I'll never forget walking off of the field from my last high school football game with tears in my eyes, sad that a journey that started. in the summer before my freshman year had come to an end. I'll always remember what my head coach, Coach Baker, said to me as I walking off of the field that night: "Kellen, you'll be a great man someday, because I know you'll take the lessons you learned through this experience and apply them to the rest of your life."
I was never an amazing football player. I was only a second string wide receiver, and I only started two games as a cornerback on defense. I lacked the coordination and natural ability to be a great football player, but I found that hard work rarely goes unnoticed. I may not have had the natural talent. I was hardly ever the best football player on the field, and I spent most of my time on the sideline. Despite this fact, I always worked hard, ran until I puked and was first in line for the drills. I didn't see as much time on the field as the people who were better players than I was, but I tried not to get down on myself. Instead, I made the most of the time I was on the field. So, despite not being a great football player, I was awarded with the MVP Award for my senior year of football.
Another valuable lesson that high school football taught me was that you have to always look in your windshield and only check your rear view mirror to see where you've been. On the football field, this meant moving on from a bad play, or a mistake you made in practice, or a lost game. In life, I take this quote from my coach to mean that you can't dwell on a mistake or a bad day. If something bad happens to you, you have to learn from it and allow yourself to grow and become better in the future.
I also learned that if you're willing to put the time and effort into it, you can turn a group of individuals into a family. In my senior year, I was chosen to be a part of our football team's unity council. The team unity council was in charge of helping us all come together as a team. So, we planned team functions and charity projects. Over the season we became a family that would stand up for each other through anything, we didn't all necessarily like each other. But that didn't stop us from becoming a family. We set and achieved goals that you couldn't really see in a statistic, but that you felt in your heart.
I think the most important lesson that I learned from playing high school football was that the important people will always believe in you, even when you don't believe in yourself. There were a lot of people who didn't believe in me and thought that I had no place on a football field and would never make a good football player. But, I tried not to let them get to me. Instead, I focused on the people who did believe in me. Coach Baker and my dad always believed in me, even when I didn't. I have them to thank for teaching me all these lessons, especially my Dad. I am always reminded of a quote from Jim Valvano: “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person; he believed in me.”
I may not have been the best football player. I never set any records. But, I always worked hard. I battled through the tough times when I thought that I'd never amount to anything and it made the good times so much better. I never got to play college football, so I won't ever get to pull on a helmet, cleats, and shoulder pads again, but I will never forget my time as football player, the memories associated with it and the amazing men who I got go through that journey with.
