Contact Courage

This morning I am writing about Coach Dungy's final core value- COURAGE. When I think of courage I think back to my high school football playing days. I can remember being a sophomore lineman on a very talented Franklin Central Football team. The season started with 2 a day practices in August. I had this vision in my head that I was going to compete to be the starting Center prior to practice starting. As the hot August practices started, I came to realize that I was a weak sophomore getting banged up, bruised, and knocked down by some stronger and bigger Juniors and Seniors. It took a lot of courage to get back up off the ground and do the next rep or the next drill. It took a lot of courage to get up out of bed during the 2 week long 2 a day practices when every muscle in my body ached. It also took courage to want to run into another player. My high school line coach called this "Contact Courage". My sophomore year of Football taught me a lot about mental and physical courage. It was very rewarding because I got to be a part of a State Championship Team that went 14-0 and played in the Hoosier Dome. It also gave me the confidence and courage to be a starting Center and Defensive Tackle in my Junior and Senior seasons. In coach Dungy's book he talks about- "Having the courage to do what is right, and not what is popular". He tells the story about a Pittsburgh Steeler football player named Lynn Swann. Lynn was a great receiver who won 4 Super Bowl rings, and is in the Hall of Fame. He chose to include Ballet as part of his training regimen. This was not the norm in the 1970's, and many players and media ridiculed him. Lynn did not let this peer pressure discourage him. He did what he thought was right for him! The message this morning is- Have the courage to stand up for what is right! Have the courage to set a goal for yourself and go after it! Have the courage to fight through and not give up when things are tough! Have the courage to surround yourself with good people! Have the courage to accomplish something great on this first day of July, 2013!