Seize The Play!

There is a tremendous amount of value and growth that comes with earning your spot in the starting rotation. Preparing your teammates who do start is a reflection of your buy-in as a teammate. By preparing them, you also prepare yourself. For your turn. To Seize the Play. #DailyMight

Brock Purdy, professional football player and starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, is one win away from the Super Bowl – His story of patience and determination is a great reminder of one of the oldest lessons in youth sports.

Not all get to start from the start.

It’s not everyday that you hear an athlete look back and reflect or speak highly of the times they were chosen last. But that’s where Brock found himself this season, the season that started his professional career. A start to a career chosen as Mr. Irrelevant – the last player chosen in the NFL draft – with a coach class ticket to third on the depth chart for the upcoming season. Purdy was given little chance to make the team (no player chosen last in the draft has made an impact in the sport — especially at the QB position) and expectations were low. It was in those low expectations where Brock learned how to lead. Working, learning, and being a great teammate. And preparing for his turn.

By all accounts, Purdy was the consummate professional in those early months of the season. He knew, we all knew, that his turn could be coming. He believed that to be true too. He took those games where he wasn’t the starter to learn the game of football (and leadership), inside and out from one of the best teachers in modern football history in Head Coach Kyle Shanahan. And he leveraged his teammates, including his competition for the starting role, in a positive and beneficial way for the team and himself. He showed up to help, again and again. Through practice, film study, whatever was asked of him – in a supporting role. A role that was to make his teammate better, and to improve his game along the way too.

The key to Seizing the Play is being ready.

I’ve circled back to a story like Purdy’s example of maximizing his practice time to prepare himself for when his turn came dozens of times in my coaching career. His story is a lot like most young athlete’s journey. A journey of waiting for a turn – and being ready when the turn to shine arrived. It isn’t luck though, it’s hard work and diligently improving at every opportunity so when it does come (and trust me, the turn will come if you have put the work in), you are ready to Seize the Play.

There is a tremendous amount of value and growth that comes with earning your spot in the starting rotation. How you prepare your teammates who do start is a reflection of your buy in as a teammate. I encourage you to use this time of support to your advantage. Work in a way that helps you grow in the game everyday. Help those on your team also prepare, and by doing so you prepare yourself. For your turn. To Seize the Play.

Give everything your everything. And then some.

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