BY JOHN CRAEMER/KRIS LEONHARDT
PRESS TIMES STAFF
DE PERE – Miami Dolphins fullback Alec Ingold sent a message to students and attendees at St. Norbert College on Thursday, April 4, where he challenged them to “Take something away from tonight. So that you are a better person tomorrow than you were today.” It was a recurring theme during the final session of the college’s year-long student-athlete development series with the Suamico native.
Ingold spoke on overcoming adversity and laying the foundation of excellence, using messages from his book The 7 Crucibles. He spoke about his own changes on his path to professional football — adoption and going undrafted in the NFL — and brought stories that relay the messages of life and sports and a “blending together for the next generation.”
Ingold fell in love with football at eight years old.
“It’s a football game. I could hear the pads crack. I could hear the whistles blowing. I could hear people scoring touchdowns. I could feel the emotion from a high school football game from miles away in my front yard. And in that moment, I fell in love with the game of football. I knew that’s what I wanted to do as long as I could possibly live. I wanted to play ball. I felt that as an eight-year-old kid. That’s what I wanted to do. That’s it,” he recalled.
He spoke at length about his ups and downs in high school wrestling and football at the high school, college and professional level.
“The message behind that was the preparation, the willingness to go through uncomfortable moments; the willingness to put yourself out there, to prepare as good as you possibly can, as hard as you can,” he said, “intentionally, deliberately, chasing out, seeking that discomfort; so that when the lights are on, when the stage is set, when you need to give your best, when your best is required in a state championship and a national championship, you’re comfortable — you’ve done it before.
“So, no matter what you guys do in life, whatever dreams there are, whatever goals there are, you’re going to be able to control what you can control. You’re going to be able to let go of what you need to let go.
“You’re going to have to face some fears in your life. You’re going to have to look at yourself in the mirror and commit to it. Commit to that greatness. You’ve got to seek that discomfort. See those opportunities to be accountable to the person next to you. To be willing to put that next step forward. To be the best version of yourself.
“Win, lose, or draw. If you’re willing to do that in the preparation phase of whatever you have in life, you’ll be fulfilled at the end.”