Heart of iron

I began playing sports at the age of 5. My parents have always supported me in every effort to play any sport. My first love is football. Tied for second are basketball and track.

Growing up, I never quite understood my parents’ unrelenting commitment to ensuring my continued excellence in school, as well as my good work ethic and dedication on the field/court. At the age of 15, I am beginning to realize why they have taken such a firm stand on this.

As I look around at my friends, and some family, that I have grown up with, I notice that the majority of them have quietly walked off the court and on to the field of a different type of game. The streets. Some of these guys have been in trouble with the law, while others have gotten caught up in drugs and underage drinking. Some of these buddies would push me to play harder and go stronger when playing against them on a Saturday afternoon at the park. Now, I look at them and see the “knuckleheads” that my parents have vowed millions of times to never let me become. I get it.

As I pull my dreadlocks back and put my football helmet on to step out on the field, I often think about Bob Marley’s “Iron, Lion, Zion” lyrics:

“I’m gonna be Iron like a Lion in Zion,

Iron Lion Zion,

I’m on the run but I ain’t got no gun,

See they want to be the star”

But the real star, the real CHAMP, is the one that whether they win or lose the game, can still look in the mirror and be proud of the decent individual they have become, who possesses a heart as iron as the lion.