Like most Americans, I like watching football, but not nearly as much as I love being on the football field myself. I started playing football at the age of 8. At first I did not enjoy it. I’ve always been a kid so it seemed only natural — and even expected by most people — that I’d play.
Once I made this commitment, things started to take off, especially when I got into high school. There I was introduced to the weight room. Like I said I’ve always been a big kid, but I wasn’t very strong.
At the start of my freshman year my height was 6’4” and my weight was 315lbs. Now in my senior year, my height is 6’5” and my weight fluctuates between 295–305lbs depending on my workouts and hydration. My max bench is 295lbs and my max squat is 535lbs. Once I saw real progress, I began to have real confidence — both on and off the field. My grades dramatically improved, my eating habits improved (my junior year GPA was 3.6), and my drills and skills during practice seemed to reach another level.
But being strong means nothing in football if you can't translate that onto the field on Friday night. It took me a few years to understand this concept: but once I understood this, I went from liking football to *loving* it. Once I really discovered my physical strength, many things started to click into place:
I learned that I was able to drive people into the ground;
I started to feel a rush of excitement when I opened up a hole for a running-back to score;
I loved pass-blocking and giving the quarterback plenty of time to throw a touchdown pass or punch it in at the goal line.
For me, football has been more than a game — It is a brotherhood. From the summer heat to the winter frost, my teammates have learned together and grown together and worked together to achieve a common goal. But the encouragement of my teammates and my own individual hard work has helped me to discover who I am, and the potential I have inside to achieve my goals from this day forward. I am very grateful for my opportunity to play this game.
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