Exposure Creates Expansion: Taking Advantage of Growth Opportunities

Football players across the country are preparing for a new season of play.  At the collegiate level, football programs integrate additional educational opportunities into summer training schedules.  This often means bringing in outside speakers to share their personal experiences and "lessons learned."

I was asked about my career path and professional perspective during a recent opportunity to address such a group of young players.  Recognizing the pull for student-athletes to limit their college experience to their specific sports arena, my message to the group encouraged them to go beyond athletics. While the message delivered last week was specific to Division I football players, it can be generalized across personal and professional settings--exposure creates expansion.

Being a student-athlete can be a great experience; however, it is important for student-athletes to not limit themselves to just an athletic experience at college. Substitute any profession for “student-athlete”, and the message is the same: it can be great, but limited.  Exposure to different environments can expand one's vision, allowing for the development of an identity beyond one singular focus.

Given the many changes happening in the world of collegiate athletics, student-athletes may believe focusing on anything other than sports will either be impossible or will come at a cost to their athletic performance. However, we know that is not the reality.  For collegiate athletes, the greater the range of environments and individuals they interact with, the more opportunities to expand both educationally and beyond the game. The exploration of diverse experiences will allow them to discover who they are, who they want to become, what they want out of life, and most importantly, the why of their goals and dreams.

Almost three decades after my student-athlete days and after spending more than 10 years playing at the professional level, I realize that my life is a culmination of what I've been exposed to.  While I value my athletic experiences, I am even more grateful for the doors those experiences helped to open.  Once those doors were opened, I appreciated that I was encouraged to step through those doors, despite how uncomfortable it might have been.

As the summer comes to a close and you prepare for this upcoming season in whatever space you occupy, challenge yourself to explore the edges of what you think is possible. Make new connections, take advantage of the opportunities for growth and expansion, and you will achieve a level of excellence you could have never imagined.