During my NFL career, I learned that leadership is a trait that all athletes have deep inside of them. Unfortunately, I found that most players do not know how to apply their leadership skills. It is the inability to apply leadership that sets the regular NFL players apart from the true greats such as LaDainian Tomlinson, Marvin Harrison, Peyton Manning, and Brett Favre. These fine players are all strong leaders. It is their powerful leadership skills that inspire their teammates to come together as a team and play at the best of their ability – even when they are losing.
Sports leaders are able not only to lead people in the right direction but to also give them confidence. A leader makes his teammates believe deep in their hearts that if you follow me, we will win. This requires a lot of responsibility and charisma on the part of the leader, but its also what separates good players from the Hall of Fame players.
As a young athlete, if you want to make it first to college sports and then to professional sports, you must develop your leadership skills. It is the strength of your leadership skills that will help separate you from the competition. College and...