A lot of the successes that I’ve experienced in my life have come as a result of athletics. The opportunities that I have been given as a result of athletics have been incredible, and the life lessons I have learned from athletics have been even more valuable. The parallels between life and sport are too important to be ignored, and I think that is why I spend so much time making those connections here in my blog.

I met a lot of interesting and talented people while I was playing college football. One of those people is my friend, Richard Bartel. Rich has had the unique experience of playing professional baseball and professional football. He is now a sought-after quarterbacks coach. In January, Rich put out the following video about being a backup high school quarterback. As I watched it, I could not help but think about all of the life applications that could be taken away from it. Even if you are not a “football person,” take less than 2 minutes to watch this video, and then read on about the 4 life lessons I learned from a QB coach.

As a former backup & in light of all their recent success, here’s a 3-part series on the perspective realities as a backup QB at the H.S., NCAA & NFL levels.

Each level offers different realities, challenges & rewards.

PART 1-
“High School Backup QB” pic.twitter.com/N7iFoMt6ZD

— Rich Bartel (@CoachRichBartel) January 24, 2018

1. Control What You Can Control

You want to be at the top of your organization, but you are where you are for a reason. It may be a lack of experience. It may be seniority. Most likely, it is for a reason outside of your control… for now. Focus on what you CAN control right now.

“Know your system like the coach. Prepare like the starter. Play like you’re capable.”

What does that look like in your current role? Whatever your role might be, there are two things you can always control… Attitude and Effort.

2. Make The Most Of The Opportunities You Are Given

“You’re basically playing with house money because even if you struggle… everyone is still willing to give you more time, grace, and empathy for your lack of development or experience.”

I graduated from SMU about 15 years ago, and my first job right out of college was selling cars for a reputable dealership in the Dallas area. One of the best pieces of advice I got from Rick, my GM at the time, was to “be new for as long as you can.”

I’ve actually carried that advice with me into each new opportunity that I’ve had since then. Every time I go to a new school or take on a new role, I embrace being “new” because, as Rich said in his video, people are willing to give you more grace when you are new. Use that to your advantage.

Use “being new” as an opportunity to take calculated risks. When you are given an opportunity to take on a new task, jump on it. You’re new. People understand that, and they will work with you. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn how to do something new in a low-risk environment. It’s a lot harder to try new things when you’re the guy who’s supposed to know everything or have all the answers.

Use being new as an opportunity to get into the room with the people who know more than you. Lots of experienced and influential people are willing to give you some of their valuable time if they know you are new and trying to grow by learning from them. It’s a win-win. You get to learn from them while getting much-needed facetime, and they get to feel good about contributing to the greater good while feeding their pride and ego just a little bit. This is powerful stuff.

3. Be Patient, And Be Honest With Yourself

“Work on overcoming your simple insecurities… Start building confidence and your identity as the future leader of the program. There’s plenty to learn.”

If you’re being honest with yourself, you need this experience. Moving on to “greener pastures” could actually stunt your long-term growth if it’s not the right situation. I’ve seen people take jobs for titles. I’ve done it myself, and it’s not always what it is cracked up to be. When I was 28, I was certain that I was ready to be a defensive coordinator, and I was going to take any opportunity that I could in order to show the world that I was ready. I left the metroplex and took a DC job in a 2A town in East Texas. I’ll spare you a lot of the details, but I’ll say that less than a year later, my wife and I decided to move on to another school. I hadn’t done my homework. I chased an opportunity without making sure it was the right fit, and it ended up biting me.

Last spring, I saw a young coach leave our school for a “better situation,” and 6 months later, he was telling me how he regretted it. Look at your current situation honestly. What can you learn from it? Sometimes you learn what you want to do when you’re in charge, and sometimes you learn what you DON’T want to do. Both are valuable. You just have to be willing to stay put for a little while in order to learn either one.

4. Create A Plan

“You think a lot about playing, but you’ve never really put much thought in your day to day plan… or what you’re going to do that’s distinctly different as a leader but is still you.”

You want to be the “leader” of your organization. That’s awesome. What skill set does that require? What experiences must you go through as a prerequisite for stepping into that role? What is your plan for creating the opportunities needed for you to grow? Start with the end in mind. Backwards plan from there. What steps are required to get to where you want to be? Create a plan to ensure that you are taking those steps, and then fall in love with the process.

Closing Thoughts

I could go on and on here, but I don’t want to wear out my welcome. Even if you’re not a “sports person,” I hope you can appreciate the life lessons that we can learn through sports. Rich hit on some great points for all of us to chew on. I hope you watched his video with an open mind, and I hope you found a couple of good takeaways. Thank you for taking the time to read this post today. I am truly grateful. Feel free to share it with others who might find it useful. I’ll see you next time!