I remember my defining moment like it was yesterday!  I was a sophomore in high school, and we had a brand new head coach.  I was on the 2nd string offense, playing against the defensive starters, and the Coach Cobble was playing quarterback.  This was in the late 70's in Oklahoma, so of course we ran the Wishbone offense (only the guys will appreciate that!).

Anyway, we were running the option to the right- Coach and runners would run to the right, and then he would either hand it off, keep it, pitch it to a running back or pass.  My job as a lineman was to run to the right and block the defensive end, so he wouldn't kill the coach.  Problem was, he was one of the best guys on the team!  First time we ran the play, when I tried to block him he hit me so hard it knocked me backwards, and he gently wrapped up the coach... Coach Cobble yelled, "Run it again!", so we did...  The 2nd play I was determined to get lower than my opponent so I could block him out of the way.  But no.  He knocked me on my butt again, and again he stopped the play by grabbing the coach... so Coach Cobble yelled, "Run it again!"... and we did.

This third time I psyched myself up... "I'm gonna beat this guy!", I told myself.  But this time I never got there to make my block, because the lineman between me and my opponent was knocked back into my path...  and something else different happened.  When the guy I was supposed to block grabbed the coach that play, he accidentally scraped his cleats down Coach Cobbles exposed shins, leaving several bloody track marks.  As you might imagine, Coach Cobble was not happy with me.

Coach Cobble yelled, "Cole, get your block!"  Now, the smart thing, the wise thing would have been to respond, "yes sir!".  But I wasn't smart.  Or wise.  Instead, I responded by saying, "I couldn't get there, Coach!  Rick was knocked back in my way!"  And then came my defining moment...

Coach Cobble came at me, eyes glaring and as angry as I had seen him in the short time I had known him.  He grabbed my facemask in front of 65 of my friends and other coaches, and these were his words.  "Cole, all you seem to be really good at is making excuses!  If you want to make excuses your entire life, that's your choice, but you'll never amount to anything!  You have a choice, step up, take responsibility and get the job done, or make excuses!  What's it gonna be?!?!"

Wow... time stopped for me.  It's like the universe was watching for my answer.  I don't know if it was 5 seconds or 5 hours (it seemed like both), but I responded "Step up, take responsibility and get the job done sir!".. And so he said, "Run it again!".  And we did.

I learned in that moment that whether it's my fault or someone elses fault, no one likes the guy who always makes excuses.  But EVERYONE respects that guy that will step, take responsibility and get the job done.  Especially the guy who is getting it done.  I learned a new perspective on life, and new level of respect for myself.  It's shaped how I work as a member of a team, as well as how I deal with leading a team and mentoring others.

Oh, and what happened when we ran the play the last time?  I tackled the guy I was supposed to block... Coach didn't get tackled... I got the job done...