Excuses Are For Losers

I was a high school football player for Buckeye Union High School almost 20 years ago. I played offensive line, starting left tackle, for three of the four years (my senior year I was converted and started at tight end). I had never played before my freshman year, but my size (6'2", 200 lbs) meant that I was needed to keep the opposing lineman off our quarterback. As I said, I started every year I played offensive tackle, including my first year on varsity, as a junior. That year I made 1st team All-Region.

But what I remember most was one afternoon during two-a-days that junior year. We were doing drills against the scout team, who held blocking pads in their hands, so it wasn't exactly realistic, but it was early in the season and we were getting the plays down. My assignment on this particular running play was to block the linebacker, and I remember doing exactly just that. I ran him completely out of the play.

When the whistle sounded to end the play however, I found that our running back was hit behind the line of scrimmage by the nose guard when the he stunted into the gap between me and the offensive guard next to me, thus having a clear path to the running back. The play lost yardage, and the nose guard was assigned to the offensive guard next to me, but obviously he missed his block.

Coach Nunez, who wasn't the most cool headed of coaches, yelled at me, "Why did you not block Jarvis Berry?", the scout team nose guard. I answered, "I was supposed to block the linebacker, and I did." Technically I was correct. I did what I was supposed to do on paper. Instead, my coach blew up at me.

"Excuses are for losers, Danny Saylor," he said, and sent the entire team to run gassers for my answer.

At the time, I was angry. I did nothing wrong, done my job correctly. It was someone else's mistake. I, and most of my team, were now running because of some stupid whim of who was truly a very tempermental man.

But, I still remember this moment, now 17 years (almost to the day) later, because it taught me something very valuable, something that has shaped me into who I am today. See, it wasn't that I blocked the wrong guy, I should have read that my linemate, the offensive guard, had blown his assignment and blocked the nose guard myself (Jarvis was a quick guy!). I failed the team that day, and realized much later, due to my legalism in justifying my actions based on what was right technically, when instead I needed to learn that sometimes when you head out on a course of action, doing another's job is necessary for the benefit of the team. The guard should have released the nose guard to me, and gone on and done my assignment by going to pick up the linebacker. I should have done his job, and combined, the play would have been successful.

Excuses are for losers. Coach Nunez, as much as I hate to say it, was right. Responsibility lies not in how each of us performs, but what each of us should do in order to benefit the team. We all have reasons why we don't accomplish the things we set out to do- family, work, no time, etc.- but they are all the cliched "the dog ate my homework" excuse. Even if it were true, you had to get the assignment done anyway. In my case, the assignment of the team- to be successful- had been lost sight of instead for my personal assignment. It was my fault, coach, I admit it. Thanks for the lesson.