I felt better knowing their would be a higher number of people playing that actually wanted to play.
Bottom Line
Know why you play the game. Play the game for the right reasons or get exposed because sooner or later it will be known. Look at the successful players in the game playing college and pro football, they are the players that truthfully love the game. They are the players that have to get carted off the field before they stop playing. That is why good players that don’t make it professionally end up in powerful positions in the job field because they have a passion for what they do.RMCFE