Returning to the Football Team
By: Derrico Burns
“Hurry up Rico!” said Devin, my cousin, as he hurried past me as I rummaged through my locker. I was running late as usual I only had 10 minutes to make it to the field house in time for the meeting football players. Just as I was about to leave for the meeting…..CRASH! Everything I’ve ever owned falls out of my locker. As I’m there cleaning my mess my mess one of the coaches walks past me in the floor I try to hide my face but my efforts are in vain as he says “Rico! You’d better hurry the meetings about to start. Or are we going to have a repeat of last year?” He was referring to me being kicked off the football team the prior season. Albeit the reason I was dismissed was completely ridiculous it made me speculate how much they actually wanted me to play for the team. I’ll admit I almost just didn’t play right there but my friend Kim had convinced me to play throughout the year. So I finished cleaning my mess and got on a hefty sprint to the field house, where the meeting would be held. As I opened the door immediately at least a hundred eyes focused on me. Everyone else was there on time but me I had come in as he had begun talking. So I nervously focused on the coach. He began to explain his goals for the season and other things I never really paid attention too. They handed out a calendar with all the dates and practice times on them. As I was looking over it I noticed the summer conditioning dates which where every weekday of the whole summer except for the two week dead period. So right then and there I had to think to myself if this is really what I wanted to do was I going to play or do I need to leave right now and find something else to do with summer life. Just as I said in my head this is what I wanted to do and I was going to actually try this year I heard coach say something. “All summer conditioning will start every morning at 7:00, you must make all these dates to dress out this season.” It was at that moment that I knew I was in for a long summer. As the most tiring summer I’ve ever known went by I went from being an outside linebacker to a defensive end. I had felt robbed and confused I had been working so hard all summer and on the field. I mean I knew I wouldn’t start I wasn’t that good and I had gotten booted the year before but at least I thought I could be a backup. I mean I’m 6”1 180 there is no way I’m going to play up against the huge 6”5 285 offensive tackles and they already won’t play me on offense because I’m clumsy and uncoordinated. Now there is no way I was going to play let alone be backup. The switch also meant that my coach was now Coach Coleman, who at the time I thought was the meanest worst coach of all time. So when I got home that evening I was feeling sorry for myself and I got on my phone and was about to watch YouTube like I usually do but there was a video I found on the internet of Will Smith he was being interviewed about the movie I Legend Am and the host told Will he was on the path to become an icon and he ask Will what he thinks on the matter and Will talks about himself wanting to be represent an idea or magic. He also says there is a power in making a choice and if you just decide what you’re gonna be and you’re gonna do and how your gonna do it and when you do that and apply action to that then the universe has no choice but to move out of the way. He then goes on to compare himself to an alchemist, or a mystical person who can create something from nothing or create something better from something lesser. He then goes on to make a metaphor of an alchemist turning lead into gold and him turning something bad into something great. He also goes on to say that the person who has the most drive, the most heart, the most hustle, the person who wants it most will succeed. That really spoke to me so I set in my mind that I’m not only gonna play this year coming off a season long suspension I’m gonna play I’m also gonna succeed