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'ROLLE' MODEL: Student-athlete inspired, inspiring
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Published: November 1, 2009
"People never improve unless they look to some standard or example higher and better than themselves."
-- Tyron Edwards
"I am so glad the season is over," the man said, holding court in the barbershop. He came in talking. He was fired up. And he made sense.
He -- I don't know his name -- is a volunteer football coach for a team of young boys. "I can't believe that parents want their children to play when they don't put forth the effort," he continued.
The team had just finished its season and he had packed up the equipment to turn in. He couldn't do it fast enough. He was glad it was over. "So, what is the problem?" I asked as he sat down beside me. His son, who played on the team, was getting a haircut at the time.
"Some kids don't put forth the effort in practice," he told me. That bothers him. Others practice well but don't perform well or follow instructions in a game. That bothers him, too. The problem is parents want their children to play whether they work hard at earning playing time or whether they perform in the game as expected.
"I don't understand these parents," he said. They are sending mixed signals to children: no effort, play on Saturday. Practice and don't perform on Saturday, play anyway. He had had enough. He even took some grief from his wife for not playing his son.
"He wasn't putting forth the effort, either," he told me emphatically. It didn't matter if it was his child or not, he didn't believe in rewarding the wrong thing.
The encounter with the coach reminded me of an inspiring article in The New York Times recently about former college football star Myron Rolle, "On the Way to the N.F.L. Draft, a Year of Fulfillment in England." In addition to excelling at football, Rolle was an excellent student. Well enough to graduate from high school early and Florida State in 21/2 years.
I recall watching Florida State play Maryland last fall without their star safety for most of the first half. Rolle had an important interview that day; he was a finalist for a Rhodes scholarship. He finished his interview in Birmingham, Ala., boarded a private plane and arrived shortly before halftime.
The game became secondary; Rolle was the news. He changed into his playing gear and made an entrance that was met with an ovation from supporters as well as opposing fans.
He passed up the NFL draft last spring, even though it was likely he would be one of the top 50 drafted.
His family was very supportive. "They wanted me to go to Oxford because they taught me to always put education first. It was the most important thing for me besides God and family. Some of my teammates and frat brothers were like, ‘Man, that's a lot of money to pass up.' I was definitely getting mixed input," he said in an ESPN interview.
The pressure didn't change his focus or his priorities, though. The 22-year old is disciplined. He rises early each day to work out for a couple of hours in preparation for an NFL career next year.
When he isn't working out, he is engaged in deep discussions, meeting students from around the world and studying for a master's degree in medical anthropology. He is looking forward to a career in medicine as a neurosurgeon and a philanthropist. He is already raising money for, and has started, a foundation that is building a medical clinic and recreation center on a remote island in the Bahamas.
Former U.S senator and NBA star Bill Bradley, who was a Rhodes scholar, is impressed with Rolle's decision. "It shows real character on his part that he's giving up the chance to sign a big NFL contract and going to Oxford," he told the Times. "The experience he'll have will last a lifetime, while the context of his experience in pro football compared to college football will not be as different as his experience in Oxford will be from the non-football life he's led."
Rolle is a great example of what the word "student" means in "student-athlete." He is a great Rolle model. Maybe he will be the topic of conversation on my next visit to the barbershop.
Nigel Alston lives in Winston-Salem. He can be reached at nalston1@triad.rr.com.
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