I was standing at the kitchen counter of my 300 square foot apartment with tears filling my eyes. I was feeling tired, frustrated, unappreciated, and beat.
Any other day at this time I would be heading to spring football practice on the blue turf of Boise State. Today, I didn’t want to go. In fact, I wanted to quit. I wanted to start a new dream. I broke down and my dream had been beaten out of me, at this moment my emotions got the best of me.
Leaning with my hands on the counter, shoulders hunched, and head sagging I was pulsing with rage, exhaustion, and doubt. Why had I not been put on scholarship? Why was I not playing more? Why was I not good enough? Why was I doing this?
I phoned a friend. My friend was empathetic and understood how hard I had worked and what this meant to me. They simply said…
“Go to practice today and if you still feel like quitting after then you can.”
I regained composure, walked out the door of my 300 square foot apartment and made it to the blue turf of Boise State for practice. Shortly after my breakdown, I was awarded a full-ride scholarship. I played in every game from that point forward and ran for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns as a starter on senior day. Our team went undefeated and were the victors in one of the greatest football games ever played, the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.
I learned an invaluable lesson that day. I learned to never quit on a bad day.