In less than a month thousands of young men and women will step onto college campuses across the country for the first time.  Full of hope, praise and vigor to try to make their mark in the world of college football.  Some will have to get taken down a notch or two from the get go.  Some will come in with the right attitude and ready to be a team player from the start.  The one thing they will all have in common will be the fulfillment of a dream; the ability to play college football.

If you've ever traveled the country and talked to random people like me you quickly find out what the true fraternities and sororities really are.  Not all of us were cool enough to get into Lamda Lamda Lamda or whatever random Greek letters symbolized the grouping of people at your local college throwing the best parties.  However there were some of us willing to put in the countless hours, time and passion needed to play a college sport.

I'm not even going to guess what it takes to make it into some of these Greek "houses" on campus.  They all have their little idiosyncrasies.  I do know what it takes to make it into the fraternities and sororities of college sports.  It takes the willingness to tell your buddies in high school "no" to hanging out because you want to get better.  It takes the heart to work out and do all of the training needed to improve yourself when no one is around and it takes the character not to cut corners because no one is watching you in the summer.

In my opinion the people that choose to do this with their lives have proven to me and many others of the commitment they have to "the team."  That's exactly the sort of thing that carries over into business today.  It doesn't matter if you played in the NAIA, D2, D3 or D1.  It you meet someone while traveling the country there is a certain respect, a brotherhood if your will, that you instantly have for the other person.

When I was in college, I was the typical football player.  We were egotisical and made fun of the "lesser" sports.  But now if I'm in a meeting and someone happens to mention they played soccer at State University or volleyball at The University of Whatever I instantly perk up because I know this person made a lot of the same sacrifices coming up that I did.  Throw in military experience and I pretty much bow down to you .  It's almost an unspoken code when you meet someone new in the business world and it comes out that they played college sports.  Just a simple head nod with a follow up of "Very cool, so did I" and you both get it.  You both know this other person I can now rely on in a pinch because they know how to sacrifice and work hard.

Don't get me wrong, the non-athletes in the business world are every bit of hard workers as the athletes.  Most of the time just as talented if not more talented.  But the willingness to give that little bit extra, work a few more hours, get up early and do it all over again is just in the DNA of the former athlete.

There is just a certain respect the former athletes have for one another in the real world.  Sure we might not be the best software engineer because of it or we might not have the experience that others do in the field, but we understand hard work, respect, character and all the things that will take a company further than 4 years of dedicated study in a library.  Athletes understand what it takes to be on a team and that at some point you are going to hate someone on that team.  BUT you will still be a team and be willing to work together to get the job done for the greater good of the company.

So this fall when you or your son or daughter steps onto campus please understand that you are embarking on an expedition that will benefit you long after the wind sprints stop burning and the floor burns heal.  You are entering into one of the greatest networking opportunities that you never realized.  The world of the college athlete.

So if you want to quit or feel like going home understand that there is a lot more at stake than just the ability to get more playing time or your touches on a ball. It's about learning your role, being on a team and helping others to get better.  A college team is the toughest place to do it because there are so many egos and different people to deal with.  If you learn how to do it successfully in college then the business world will come to you pretty easily.

Take pride in what you are doing and welcome to the club of the college athlete!