My senior year of high school, our boys basketball team won the league title. But on a team full of all-leaguers and future college players, the fan favorite was a scrappy junior on the bench named Dave. He didn’t get much playing time. But when Dave would enter the game, that’s when the show—and the cheering—would start.
Dave would play his 12 or 8 or 2 minutes like he might never get the chance to set foot on the court again. He’d play frenetic defense. He’d dive to the floor for every loose ball. He’d even run to and from the time-out huddles like it was a race. His energy and enthusiasm were so contagious that the fans in the stands (of which I was one) couldn’t wait for him to get the call-up to enter the game.
I still remember the game when an opponent stole the ball. Dave chased him down the full length of the court like his life was on the line, and managed to block what should have been a sure layup. Dave—and the home court fans—celebrated like he’d just won the Super Bowl for us.
It turns out that all that hustle off the bench didn’t go unnoticed. I stumbled on this podcast last week and learned that Dave spent his senior year as our starting point guard, then played three years of junior college basketball before chasing—and reaching—his dream of playing for a Division I basketball team—Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
Today, Dave is an academic advisor at UNLV. And I’m sure that he still retains and employs all those characteristics he developed coming off the bench back in high school—the work ethic, scrappy hustle, the spirit and the willingness to do what it takes to create opportunities. I can’t imagine a better example to set for college—and high school—students.
I write often here about the importance of making an impact, on becoming such an indispensable part of what you’re doing that people would miss you if you were gone. That high school basketball team in 1989 would not have been the same—for the players, coaches, or fans–without Dave coming off the bench. But imagine if someone had discouraged Dave from continuing to play the game he so clearly loved.
You’re just riding the bench. Good colleges won’t appreciate this. You should go start a club or volunteer or do something else that will look good on your college application.
What a loss that would have been.
Twenty years from now, most of today’s high school students will not be able to look back and draw a predictable straight line between their past high school activity and what will have become their career. But you probably will be able to trace the development of your skills, characteristics, talents, and other qualities that aren’t encapsulated on a transcript or a test score report.
Some involvements have an immediate payoff in the form of honors, awards, or other accolades. But the effort, passion, commitment, and resilience to keep going—those are the rewards that pay off over time.