From Cog to Clockmaker
When I read Sherman Alexie’s quote, I was reminded of a line from one of my favorite movies as a child. In The Incredibles Gilbert Huph states, “A company is like an enormous clock. It only works if all the little cogs mesh together.” In my high school career, I have discovered the same rings true for a football team. Many schools have teams with great athletes, or cogs, who find little success on the field. What these schools lack is leadership, or a clockmaker, that can make the cogs mesh. Football has been a journey of learning for me. I was a cog my freshman year, I was an apprentice my sophomore and junior year, and I have become a clockmaker my senior year.
As I began my freshman year of football, I was only focused on becoming the best cog I could be, thinking that was enough. I ran sprints and lifted weights to improve my endurance and my strength. I would ask myself “What can I do today to make myself better?” I didn’t see myself as a leader. I thought that if all my teammates worked hard on their own, the team would win. My freshman team found mild success but came up short in the win column.
My sophomore and junior seasons were spent learning what it means to be a clockmaker. Outstanding leaders in the previous graduating classes helped me understand how to put pieces of the clock together like an apprentice. These upperclassmen inspired the rest of the team and me to excel together. As their leadership increased, so did our success on the playing field. We won several more games than in previous years and it all started with leadership.
My senior year is well underway and with it has come my role as clockmaker. All my actions are for the team. I run sprints to inspire the team. I lift weights to inspire the team. I ask myself, “What can I do today to make the team better?” I see myself as a leader. I still want to be the best cog I can be, but, above all, I’m focused on the pieces around me that make the clock tick. This, I believe, will bring closer to the ultimate team goal: a state championship.
Soon my high school football career will be over. I will no longer serve as clockmaker for the Chillicothe Hornets. I do, however, plan on continuing to apply the skills I have learned on the football field in other areas of life. Clockmakers are needed around the world; leadership is vital to success. Universities and communities are looking for the best person to make their clocks spin. I have been a cog, an apprentice, and a clockmaker, and I’m ready to apply these skills at the University of Kansas.
As I began my freshman year of football, I was only focused on becoming the best cog I could be, thinking that was enough. I ran sprints and lifted weights to improve my endurance and my strength. I would ask myself “What can I do today to make myself better?” I didn’t see myself as a leader. I thought that if all my teammates worked hard on their own, the team would win. My freshman team found mild success but came up short in the win column.
My sophomore and junior seasons were spent learning what it means to be a clockmaker. Outstanding leaders in the previous graduating classes helped me understand how to put pieces of the clock together like an apprentice. These upperclassmen inspired the rest of the team and me to excel together. As their leadership increased, so did our success on the playing field. We won several more games than in previous years and it all started with leadership.
My senior year is well underway and with it has come my role as clockmaker. All my actions are for the team. I run sprints to inspire the team. I lift weights to inspire the team. I ask myself, “What can I do today to make the team better?” I see myself as a leader. I still want to be the best cog I can be, but, above all, I’m focused on the pieces around me that make the clock tick. This, I believe, will bring closer to the ultimate team goal: a state championship.
Soon my high school football career will be over. I will no longer serve as clockmaker for the Chillicothe Hornets. I do, however, plan on continuing to apply the skills I have learned on the football field in other areas of life. Clockmakers are needed around the world; leadership is vital to success. Universities and communities are looking for the best person to make their clocks spin. I have been a cog, an apprentice, and a clockmaker, and I’m ready to apply these skills at the University of Kansas.