The lesson today is to never underestimate what you do as a person. Just because you may be in a small role doesn’t make you any less of a person. Take pride in everything you do because you never know who you can have an impact on. This message brought me back to when I was a freshman at Umass football. I remember being the 13th string running back. When the season started I wasn’t even getting any scout team reps. What I saw from some of the scout team players was that they didn’t take their role that serious. I think they believed that because they were on the scout team they didn’t really matter to the team. Now, I blame the leadership of the team and I always think that at the end of the day the leader needs to be aware of this. Unfortunately, not everyone is going to babysit you and you are ultimately responsible for your actions. Since a lot of the receivers on the scout team were not taking it as serious the coaches were looking for other players to step up. Since, I wasn’t really doing anything at running back, I eagerly jumped in to help. Maybe it was becasue I was young and had just got there but I took my role on the scout team very serious. I wanted to compete and win every rep. Now to tie it all in. I was playing hard on the scout team and since I was playing the hardest, other players on the defensive side of the ball wanted to go against me. I remember specifically when we were going up against Notre Dame. The team had me play one of their receivers that ended up being drafted in the top ten of the NFL draft the season before. Our team goal was to have our best corner back trail him the whole game so in practice this is what happened. During the game our cornerback locked the receiver up and gave me credit for helping him out. He went on the next year to play for the Green Bay Packers. Now I am not saying that I was the reason but my effort on the scout team better prepared him for the game. I have no doubt in that. Therefore, I conclude that every role on a team matters whether it is big or small. And if you want a bigger role than you must be trusted with the smaller roles and earn it. I think we live in a society now that wants instant gratification and thinks that certain things in life should be handed to you. This is not the case. We must work hard for bigger positions if that what we want but we should never take any role lightly because you never know the impact you can have. I understand to how some people may shy away from working in a lesser role or maybe feel embarrassed because of their role. I tell them to never allow someone to belittle them for working hard. Always put your best foot forward and believe in yourself. It is the most important. Keep going!
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